U-21s’ dreams dashed

PHYSICALLY stronger and better-balanced, Tipperary justified favouritism when dethroning Munster and All-Ireland champions, Clare in the provincial U-21 hurling championship final at Semple Stadium in Thurles on Wednesday evening.

Fears that Tipperary might struggle to find their best form because of the involvement of a third of their team with their senior side in Croke Park last Sunday proved unfounded. In fact, it was the senior players in their team who led by example.
Tipperary had to do it the hard way as Clare got off to a blistering start, going six points up after just three minutes of play. Clare were unlucky not to have had a further two goals in the early minutes; goalkeeper James Logue saved from a penalty by Darach Honan and a timely interception by wing back James Barry also proved critical.
After this, Tipperary, with team captain, Padraic Maher leading by example, got to grips with their opponents and by half time they had taken a three-point lead.
Clare fought to the end, it must be said, but they were never able to get back on terms. They closed the gap to a point early in the second half but Tipperary then hit four points in-a-row and from there were always at least three points clear.
Each time Clare closed the gap to one score, the home side answered with a point and when the final whistle sounded, Tipperary had five points to spare. Given Tipp’s performance, Clare can have few complaints.
Tipperary won the toss and elected to play against the fresh breeze but it was Clare who dictated the early play.
A blistering start saw Clare race into a six-point lead after just three minutes and Tipperary looked to be all at sea. Noel McGrath opened their account and then play was held up for two minutes as Brendan Maher received attention for a head injury. The delay clearly broke Clare’s momentum and when the play resumed, Tipperary scored three points without reply, scores that clearly helped them settle.
Some great scores followed from both sides but Tipperary were steadily getting a grip in the vital half-back and midfield areas. The Clare defence was experiencing great difficulty in coping with Patrick Maher, while corner-forward Michael Heffernan showed great skill in picking off some excellent scores.
They levelled in the 21st minute and a minute later, Seamus Hennessy landed his fourth point to give the home side the lead for the first time. Two Conor McGrath pointed frees had Clare back in front before Tipperary struck a vital blow when Heffernan found the net after Brian O’Meara had won possession. The score rocked Clare and the home side went on to lead by three at half-time when the score was 1-12 to 1-9.
Clare resumed with minor, David O’Halloran in at corner-forward in place of Pat Vaughan. Liam Markham was now at midfield, with Nicky O’Connell operating in the half-back line.
Early points from Honan and Eoin Hayes cut the margin to the minimum but Tipperary, controlling matters in vital areas, responded with excellent points from Noel McGrath, Seamus Hennessy, John O’Dwyer and Sean Carey clearly laying down a marker for the reigning champions.
The home side were operating with an extra defender, ensuring that Clare danger men, Conor McGrath and Darach Honan saw little of the ball. Clare did battle to the end but they took the wrong option on far too many occasions and the quality of the ball being delivered from the Clare defence was poor.
Patrick O’Connor, after a slow start, did well in the Clare defence, while Diarmuid Nash cleared a lot of ball. Conor McGrath was Clare’s best player but he was starved of possession in the second half. Eoin Hayes also got through a lot of work and between them they accounted for 1-12 of Clare’s tally.
That said, Clare had to give best to a side in which Padraic Maher, James Barry, Seamus Hennessy, Patrick Maher, Michael Heffernan, Paddy Murphy and man of the match, Brian O’Meara stood out.

Clare: Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Diarmuid Nash (Scariff), Cathal Chaplin (Broadford), James Gunning (Broadford); Liam Markham (Cratloe), Caimin Morey (Sixmilebridge), Patrick O’Connor (Tubber); Seán Collins (Cratloe), Nicky O’Connell (Clonlara); Pat Vaughan (Smith O’Brien’s), John Conlon (Clonlara, capt), Eoin Hayes (Newmarket); Fergus Kennedy (Crusheen), Darach Honan (Clonlara), Conor McGrath (Cratloe).
Subs: David O’Halloran (Éire Óg) for Vaughan (half-time), Shane Golden (Sixmilebridge) for Collins (54 minutes).
Scorers: Conor McGrath (1-8, 6f), Eoin Hayes (0-4), Darach Honan (0-3), John Conlon and Fergus Kennedy (0-1) each.
Tipperary: James Logue; Michael Cahill, John Coghlan, Kevin O’Gorman; James Barry, Padraic Maher, Brendan Maher; Seamus Hennessy, Noel McGrath; Sean Carey, Patrick Maher, Paddy Murphy; John O’Dwyer, Brian O’Meara, Michael Heffernan.
Sub: Kieran Morris for O’Dwyer (60 minutes).
Scorers: Michael Heffernan (1-3), Paddy Murphy (0-5), Seamus Hennessy (0-5, 4f), John O’Dwyer (0-3), Sean Carey (0-3), Noel McGrath (0-2) and Brian O’Meara (0-1).
Referee: Cathal McAllister, Cork.

Nothing to complain about
There was disappointment amongst all in the Clare camp after Wednesday evening’s final defeat to Tipperary but there was an acknowledgement that the better team had won
“We knew we were up against a very strong Tipperary team and they proved that. Maybe if we had got those goals in the early stages it might have been different. That was the only time that we were really buzzing and we probably should have had another goal or two at that time,” manager John Minogue said.
“Overall, we can’t have too many complaints,” was his verdict. Tipperary hurled better, got the better scores and they looked much more dangerous than Clare.
John noted that Tipp won a lot of ball in the air. “ We tried to practice stopping that in training but it didn’t’ work for us on the evening. Maher at centre back and players around midfield grabbed an awful lot of ball, he said.
He felt Clare only troubled the winner’s when ball got to lads like Conor McGrath and Eoin Hayes who had pace and were able to get at them. He also reflected on a few key errors. “We left a lot of ball around the half back line because of poor striking and short clearances out to midfield, which were sent back over the bar”, he said.
The manager said, however, the Clare lads could not be blamed for the outcome. “We came within four or five points of it. We were in it up to the last four or five minutes. There was always a chance.”
He reflected on the fact that when Clare closed the gap to three points, Tipp just came back to pick off another point and remain in a comfort zone. It knocked the stuffing out of Clare.
The manager said that the Clare caused wasn’t helped by the outstanding form of the Tipp defenders. “Eoin Hayes, Conor McGrath and Darach Honan, when he got the ball, were the ones to threaten danger for us. But we didn’t get enough fast ball out of our half back line to our forwards. We struggled to get ball into that area and that was the major difference between the sides”
John also averted to the fact that there were expectations of big performances from leading players but after a long year it did not materialise for some. “Maybe we were expecting too much of them at such a young age. It’s disappointing for them and disappointing for us. These lads that were outstanding last year, it didn’t happen for them this evening,” he said. He added that
Tipperary had a strong team, with six or seven senior players, who are set to play in an All-Ireland -final.

Lyons rues missed goal chances
CLARE selector Cyril Lyons acknowledged after Wednesday’s Munster final loss to Tipperary in Thurles that Clare should have banged in at least one more goal in their early blitz of the home county.
Although Conor McGrath netted an early goal, John Conlon’s missed penalty meant that Tipperary escaped finding themselves eight points down after a mere seven and a half minutes of hurling.
“We were really on a roll. We got one goal; we certainly should have got two and maybe three. As the game went on, we needed those because they took over for the second quarter,” the Ruan man acknowledged.
He didn’t deny, however, that Tipperary were better balanced and simply better hurlers than Clare.
“Still and all, even though they were hurling better and dominating in the air, going into the last six minutes there was only three points in it. Our lads battled awful hard, even though Tipperary were the dominant team, certainly for the last 30 minutes. It’s a great experience for our lads but when you get to finals, you want to win them. We’ve been in three, very unlucky in 2008, won in 2009 but today was the most decisive result of the three of them,” Lyons reflected.
Clare’s poor use and distribution of their own ball didn’t help their cause.
“What disappointed us most was the use we made of the ball when we had possession. We took a wrong option and we were penalised every time for it. The other thing is that hurling alone isn’t enough any more. You have to be able to physically dominate your opponent,” the Clare selector concluded.