CLARE corner-back Martin McMahon didn’t attempt to camouflage the fact that Saturday’s home defeat to Tipperary was as poor a display as has been seen from the county team in several years.

 

The home county lost their second successive home league game to a team whose defensive system tied up Clare, who were unable to find sufficient room in which to play. It wasn’t that Tipperary simply planted men behind the ball and lulled Clare into inescapable pockets of Cusack Park. They also defended high up the field, not allowing Clare to build up much momentum when breaking from defence.

“Anyone looking in at the game, it was clear from the start that we were a bit flat going into it. In the previous two games, what stood to us, definitely against Offaly, was the way we broke out of defence.

“We moved the ball very fast but there today, with the way they dropped back, we probably got into a false notion that we had a lot of time on the ball.

“They pounced on us and the next thing was we were getting turned over. At any level, even club level, you can’t be getting turned over inside your own half. It’s going to end up in a score,” the 2012 Kilmurry-Ibrickane championship-winning captain reflected.

“Playing against the wind, we seemed to be sitting back away too much. I don’t know what it was but we never seemed to get to grips with what their game plan was doing. We were fumbling a lot of ball. We knew they were going to do that. We’d heard about it but maybe that’s the first time we’ve come up against it.

“With all this northern style, that’s the way teams are playing. We just have to realise that this sense false sense of security, when you think you have a load of time, you actually need to get going faster so that you can break out. In saying that, Rory [Donnelly] missed a goal chance. That would have pulled it back to a point and the game was back on again,” the Dublin-based schoolteacher added.

McMahon acknowledged Clare’s tendency to concede scoreable frees cost them dearly. Tipperary won at least eight kickable frees, scoring six of them.
“Every inter-county team is going to have a good free taker. Myself included, we can’t be giving away soft frees inside the ’50. We were talking about it at half-time; whether it’s a blatant yellow card or a soft free, they’re all going to get kicked over the bar. We can’t be doing that anymore,” McMahon said.

However, he is adamant Clare’s league season is not over, although their route to promotion is not straightforward. What is simple enough however, is that Clare must win all three remaining games, against Carlow, London and Limerick, to have any chance of winning promotion.

“There’s no point in looking back. We’ll look at our mistakes but we need to move on. We’re still in the hunt for it. Ok, we’ve lost two games but we’ve three very big games coming up.

“If we can win those games, we’ll be right in there. Probably the biggest thing that happened today was that scoring difference but we’re going to look to the future. There’s a long year yet,” he noted, adding that London’s defeat of Waterford indicated how competitive Division 4 is.

“That really shows everyone is capable of beating everyone. There’s going to be a lot of teams on 10 points.
Hopefully, we can get up there. Limerick are probably through and we’re probably looking to go into the last game and take them as a scalp and see where we go from there,” McMahon concluded.

 

Flat Clare prove to be no match for Tipperary

Tipperary 1-13
Clare 0-10

JUST as the Clare footballers had indicated they were about to string a few league wins together, they fell flat on their faces. Away victories over Leitrim and Offaly have been sandwiched between insipid home league losses to

Waterford and now Tipperary. Quite how the starting 15 who had outplayed Offaly in Tullamore, six days previously, could fold so compliantly against Tipperary, is puzzling.
Although not flawless against Offaly, at least Clare played with discernible vigour and heart. Those qualities were not evident last Saturday in Cusack Park, where Tipperary tactically flummoxed Mick O’Dwyer’s team.

Peter Creedon’s team defended in numbers and used their spare men to effectively hit Clare on the break. Clare were regularly caught with acres of space in front of their full-back line, with the midfielders and half-backs pushed too far forward. All Tipperary had to do was break on tackle and they were able to hit Clare on the break.

Very few Clare players stood up and were counted when they were badly needed. This is a recurring theme when they lose; that lack of leadership. Declan Callinan was the sole Clare defender to really get stuck into Tipperary, while Shane McGrath was the hardest working of an ineffective forward division. Outstanding against Offaly, neither Gary Brennan or Cathal O’Connor were as effective this time out, while Gordon Kelly had a trying 70 minutes at centre-back.

Shane McNeilis started poorly but subsequently defended intelligently at full-back. However, the Clare full-back line were caught out by a diagonal Barry Grogan delivery, 24 minutes into the second half. Hugh Coghlan finished to the net and the score wrapped up the result for Tipperary. Clare conceded a similar first-half goal in Tullamore when Alan McNamee goaled for Offaly.

The Clare full-forward line managed just a single point from play between them. This was the second game in a row that Mark McCarthy and Rory Donnelly didn’t notch a score from play while David Tubridy’s lack of impact from play completed an exceptionally poor afternoon for Clare’s inside line. That said, with a smidgen of luck, Donnelly could have scored two goals, one in each half. Ciarán McDonald cleared off the Tipperary line in the 10th minute, when

Donnelly flicked on a superb through ball from Alan Clohessy. Five minutes into the second half, McCarthy broke a long delivery into Donnelly’s path. However, the Cooraclare man hit the post when he had a great chance to bury a crucial goal. Martin McMahon kicked wide from the rebound. Clare were 0-9 to 0-5 down at that juncture and a goal might have lifted them.

Tipperary led 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time and, in fact, were 0-7 to 0-2 up after just 19 minutes.

David Tubridy, Shane McGrath, Gary Brennan, thanks to excellent work by Declan Callinan near the sideline and Alan Clohessy with a nice finish, scored Clare’s five first-half points.
Barry Grogan scored 0-5 from play and frees in the opening half, while corner forward Alan Maloney and Peter Acheson added their other scores.

The opening 11 minutes of the second half were scoreless, with Donnelly’s goal miss coming early in that period. Podge McMahon and Shane Ryan were brought into the game, with Chris Dunning and Seán Haugh substituted. Points from Enda Coughlan and McGrath, with Grogan replying for Tipperary, left the winners 0-12 to 0-7 ahead, 18 minutes into the second half.

Six minutes before Tipperary goaled, Joe Hayes saved from Hugh Coghlan, with Grogan pointing the ’45.
Coghlan’s goal tied up the result for Tipperary, although a sizeable brawl, including about 20 players, resulted in Enda Coughlan and Alan Maloney being red-carded.

All afternoon, Tipperary held up play for a few seconds, when Clare won a free. Coughlan was trying to take a Clare free quickly when the row, which involved several players, erupted. Tipperary excelled at slowing down Clare when the home team had won a free.
Another example of Tipperary’s approach was George Hannigan’s blatant hand trip on Shane McGrath, six minutes from time. The Tipperary midfielder was yellow-carded for what was a cynical foul as McGrath bore down on goal. Gary

Brennan and Ger Quinlan had late goal chances but Tipperary cleared on both occasions. The committee who appointed Mick O’Dwyer as Clare manager thought the ‘Micko’ effect would revitalise football in the county.
Following the county’s biggest league defeat since their seven-point loss to Antrim in 2009, it’s clear Clare are on the cusp of remaining in Division 4 for a seventh successive season.

Clare: Joe Hayes (Lissycasey); Martin McMahon (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Shane McNeilis (Kildysart), Enda Coughlan (Kilmurry-Ibrickane); Seán Haugh, (O’Curry’s), Gordon Kelly (Miltown), Declan Callinan (Kilmurry-Ibrickane); Gary Brennan (Clondegad, captain), Cathal O’Connor (Coolmeen); Alan Clohessy (Liscannor), Shane McGrath (Thomas Davis), Chris Dunning (Wolfe Tones); Mark McCarthy (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Rory Donnelly, (Cooraclare), David Tubridy (Doonbeg).
Subs: Podge McMahon for Chris Dunning (46), Shane Ryan for Seán Haugh (46), Ger Quinlan for Rory Donnelly (57).
Scorers: David Tubridy (0-3, 0-2f), Gary Brennan, Shane McGrath (0-2 each), Alan Clohessy, Enda Coughlan, Cathal O’Connor (0-1 each).
Wides: 7; Frees won: 26; ’45s: 1.
Yellow cards: Chris Dunning, Gordon Kelly, Mark McCarthy, Ger Quinlan, David Tubridy, Martin McMahon.
Red card: Enda Coughlan.

Tipperary: Paul Fitzgerald; Ciarán Fitzgerald, Paddy Codd (captain), John Coghlan; Brian Fox, Robbie Kiely, Donnagh Leahy; George Hannigan, Brian Jones; Aldo Matassa, Hugh Coghlan, Peter Acheson; Alan Maloney, Barry Grogan, Conor Sweeney.
Subs: Michael Quinlivan for Brian Jones (half-time), Darren Lowry for Aldo Matassa (55), Donal Lynch for Brian Fox (62), Timmy Dalton for Hugh Coghlan (65) and John O’Callaghan for Robbie Kiely (70).
Scorers: Barry Grogan (0-8, 04f, 0-2 ’45), Alan Maloney (0-4, 0-1f), Hugh Coghlan (1-0), Peter Acheson (0-1).
Wides: 12; Frees won: 25; 45s: 3.
Yellow cards: Hugh Coghlan, Barry Grogan, Alan Maloney, George Hannigan, Ciarán McDonald.
Red card: Alan Maloney.

Referee: Damien Maher (Cork).

 

‘We have to take defeat on the chin’ – Keane

CLARE’S next league outing will be away to Carlow on Sunday, March 24. Unless Clare buck up considerably, defeat will consign them to yet another 12 months in Division 4.
After last Saturday’s game, Clare selector Ger Keane accepted that Clare had been well beaten but insisted they can recover from their second league defeat.

“We were flat for whatever reason. But in saying that Rory [Donnelly] got in for a good chance. That would have brought us to within a point of them. He did a lot right but it didn’t go in. Tipp were able to slow the game down. They were cute and they didn’t let us get into a rhythm. They were probably deserving winners in the end,” the Kilkee man acknowledged.
Clare are one of five counties tied on four points, while Limerick have full points after four games.

“Tipp are on two losses as are Offaly, Carlow, Waterford and ourselves. There’s going to be a few more ups and downs. We have to win our last three games now. There’s no more safety nets. Two losses might be ok if we can get 10 points. We have to improve. We might have a few more coming back, which might put pressure on the lads. We have to up our intensity for the next three weeks,” Keane said as Clare focus on their remaining games against Carlow, London and Limerick.

“Tipperary were very organised and had a lot of men back. They were also creating space up front. We found it hard, even when they were taking the short kick-out, to work it up.
“They were strong in the tackle and were a very mobile team. We just struggled in a lot of places today. It was always going to come down to the last three games anyway. We have to take it on the chin today,” the Clare selector concluded.