As the all Ireland gold thread has been a welcome thread to discuss old games in the tv I thought there might be an opening for another thread to reminisce about days gone by following your county in championship hurling or football.
A few topics to get the ball rolling - will go to more player specific memories next week. What games supporting your county come to mind under the following.
Flattest performance - a day when you fully expected the team to perform and at the least give an honest account of themselves at the minimum and probably win but never raised a gallop.
Toughest defeat to swollow - a day when they gave the performance but came up short either being pipped by a better team, a ref or some cruel twist of fate.
Most unexpected victory - a day when you expected to be hockeyed but someone played about themselves and won.
Most unexpected moral victory - a day when you expected to be hockeyed but someone played about themselves and almost won.
Best long grass victory - a day when you fully expected the team to win but were written off in all quarters and you had the last laugh.
Flattest performance - you could probably put all three of Clare’s Munster championship performances under Anthony Daly in here. We were always flat as a pancake first day out under him and Davy for some reason. 2004 in Daly’s first year being the worst. Utterly annihilated by a Waterford side who had been well beaten in the league final a week previous. Game was over as a contest after 15 minutes. John Mullane destroyed debutant Brian O’Connell who was subbed off well before half time. Frank Lohan started full forward and scored three points before being moved back the field but we were already beaten at that stage with Dan the man running riot. 2000 against Tipp was another one, the end of the Gerlock era and a few greats like Daly and Doyle. Doyle roasted by Brian O’Meara was a tough way to go out by a great player but Daly was one of the few to play well in the day.
Toughest defeat to swollow - Cork 2005 I’d say, team left everything on the field and were just short against an excellent Cork team. Couldn’t score in the last 15 minutes while John Gardiner took over. Would have won the final had they gotten over cork. Offaly in the third game in 98 due to the goings on and Cork in 2008 was another tough one to swollow as they slowly and inevitably reeled in our 9 point lead. Tipp 2001 was another as we had enough chances to win and Dickie rode us but we beat ourselves.
Most unexpected victory - Waterford in 2008. They were just after competing in the all Ireland final. Clare had a woeful league and there was no real expectation. It was a baking hot June bank holiday weekend. John Mullane hit 8 points from play for Waterford yet we still won by 9. Gilli roasted Kevin Moran while Conor Plunkett and Mark Flaherty both gave every dog has its day performances and lorded it. They both reverted back to the mean the next day out.
Most unexpected moral victory - first day out in Munster in 2009, 2010 and 2011 probably. 2009 were were woeful in the league think we lost every game and were relegated. Tipp were building with their young core and were expectant. Colin Ryan pointed frees from every angle and I think James a McInerney skied a late 21 with the game in the balance. Performance came fro nowhere. Same in 2010 and 2011, coming off terrible division 2 campaigns with callow sides the expectations were two hankerings yet we have good accounts of ourselves and there were plenty of green shoots. Unfortunately for all three years the hankerings came first day out in the qualifiers.
Best long grass victory - Limerick 2013. You could just see the side was growing in momentum, were miles better than Wexford and Galway in the two previous games but the score line didn’t reflect it. Limerick fresh off a Munster win had an attitude of a side abs fan base who were looking at September and the final. From early on there was only going to be one winner. Closed the game out in a very unClare like manner too which was wonderful.
Threw away a nine point lead against Cork in the quarters and lost by two in a decent contest. Probably for the best as Kilkenny would have given us a trimming in the semis.
Flattest, Offaly in 2008 I think in the GGs… Flat enough against Clare that year but thought we’d get motoring in the qualifiers after 2007 heroics… Awful, awful scutter.
Toughest defeat was KK in 2014… People talk about the weather being an equaliser, but we were immense that day, we physically bullied them all over but goals win games. A sickner of a loss.
Unexpected win has to be tied , Cork 2001 and Waterford 2007. Probably more expected to be hammered below in Cork but there wasn’t many who gave us a chance in 07 either. Barry Foley’s sideline in 01 was a pure fist pumper of a moment.
We’ve had too many moral victories to even think about.
Tipp in 2013 for long grass. Not a sinner gave us a hope, not even our own, but I knew we were gonna ate them. You could throw 2014 v Tipp in there as well with the 40 year semple monkey on our back but 13 was the one I just knew we’d win.
All ireland semi final 2018. Limerick bet up a stick. Game over. Ref gives em a few soft inconsequential decisions thinking not a hope will they get back into it. An absolute fucking riding. A handy all ireland lost.
Flattest performance - 2007 Connacht QF v Galway. Mayo had been in the All Ireland the previous year, with less of a feeling of fluking there than in 2004, and had a reasonable hope of going deep again. They were absolutely dogshit, made a middling Galway team look streets ahead. Put out of their misery with another non effort up in Derry.
Toughest defeat to swollow - All Ireland Final in 2017, no doubt about it. The moments that went against Mayo in the second half are still vivid in my mind. 2014 replay in Limerick was tough as well, ridden absolutely raw by Reilly and they would’ve beaten Donegal in the final.
Most unexpected victory - Beating Cork in 2011 AIQF. Cork were reigning All Ireland champions, Mayo had narrowly won a weak Connacht title, with an extremely young team. Looking back it was the game that launched that Mayo team, but heading into it most were hoping for a decent tilt at Cork. The psychological scars from the Longford debacle in 2010 were still there, so a bit of experience in Croke Park against a good team was the extent of expectations. They walked all over Cork.
Most unexpected moral victory - 2005 QF v Kerry. Surprisingly not a lot of options in recent memory. A good showing against the Kerry team that had destroyed Mayo 11 months previous, Austin O’Malley’s finest day in the jersey.
Best long grass victory - 2016 QF v Tyrone. A lot of talk going into the game about how Mayo were on the way out (this being the first year they went the qualifier route) and the new Tyrone team would finish them off. They gritted it out in an arm wrestle that most would’ve said was a performance they didn’t have. Their hunger was what won it and it was a great feeling having silenced the doubters.
Anthony Nash was probably the busiest Cork player in extra time. Although in fairness the only pictures you see of him is his arse as he picked the ball out of the net
…the seethe still slipping out nearly 2 years later