My worry for Clare is that if they get it into their head that all they have to do is get back up to the Munster final levels to win. Could be hard to get up to them levels again as the Wexford game showed
I think itās more about where Kilkenny are at rather than Clare. They upped it a bit in Leinster final but it was hardly vintage. They need to find another gear again if not more. Clare have been consistent enough all year and can be forgiven for dipping after the MF.
Clare will beat Kilkenny by 5+
Itās nice to still be involved all the same.
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Kilkenny nearly lost to Galway FFS.
Wexford game was all about getting the Munster final and the shenanigans over the suspensions out of the way. Wouldnāt take much notice of it
Thatās exactly what I mean about Clare though. If that is the attitude around the county it can seep into the panel and all of a sudden they sleepwalk into the game and cannot lift it. Unlikely with Lohan but ut is a danger
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Iād imagine any team worth their salt would be able to insulate themselves from such sentiment.
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Clare have no real mental or psychological baggage when it comes to Kilkenny that they would have with a Cork or a Tipp team. Granted it is only league but we have had their number in it for the last decade or so and have given them a few right skinnings that time.
We have a team that relatively speaking has pretty much performed every day in championship hurling under the current manager for three seasons and have a number of players in really good form and very few lads you would be concerned about.
Kilkenny are Kilkenny and as always will take beating and will bring huge workrate but I think Clare fans are right to be bullish, they will perform and all things being equal have enough to beat Kilkenny.
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All Ireland Semi Final is the best weād have hoped for at the start of the year. Youād be hard pressed to find anyone in Kilkenny saying weād make the final this year.
Depends which Clare shows up. The one that didnāt take a backward step against Limerick twice or the loose meek one that made a limited Wexford team competitive.
The same Wexford team that beat Kilkenny in fairness.
Yeah the form lines are a mess. Clare and Kilkenny were both poor vs Wexford.
Both teams playing to their ability Iād expect Clare to win.
If the Clare-KK game was in Thurles I would tip Clare for the win. Croker tilts it slightly in KKās favour for me. Should be an intriguing game. Hoping to make it.
Iād say Clare havenāt lost a game in Croke Park since Limerick beat them there in 2007 have they? Werenāt there for 5 years after their 2013 success and Galway beat them in Thurles in 2018.
That defeat to Limerick in 2007 was about the only day we never really showed up in Croker since getting back there in 95.
We lost tight ones in 99, 05 and 06 but died on our shields those days.
My 2p
If Clare play well and kk play badly Clare win
If Clare and Kk both play well, Clare win
If kk play well and Clare badly, kk win.
If both play badly who knows 
2002 was relatively comfortable for KK albeit not a hockeying by any means. Ancient history either way.
That Clare team hadnāt the forward line to win an A/I and came up against a very good Kilkenny team who got the perfect start and led 1-2 to no score after 5 minutes. Yet it was still a three point game heading into the final quarter before Comerfirdās goal put it to bed. Clare performed to their level on the day but were beaten by a better team
Clare drew with Galway the first day out in Croker. Thurles was the replay.
Itās quite simple, as with most KK games these days, if they can drag Clare into a dogfight, keep the free count low and Tony Kelly quiet then they have a good chance of grinding out a result. If itās an open free scoring game Iād expect Clare to win by 5-6 points.
Clare seem to have peaked early in recent years and their performance against Wexford might suggest that it could be the case again this year so thereās reason for optimism for KK.
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