Great to see the progress Clare football has made
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HURLING
Clare determined to make point against champions Limerick
Christy OâConnor
March 2 2019, 12:01am, The Times
Ryan, the teenager, has been a revelation in an unfamiliar role for ClareLASZLO GECZO/INPHO
Two weeks before last yearâs All-Ireland final, the Limerick squad went to Fota Island Resort on a training weekend. After a couple of days of intense work, the management and panel sat down to watch the Clare-Galway semi-final replay on the Sunday afternoon. And the whole room was willing Galway to win.
Limerick were delighted when they did. It was nothing personal with Clare, just business. Limerick had beaten Galway in a key league game at Pearse Stadium in March. They knew they would be able to draw on that experience. They had no real psychological baggage or hang-ups with Galway. An All-Ireland final against Clare though, would have been a totally different mental challenge.
When the sides met in the final game of the round-robin Munster championship in June, Clareâs 11-point victory denied Limerick a place in the Munster final. Limerick were flat after playing a third match in 15 days. They had improved significantly by late August. It is never easy to beat a team twice in the same championship. Limerick would have had their own motivation to beat Clare but they were still far happier meeting Galway.
Having trained under Paul Kinnerk, the Clare players were comfortable with Limerickâs style. With both sets of players knowing one another so well, neither side would be able to gain any significant edge. The tension and pressure would have almost been unbearable with two local rivals meeting in an All-Ireland final.
âWe had no hang-ups with Galway,â one Limerick player privately remarked last autumn. âWe felt that their style would suit us. But if it was Clare, weâd have almost been going in with the mindset of being desperate not to lose the game, rather than going all out to win
When Limerick did win, the pain was exacerbated for Clare after having convincingly beaten Limerick two months earlier. It may not have been reflected on the scoreboard but Clare had also comprehensively beaten Limerick in their two previous championship games in 2016 and 2017. When some of the Clare players conversed the day after the All-Ireland final, that hurt of missing out, and believing that Limerick had what could have been theirs, was mentioned as an absolute driving force for 2019. For the many current Clare players hailing from the south of the county, on the border with Limerick, it was an even longer winter.
Clare-Limerick matches are always big events but tomorrowâs meeting in Ennis will carry that lingering tension from last year. Limerick will want to prove they are top dogs. Clare, needing a win to make the league quarter-finals, will be keen to show that they have their number. This may be a watered-down league but this match certainly wonât be.
It was a different time, with a vastly different group of characters, but one of the reasons Clare and Limerick had such epic league contests between 1996-99 was because Limerick resented that Clare had what they desperately craved. And now, the mood is broadly similar among the Clare squad.
During this decade, Clare have done much to change the game with their unique style but the All-Ireland champions invariably set such a standard every year that their template is closely studied. And Clare clearly have, especially with the make-up of their middle eight, and particularly with the impact that Limerickâs half-forwards had last year.
GearĂłid Hegarty, Kyle Hayes and Tom Morrissey are big, athletic, rangy, strong, powerful and pacy players, all well able to score. Yet how they fit into the Limerick system is central to how well that system functions; at least two of the half-forwards will come deep as they work the ball out of defence. Once the attack is launched, bodies are committed forward at massive pace.
Tomorrowâs meeting between the rivals will carry over tensions from last yearRYAN BYRNE/INPHO
Clare have set up their team similarly this spring; a big, physically imposing half-back line, with the midfielders and at least two half-forwards tracking back when possession is lost. When it is recaptured, Clare work the ball through the lines with their slick and pacy off-loading and running game.
One of Clareâs best, creative and hardest-working players has been the 19-year old Diarmuid Ryan. Better known as a half-back at underage, Ryan has been recast as a half-forward in the mould of Hegarty and Morrissey. He has hit 0-9 from play in his last three games but his assists count has been off the charts.
Clare have a massive target-man in John Conlon but the main difference between them is that Limerick deliver the ball quicker once the attack has reached the middle third. Clare still have to refine that part of their game, while they also need to maintain a more solid defensive structure, and concede fewer frees, if they are to reach Limerickâs level. Deep down though, Clare donât believe that Limerick are any level above them.
A local derby will always equalise the playing field. The back bage headline in the Clare People on Tuesday more or less summed up the mood â âAll set for Old Firm.â
Not really, the Bridge anyway, Clarecastle have lights but they wouldnât really be match standard imo. Youâre talking astro pitches after that afaik
I heard someone say Barefield have a good setup, have they got any?
Thatâs right, I havenât seen them in action but I know we used them before the county final last year, presume theyâre at least reasonable standard
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And is that about it?
The likes of Smith OâBriens, Eire Og, Newmarket, Tulla, Wolfe Tones, Clooney/Quin wouldnât?
Wolf tones have floodlights around their grass pitch if my memory serves me correctly. Not sure how good they are though.
Youâd be doing well to be allowed set foot on any grass pitch at the minute IMO.
Iâm praying we get some relief from the rain over the next week or so.
If the weather keeps going like this thereâll be some amount of games called off in the first rounds of the club. Not to mention the first round of the football is in doubt if the hurlers make the league final. Could be a shit show altogether. No wiggle room.
Them useless cunts canât even erect a glorified shed as a stand let alone have something like floodlights.
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Eire Og donât anyway, havenât been in Newmarket in yonks but pretty sure no, Tones I think are applying for a grant, Clooney-Quin have a few makeshift lights, Tulla have lights but not sure how good they are.
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I remember playing football under lights in tones 7 or 8 years ago. Probably not good enough lights for hurling though.
Mild enough weather forecast for next while I think
Jamie Shanahan out injured for the year, Ian Galvin out for a while as well.
Looks like Colm Galvin or Jack Browne will start at centre back v Waterford with Cleary suspended.
Mainly second string team beat Laois comfortably last week and first team beat Dublin earlier today.
Should we notify Croke Park?
Was Roddy back hurling with Laois?
Itâll be an absolute massacre in Walsh Park in a few weeks time
Tickets available online for the Tipp game today. Picked up 2 for 30e