Is Lohan not an option at corner-back at all? As an outsider, he seems more of a defender than a midfielder.
Wing back is his natural position I would say. Think he lacks a bit of speed/footwork for corner back.
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Made heavy enough weather of it for long periods but got the win. Sixmilebridge surface simply isnāt good enough and is too tight, leads to very attritional matches. Think we are slowly figuring out our team. Graham Ball made a big difference midfield when introduced at H/T and we got the running game going.
Looked like we were going to kick on and take the game by the scruff of the neck 10 minutes into the second half but then Limerick hit two outrageous scores out by the right sideline in the space of two minutes to bring them back into it followed by a couple of poor wides by us.
Kilroy was subdued as to be expected. Thought Collins was better at 11, got on ball, won frees and ran at Limerick, just need more scores from him. Backs and Costelloe were solid enough. Flanagan aside Limerick lacked a bit of class up front.
Neither corner forward did much, hard to see them keeping their spots. OāConnor is raw but grew into it and has plenty of hurling.
Team still look poorly coached, some of that may be due to the pitch but the balance still isnāt quite right.
Ref had an odd game, donāt think he got too much wrong but was very fussy in the first half and then swallowed the whistle in the second.
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He didnāt blow for a throw the whole game and let some outrageous ones go and fair enough if heās decided that. Then he blows for a throw in the 56th minute. You canāt be doing that!
Slowly figuring out the front 6/8, the starting unit was just too light. The balance is still not right however. Ball made an immediate difference at midfield and the backs will battle away with any set of forwards.
Getting away from the bridge will be a help to them you would imagine.
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Much more encouraging performance than last week imo. I thought everyone who lasted the 60 played fairly well and Ball+Rodgers did well off the bench. Very hard play well on that pitch, the sooner we get lights for the park the better.
I thought we were much improved at working the ball through the lines in general play. We still hit less than 5 good balls to the inside line though, that needs working on. Too many lads looking for their own shot and carrying it too far instead of bringing the inside lads into the game.
We were better on long puckouts too, probably a mixture of better movement and also having Ball midfield was a big upgrade. Short puckouts are still a disaster though. Even a simple wall pass would give Sheedy another 15 yards on his puckout, especially when the full forward is on the 45. I think there is way too much distance from Loftus to Casey/Gunning. Very hard for Loftus to do much when he gets the ball and theres no Clare lad within 40 metres. If we were closer together we might be able to give a pop pass and create an overlap. Itād stop us being so reliant on building out to the wing and limiting our options from there.
Sheedy had a fine game, made some key saves and was comfortable under dropping ball. No easy feat with those lights. Gunning played well again, got to some amount of rucks. Needs to offload the ball quicker though, maybe let it inside earlier. Loftus struggled a bit in the physical stakes, had to get too handsy with O Farrell a few times since he couldnāt move him otherwise. He did come out with some good ball though, and if this is a shaky game for him, thatās a good sign of how high his standards are. Casey was his usual 8/10, some luxury to have him as a corner back. Heāll get a run with the seniors in next years league, I think he has the size, athleticism and nastiness needed to be a senior corner back.
Moylan had a powerful second half, when heās in full flight heās a joy to behold. Just needs to brush up on his defensive positioning and speed up the hurling, but heās an absolute powerhouse. I thought Hayes had a fine game at 6 too. Heās able to cover ground and a strong lad too. Won a good few rucks and he didnāt get bottled up much, if it all. OāHalloran did a fair number on OāConnor, he didnāt look like the next Gearoid Hegarty tonight. OāHalloran isnāt great on the ball but heāll blot out a man for you and itās always useful to have one of them at your disposal.
Costelloe is like a Cathal Malone. His hurling isnāt tidy but the other stuff he brings more than makes up for it. The amount of breaks he wins, rucks he hits and ball he gets on is invaluable. Thats the bread and butter of midfield play. If you canāt do that, you canāt play there imo, even if youāre good for 2 or 3 points a game. Ball is cut from the same cloth as him too, and having them 2 partnering each other from the start next day will be a big help. Iād nearly have given MOTM to either of them two, but Moylan was also deserving
Collins mixed the good with the bad, he needs to bring others into the game more instead of running it everytime he gets it. Have to love how he never stops trying and running though, even when hes not playing well. Kilroy is some grafter, delighted for him after the week hes had. Really carried the fight in the first half and won a lot of hard ball and frees when no one else could. Fred looked far more comfortable at wing forward, got on a lot of ball. We should be trying to get him the ball as much as possible really, heās our only middle 8 player with a bit of creativity. Could do with being more of a puckout option though.
Cleary is struggling a bit for form, although I donāt think he suits the role he played in. He probably doesnt have the legs needed for it and might need to be closer to goal. Thereās still a good player in there and Iād give him another chance in Thurles, wouldnāt write any inside forward off based on 2 games in the Bridge. OāConnor did okay with what little service he got, could have easily had a goal but for an outstanding block. Heās definitely worth persisting with. Power might find himself under pressure from Boyce though, be didnāt catch the eye really unfortunately. Rodgers is a perfect impact sub, heās got a brilliant head for it and plenty skill too obviously.
In fairness to Fahy, heās got 2 wins from 2. Iām not a big fan but you canāt argue with it. Performances werenāt good but I think weāre starting to find our best team and we should continue to improve. Weāll have our tougher opposition in the next 2 so Iām looking forward to see if we can rise to the occasion. I think/hope we will, thereās a lot more hurling in us that we can hopefully show on better and bigger surfaces
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You can say what you want about Clare, but weāll never play in a bad championship game. Any day you get to see Tony Kelly and Shane Oā Donnell play Munster Championship on a beautiful spring day, is a day to be treasured.
Big picture, our recurring issues, namely both attacking and defending puckouts and our defensive structure, are still problems.
I really canāt fathom why we set up the way we do on our own puckout. On numerous occasions Hayes was out 30 yards from goal in line with brown poles, while Malone was where the 45 meets the sideline. The WD corner forward could split the two easily and neither were a live option to receive a short one. The WD wing forward obviously recognises this and can get back to the middle of the pitch, before the ball is even struck. For a team that is so brave in how we set up and play in every other facet of the game, weāre so risk averse when it comes to short puckouts. Particularly when we only have Duggan and maybe TK/SOD if they get a yard as ball winners, we should be more willing to go short and run it to the delivery zone.
I think our openness at the back can also be largely attributed to how aggressively we go Man to Man at puckout time. Our 2 midfielders mostly set up on the WD 65, leaving our half back line 3 v 3 from our 45 to our 65 basically. It leaves a lot of space for them to defend the initial puckout, but also leaves an acre for Midfield/Half Forwards to track men running into the vacated space. Obviously also leaves a tonne of space for full back line to deal with if we let the opposition deliver it in. We mostly got away with the issue of leaving this space bar the 4th goal, but against Cork or Limerick I fear itās a different story. Iād like to see us go back to conceding the puckout and setting a wall up at the 45, like we did in the league. In Rodgers, Duggan and SOD we have 3 brilliant tacklers to make that first hit and Iād like to see us give a bit more protection to our backs.
I havenāt watched it back yet but going through the team my initial thoughts are: Quilligan despite conceding 4 goals and being overshadowed by Nolan had another fine game. Hit some nice puckouts in first half, took a point off the board for WD smoothly and made that crucial save in injury time. Couldnāt have done anything for any of the goals imo.
Hayes mixed the good with the bad as usual but did fine on the whole. He wasnāt good enough for the 1st goal and Dessie got a couple of points from perfect ball, but he won nearly every 50/50 ball that went in between them. Hogan was in the wars as he always is and I thought he did pretty well too. Maybe struggled a bit against the size of Bennett but his goal saving flick was incredible. Weāll need to keep them both fit as Leen again looked way off the pace. Iām a big fan of Cleary in general but he had a nightmare today. Long, high ball into the parrallelogram should be his bread and butter but he was weak today, and it cost us the first 3 goals. Even the chance at the end was bizarrely terrible defending by him and he was pretty suspect under puckouts in the 1st half. Hopefully its just a one off as weāll definitely need him at his best for Gillane in 2 weeks time, although Iād be lying if I said I wasnt very worried.
Diarmuid Ryan showed what we missed last year, with his long range shooting, passing and atheticism clear to see. Caught badly for 4th goal, unfortunately when everyone is man on man one lapse in concentration often results in a goal. NOF acquitted himself really well, won a lot of 50/50s and rucks. Crazy that this is his first year on the panel and hes playing in a brand new position, which also happens to be arguably the most important one. Malone was solid out as usual, Kiely barely felt the weight of the ball while he was on. I think across the 3 of them thereās a lack of covering instincts, but that may also be how theyāre instructed to play.
Both teams Midfields were mostly bypassed, particularly in the first half. In saying that I thought Lohan had a strong performance. He did very little wrong, got some important flicks in and used the ball well. Taylor had a very strong 15 minutes after half time but he was very quiet otherwise. Still a bit dodgy on the ball too but heāll definitely be needed for English vs Limerick in a fortnights time.
Rynne did his best David Fitz circa 2023 impression, 5 points from play but not a lot of ball winning. If he could win even 2 or 3 puckouts a game the way Fitz did, heād be a serious option there. Reidy got on a decent amount of ball but he was pretty ineffective. He hasnāt really hit form yet this year but Lohan obviously trusts him and heāll keep his spot against Limerick. TK probably wasnt match fit, clearly ran out of puff after first 15. Still an absolute genius with 4 points from play and a couple of assists on top of that.
Speaking of genius, Shane OāDonnell in his pomp is one of the greatest sights in sport. How he picks a ball with a full hurley going at 100mph is a marvel, his tackling and the excitement that he creates with ball in hand are all sheer genius. Duggan tried his heart out as always and got 1-1 for his efforts. He was on their best back aswell and I think we could bring him out to the half forward line a bit more often and give TK a breather inside. Rodgers continued his incredible year on the frees, I think today brings him to 59 for 61 for the year. Wasnāt incredibly sharp in open play but he still set up a goal and could have had another but for Nolan.
Great to see Stritch go well too, another classy forward to add to our ranks. Meehan lost a bad ball that led to a goal, but was nice to see him grab that goal at the end. Galvin is the definition of an impact sub, loved the extra second he took before releasing Lohan for his point. Happy for Kilroy to make his debut too, we may see a bit more of him in this championship even.
The most important thing today was getting the win, and we did so without picking up any serious injury afaik. Nice to have a break now before Limerick, hopefully themselves and Cork take lumps out of each other next week. Roll on 2 weeks time!
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Iād hope it was cramp Hogan had but it didnāt look great.
I think he took a bang coming out under stand side with about 5 to go. He looked bad enough coming off but he was moving much more freely at full time
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Same. He seemed to constantly find himself in the wrong place. Very jittery around the ball and not trusting himself to attack it. I think Rory Hayes is typecast now and gets the same critique regardless of what he does in the game.
If Hogan isnāt fit we are in serious bother. Leen looked miles off it again today.
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Howās Adam Hogans head will he be ok for two weeks time?
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Is your fanny wet? Because Iām coming in
You can see with lads like stritch, rynne, meehan, hogan we have a new generation of good players but SOD and TK are one-offs. Maybe weāll be a more solid team because we are producing teams underage that are not that far away from winning munster titles and are heavily competitive, but hard to say if there is a TK type in the works.
Back in the 90s we tended to produce gifted defenders and then you had Lynch and Jamesie. Now itās the other way around
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Clare have been producing incredible forwards this century.
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Other counties seem to be producing more forwards than backs as well in recent years.
Cork have a lor more forward options than backs on their panel. The new additions for Limerick are all in the midfield/forwards section: English, AOC, CON and Bull.
Donāt you worry Kiely will have half of them converted to backs in jig time.
The other thing is Clare keep producing really unorthodox and unique forwards, more so than other counties I think.
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To be honest I was very impressed by Clare yesterday, much more than by Cork. I think itās even a very good sign for them that they have loads of room for improvement. Far easier to sort out a leaking defence than a crap attack.
Waterford will beat Tipp.
With a small rejig and home advantage Iād give them every chance but I would have little faith in their management getting the balance right