agree with you on pat vaughan…smashing hurler…any time i have seen him for crusheen and in a lot of challenge matches for clare…but at the end of the day he is on the panel since 2002 but for some reason has never really been given a chance…might just be a lacking for intercounty if 4 managers in a row deem him not good enough…
said in the paper today that pat donnellan is makin his championship debut…i could have sworn he came on against cork 2 years ago in the munster championship…played as a third midfielder…
[quote=“HangBlaa”]Bandage, while not announced yet the backs will line out close to what they did against Kilkenny and in the recent 1-20 to 0-20 win. Which will leave us with;
At midfield Brick Walsh is most likely to be partnered by Dave Bennet, who will be on the frees. The attack will depend on injuries, but if Dan and kelly do start, we will be looking at a sextet like;
Dan Pendergast Molumphy
Mullane Kelly McGrath
While most likely starting like that they will continually rotate as always, but the above full line could cause clare worries pace wise and the Half line will be a lot stronger and more experienced than their opponents.
Two weeks ago I wasnt bothered if we won lost or drew as priorities lie beyond munster this year, but now I reckon we will go hell for leather agianst the banner and win by 4++[/quote]
One change to the above team with Waterford football captain Gary Hurney replacing Eoin kelly who hasn’t overcome his broken hand fully yet.
dan shanahan and molumphy while diarmuid and griffin have very little hurling done this year…this could well affect the outcome…griffin and molumphy are very quick natural athletes so i wouldnt expect fitness to be a problem even if their touch isnt 100%…think the other two might struggle as dan has little or no training while diarmuid is only back since the start of april and has very little hurling done…
delighted to see hurney full forward as his style will suit lohan…would have been a lot more concerned if kelly was there as he has the speed and movement to trouble lohan…
never seen hurney play hurling(only football) by the look of him the only place you could play him sunday is full forward i presume?..
I was beginning to be taken in by Puke’s confidence but that Waterford side appears to have the better hurlers all over the park. I think I’ll avoid betting on this one but now expect Waterford to win it by 3 or 4 points.
right lads looking at the teams objectively(or as objectively as i can as a clare man)
goalies:
brennan v hennessey
both good goalies but i thought brennan was solid for clare last year and has bulit on this with his club form for tulla and his league performances…very little between either
advantage:tie
full back line:
o grady lohan clancy
v
prender moran kearney
think that o grady is a much better hurler than prender who seems to lack pace and concentration…lohan gets the nod ahead of moran for his experience although i was impressed with moran for WIT the 3 times i saw him this year(think he is too much of a hurler for the full back line)… kearney had a good year last year and will be looking to build on it while clancy is making his debut dont think clancy is a corner back but expect him to give it socks
clare 2 waterford 1
half back line:
kennedy phelan browne
v
bugler plunkett donnellan
kennedy and bugler both held their own last year and it is very hard to split the two…same for both plunkett and phelan i think they are both the weak links in the defence…browne gets the nod over donellan for his experience although he is not having the best of years…although i do expect big things from pat this year…
advantage waterford
midfield:
lynch o connell
v
brick bennett
again they cancel each other out here…lynch is still able to mix it at this level but brick is one of the best around…while o connell has a super work rate and i feel bennett is only being carried for his frees
clare 1 waterford 1
half forward line
dan prendergast molumphy
v
clancy diarmuid carmody
hard one to gauge as some of these wont be 100% mcmahon dan and molumphy…would give waterford a 2 1 advantage on this…very little between diarmuin and prendergast(prender just edging it as he has more hurling done) and the same for carmody over molumphy:
waterford 2
clare 1
full forward line
mullane hurney mcgrath
v
flaherty gilli griffin
hard one to call…mullane and griffin get the nod over their respective opposites while gilli’s record wins out over hurney…
that would mean that waterford would maen a split of 6 waterford 6 clare and three ties…
2-26…what a scoring performance considering diarmuid griiff and carmody have fuck all hurling done all year…lynch rolling back the years…plunkett making the step up(finally)…pat donnellan and flaherty 2 stars of the future…loved every minute of today it was worth the scalding i got…if it wasnt for john mullane(half a clareman) it would have been catastrophic(considering i got a bit of stick for putting him in my fantasy 15)…
bring on limerick to fuck…will write in more depth later on today once i have a snooze and watch the match again…
[quote=“The Puke”]the banner are back…fuck the begrudgers…
2-26…what a scoring performance considering diarmuid griiff and carmody have fuck all hurling done all year…lynch rolling back the years…plunkett making the step up(finally)…pat donnellan and flaherty 2 stars of the future…loved every minute of today it was worth the scalding i got…if it wasnt for john mullane(half a clareman) it would have been catastrophic(considering i got a bit of stick for putting him in my fantasy 15)…
bring on limerick to fuck…will write in more depth later on today once i have a snooze and watch the match again…[/quote]
Begrudgers?
Well done to Clare. Interesting munster championship ahead
didnt particularly mean anyone here fran…more so the nay-sayers in my own county who do nothing but snipe at the team and mac…also no harm to see them waterford pricks lowered a peg or 2…
have been saying it here and on afr that clare are a lot closer to the 2005/2006 team that got to semi finals…last year was a dark year…players werent right either mentally or physically…the one thing that impressed me was the players hurling fitness and touch…its a long time since we went out first round in the championship that sharp…probably since mac left…
as for waterford…dave bennett went well with the frees and john mullane gave it his all but mullane and eoin mcgrath who never stopped running the rest of them threw in the towel…they didnt look fit…they better hope to avoid galway in the qualifiers as their inside forwards will destroy them…
[quote=“The Puke”]the banner are back…fuck the begrudgers…
2-26…what a scoring performance considering diarmuid griiff and carmody have fuck all hurling done all year…lynch rolling back the years…plunkett making the step up(finally)…pat donnellan and flaherty 2 stars of the future…loved every minute of today it was worth the scalding i got…if it wasnt for john mullane(half a clareman) it would have been catastrophic(considering i got a bit of stick for putting him in my fantasy 15)…
bring on limerick to fuck…will write in more depth later on today once i have a snooze and watch the match again…[/quote]
brilliant stuff. great scoring from play altho waterford were fairly loose. perfect conditions for hurlin which helped, not one wide from any free for clare. plunkett was solid form play & landed a monster point in the first half beside the old stand. 1st time in the gaelic grounds since twas redeveloped & a great view from the uncovered stand. good start from flaherty also. limerick wil be a different propostion but that game wil stand to our lands.
great comeback from wexford on sunday, was lookin ominous for them after meath went 2-8 to 4 points