Not quite. This group were actually seen as an excellent group when they were coming through. Won the A/I under 15 and a good number of them were under 16s on the minor panel that got to a Munster final in 2019.
The 2019 minor team had Fergal Lynch parachuted in as manager who was a Davy disciple and they were seen as a promising group but he played an awful brand of sweeper based, short puckout negative hurling but to his credit he had the team well drilled and committed on the field and ran a very good set up by all accounts. He was due to stay on in 2020 but when he met with the treasurer he was told his already meagre budget would be close to halved for the following year so he walked.
Brian Coffey who was over them at under 15s before being unceremoniously dumped came back out of loyalty to the group but knew his hands were tied in terms of resources. Then Covid kicked in, they muddled through but led by county board incompetency and intransigence they were always on the back foot and struggled to do much with the players due to Covid and lost in the first round to Cork by 8 or 9 points which somewhat flattered them as one of the goals was very soft. But they were also missing the likes of Smyth and Conneally who were big leaders for the 20s this year.
It was 2021 Cork beat us by 40. Coffey walked at the end of 2020 and nobody of any note was willing to take the gig based off the terms being offered by the county board - so a chap named Terence Chaplin got the minor gig, Iām sure he is a nice man and well intended but I doubt he would be given the minor manager job in sixmilebridge if he went looking for it but the executive that were there were happy to have a fella who would toe the line and work on a shoe string. They went long spells without doing collective sessions during Covid, couldnāt get pitched to train on and when they did it was at inopportune times, coupled with underage championships at 15s/16s being all but scrapped the previous year due to Covid, the group never really had a chance.
I think that Cork team hammered everyone that year but Clare never had a chance. By my count around 7 or 8 of last nights 24 were part of the 2021 minor panel.
I donāt think it is a case that our new executive have come in and have completely revolutionised things and been outstanding - more a case that they have gotten out of the way and are no longer a bottleneck or constraint to our teams and let good management teams get on with it. Club Clare have done a great job fundraising and adding additional resources for underage teams which previously wasnāt there.
tickets sold out yesterday for Dr Cullen Park for tonights Leinster final. Last year we played Kilkenny in the final and we strolled up and sorted tickets on the walk in to the ground and got our seats in the stand even though we were late enough coming in. Some difference this year with a buzz in the 2 counties, both with good hopes of winning out.
Yeah Offaly brought a huge crowd to the Leinster and All-Ireland minor finals last year. It should be a wonderful occasion. Hasnāt been a buzz like this for a Leinster U20 final since the change from U21.
The Wexford strength in depth impressed me the last day. The likes of JJ Twamley and Dylan Purcell made a big impact off the bench. Oisin Pepper an impact sub now too actually.
Twamley made a big difference against Kilkenny. Would be worried however the fact that Offaly were able to get over Galway and Dublin and we werenāt. Hopefully it wonāt matter come 9pm.
Wexford making hard work of it. Look more physical but little to no interplay in their forward unit. I cant recall one pass between the 6 of them. If anything they are getting in each others way, going for the same ball and lazy tackling. Byrne looks a real player though. Number 20 for Wexford really stood out as having no hurling whatsoever and wasnt surprised to see him hooked. Twamley will surely be on before too long. Offaly look the better team. Full value for their 2 point lead. A few more hurlers than Wexford. Screeney is a delight. Closest thing Iāve seen to Joe Deane. Would be a travesty if there wasnt a place for someone like that in the modern game at senior level. Not a sniff of a goal chance but no surprise really when both teams are playing a sweeper at edge of the D. Tactically it is constipated hurling but despite that Screeney is still able to lead the 2 hapless Wexford defenders on a merry dance.
