*Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’s senior hurlers slumped to their fifth defeat of the 2025 Allianz National Hurling League, losing by the smallest of margins to rivals Tipperary.
Tipperary 0-22
Clare 1-18
Venue: FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles
By Enda Treacy
Wexford’s shock win over Limerick coupled with a fifth loss for Clare means Brian Lohan’s charges finish rock bottom of Division 1A, their relegation to the second tier had been confirmed last weekend.
While there were some positives to take from the game, the loss from a commanding position ten minutes into the second half where the Banner led 1-14 to 0-9 thanks to Mark Rodger’s goal and that will be the source of concern for management in the aftermath of the loss.
Clare held that eight point advantage after 43 minutes of play and with their tails up and Tipperary still in rest mode after the half-time break, they were in a position to press home the advantage.
However, what materialised was the exact opposite as Tipperary – led by Jake Morris up front – slowly pulled themselves back into the contest, drawing level by the 63rd minute and while Clare did re-take the lead twice coming down the home stretch through well-crafted Aron Shanagher points, he was a late replacement for Gearoid Sheedy, they couldn’t withstand the Tipperary tide as Darragh Stakelum’s late point from range gave the home team the win.
This game was rightly billed as a dead rubber and the first half certainly delivered on that lack of promise with the standard and intensity well down on what you would expect for players at this level. Colm Lyons’ finicky refereeing made it a very stop-start contest and that made the first period a forgetful one for the 6,000 plus supporters in situ.
Playing with a fairly stiff breeze in the first half, Clare held a 0-5 to 0-4 lead by the 20 minute mark with both sides guilty of some really poor shooting; two Mark Rodgers frees along with a brace from Tony Kelly (one free) and a long range boomer from David McInerney the score getters for visitors.
To say this was at challenge match pace would be an understatement as the teams were clearly stale in terms of hurling, intensity, and general crispness in any facet as the team went tit-for-tat in trading points close to half-time as the teams were level by the 30 minute mark at 0-7 apiece.
Rodgers and Kelly frees were the main currency of scores for the Banner – the latter in particular landing some fine long range efforts from placed balls – as was the case for Tipp as Jason Forde and Eoghan Connolly found their targets regularly for Tipp in that time.
The biggest indicator of just how below-par the game was came on the stroke of half-time when Tony Kelly shook Brian McGrath with a shoulder as the Tipp defender gathered possession, which caused the ball to pop up and allowed Kelly to grasp the loose sliotar and fire over a pearler that led to the biggest roar of the contest to date by a considerable distance as Clare took a 0-10 to 0-8 lead at the interval.
This game needed livening up and from a Clare perspective it certainly began to from the restart when Mark Rodgers finished expertly to the back of the Tipperary net within 90 seconds of the resumption, being set up after a powerful run from Sean Rynne.
Points followed suit as Clare hit four of the next five points in the next eight minutes thanks to David Reidy, Aron Shanagher, Rodgers (free) and a collectors item for Conor Cleary who found himself dizzyingly high up the pitch to fire over; Clare into a strong position at 1-14 to 0-9 after 43 minutes and with Quilligan expertly saving a Morris shot from close range a minute later, it looked like Clare were well on their way.
Unfortunately, that early dominance wouldn’t last long as Clare’s drop in intensity, coupled with Tipperary raising their standard, saw the home side start to point their way back into the game as they fired over six in a row to reduce the gap to three points by the 56th minute with subs Darragh Stakelum and Gearoid O’Connor making an impact while Jason Forde and Jake Morris added scores in that flurry.
Indeed, the move of Morris into the inside line would prove to be Clare’s biggest handicap in the loss with Shane Woods being left on an island with the pacey attacker all too often; Morris scoring two points and winning at least three frees for Forde to convert.
Tipp eventually drew level through power couple of Morris and Forde by 63 minutes and with Clare really struggling to gain a foothold and stem the Tipperary flow, Aron Shanagher did stand up as the Wolfe Tones attacker restored a two-point lead with two well taken efforts thereafter.
However, the tide was well with Tipp now and with Clare leaving several scores behind them shooting into the stiff breeze, the home team eventually restored parity and with just a minute of added time left, a throw ball was excellently gathered by Darragh Stakelum around midfield and the local man fired over the winner in space to decide the contest.
Scorers Tipperary: Jason Forde (0-9, 0-7f, 0-1 65), Eoghan Connolly (0-3, 0-2f), Jake Morris, Darragh Stakelum 0-2 each, Conor Bowe, Gearoid O’Connor, Noel McGrath, Ronan Maher, Dylan Walsh, Brian McGrath all 0-1 each.
Scorers Clare: Mark Rodgers (1-6, 0-4f), Tony Kelly (0-5, 0-2f), Aron Shanagher 0-3, Sean Rynne, Conor Cleary, David McInerney, David Reidy all 0-1 each.
Tipperary:
1. Barry Hogan (Kiladangan)
2. Robert Doyle (Clonoulty Rossmore)
3. Eoghan Connolly (Cashel King Cormacs)
4. Michael Breen (Ballina)
5. Joe Caesar (Holycross Ballycahill)
6. Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields)
7. Brian McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)
8. Craig Morgan (Kilruane MacDonaghs)
9. Willie Connors (Kiladangan)
10. Seamus Kennedy (St Mary’s)
11. Jake Morris (Nenagh Éire Óg)
12. Noel McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney)
13. Conor Bowe (Moyne Templetuohy)
14. Jason Forde (Silvermines)
15. Dylan Walsh (Ballingarry)
Subs:
21. Gearoid O’Connor (Moyne Templetuohy) for Kennedy (46)
22. Bryan O’Mara (Holycross Ballycahill) for B McGrath (46)
26. Darragh Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields) for Connors (46)
20. Andrew Ormond (JK Brackens) for Walsh (51)
18. Sean Kenneally (Moneygall) for Bowe (63)
Clare:
1: Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle)
2: Adam Hogan (Feakle)
3: Conor Cleary (Kilmaley)
4: Shane Woods (Inagh/Kilnamona)
5: Daithí Lohan (Wolfe Tones)
6: John Conlon (Clonlara)
7: David McInerney (Tulla)
8: Ryan Taylor (Clooney/Quin)
9: Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge)
10: Tony Kelly (Ballyea)
11: Robin Mounsey (Ruan)
12: Seán Rynne (Inagh/Kilnamona)
18: Aron Shanagher (Wolfe Tones)
14: Shane Meehan (Banner)
15: Mark Rodgers (Scariff)
Subs:
23. David Reidy (Éire Óg) for Mounsey (HT)
20. Darragh Lohan (Wolfe Tones) for McInerney (47)
24. Aidan McCarthy (Inagh/Kilnamona) for Meehan (53)
22. Patrick Crotty (Scariff) for Rynne (64)
26. Paddy Donnellan (Broadford) for Malone (72)
Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork)
