*John Conlon holds off Graeme Mulcahy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
Unlike the players, I was mentally scarred by our visit to the Gaelic Grounds in 2019. That day, after a disappointing defeat to Tipperary in the previous round, Clare were beaten all ends up to the delight of the baying Limerick crowd.
My initial feeling when driving in the long pavement to Limerick for this year’s game was hope that the game would be competitive and that not too much damage would be done to our scoring difference. Thankfully, our players were far mentally stronger!
Credit must also be given to our management for their approach to the game. When Kilkenny were so dominant in the noughties, opposition teams and managements would try all sorts of crazy tactics to beat them. We saw the introduction of sweepers and negative tactics at this time, often just to keep the score down rather than attempt to win the game. Limerick have been the standard bearers over the last number of years and, in fairness to them, they play the game the right way.
I’ve always said the only way to beat them would be to go toe to toe: while that may leave you exposed at the back at times, you have to back your players to be good enough to win. There was no negative tactics or withdrawing back the field from Clare in the Gaelic Grounds. This was crucial to giving our players the platform to win and thankfully, they were good enough on the day to go on and do that.
It was interesting to hear John Conlon’s comments after the game. This group of players have full belief that they can compete with Limerick and as a result they showed no fear at all on the field. Lesser players may have been scarred from previous defeats and been beaten before the ball was thrown in. But this group started the game brilliantly and put Limerick on the back foot from the off.
Tony Kelly, while quiet against Tipp, always shines against Limerick. He was in the mood from the off, setting the tone early and picking up some good scores. The re-introduction of David Fitzgerald was a major addition. His athleticism and skill level adds is so important to Clare in the middle third and he wasted no time in making his mark. He was picking up Kyle Hayes who is a major attacking threat for Limerick. However, Fitzgerald is one of the few wing forwards in the country who could match Hayes athleticism and he never allowed him to launch attacks in his trademark style. Multiple times Hayes set off on one of his marauding runs which usually scythes through the middle of the defence, but Fitzgerald stuck with him and snuffed out the danger.
Eibhear Quilligan deserves a special mention for his contribution in this game. Eibhear was in a tough position having been dropped for the first game this year. Goalkeeper can be a challenging position mentally and can rely more on confidence than outfield counterparts. Eibhear made a brilliant save from Seamus Flanagan from the first play of the game which will have done wonders for the confidence of the whole team.
His puckouts were also immense and he never shied away from taking on the challenging short/medium length deliveries. Limerick like to trap opponents on their puckouts by leaving a midfielder 10/15 yards of space and then pouncing once the delivery is made. If the delivery isn’t perfect, they will punish the receiver with swarm tackles. Time and again, Eibhear was able to put the ball in the mouth of the receiver which opened Limerick up for our attacks. It was an excellent performance from someone who was under pressure coming into the game.
I’ve often said, the half back line is the easiest position on the field and historically that may have been true. It used to be the case the half forward line and midfield would do most of the running for you and you could sit back and offer protection to the full backline while being a handy outlet ball. I may have to revise that position now though when looking at the mileage they have to put up when covering opposition puckouts. Most of Limerick puckouts involved a 60 yard sprint by their half forward which needed to be covered by our lads. The Limerick half forward line are no slouches, and it is a massive credit to our backs that not only did they stick with them, they regularly beat them out to the ball. John Conlon and David McInerney were particularly impressive and played a huge role in the defence. Their leadership and organisation is crucial in the defence in ensuring that Clare are properly set up, particularly for defending opposition puckouts.
Clare went close last year to beating Limerick but didn’t get over the line. A major addition since then has been the return of Aidan McCarthy and the addition of Mark Rodgers to the starting line-up. Both players played well against Tipperary, and they backed up with another good performance this week. Rodgers was being marked tightly but made an impact with every ball he got and the big question for Clare will be how can we get more service into him.
While the win at the weekend was a huge one for Clare, the pressure is still on in terms of qualifying from Munster. Clare will likely have to win their last two games to go through as if they finish on level points with Tipperary they would miss out on the head to head record. The beauty of the Munster Championship is that even though 3 of 5 teams go through, it is very hard to predict with any certainty what way it will pan out for a finish, and as Clare showed at the weekend, every team is beatable.
