*David Fitzgerald strikes under pressure from Robbie O’Flynn. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
Clare beating Cork will be a huge psychological boost to this team. Cork have had an edge over us in recent years but on Sunday we turned a corner and put ourselves in a great position to progress from the Munster championship.
Clare were beaten in heart-breaking fashion in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick last year, but it was striking to see the reaction of the Clare fans to the team in the aftermath. Many supporters stayed on to clap the team and management off the field in what was a unifying moment. It was a nice touch then, when Brian Lohan came across the field after the match on Sunday to show his appreciation to the Clare supporters in the new stand in Thurles.
Clare held on to win this game by two points at the death, but in truth, Clare were 7 or 8 points the better team. The first half panned out exactly as we would have hoped from a Clare point of view. Our work rate and physicality totally outmatched the Cork lads in all areas of the field. Clare didn’t have to work as hard for their scores and took some brilliant long-range points.
Tactically, they were able to shut down the Cork puckouts. As expected, there was more dynamism among the Cork half forward line than Tipperary showed. When Patrick Collins hit it long it was to a Cork half forward who had made a 50-yard full sprint to the wing. This did not work well for them as the slightest mistake made it easy for Clare to dispossess.
If the ball was one second early or late, or if it skidded off the ground resulting in the Cork player missing his touch then Clare pounced. Even when it did come off perfectly, Cork now had possession travelling at speed towards the side-line with a Clare defender in toe, making it easy to defend. This puckout effort was symptomatic of Cork’s effort to coach the physicality out of the game.
Where the standard bearers, Limerick, have built the best team in Ireland on the back of power, physicality and taking on your opponent directly, Cork have skewed in the opposite direction and have suffered as a result. Cork are missing players like Bill Cooper from previous years who would add an edge and not take a step back from things.
Clare sprung a couple of surprises in how they lined out. Tony Kelly and Ian Galvin were given the roles of inside forward and Peter was positioned further out the field. Ian and Tony’s dynamism was used to drag the Cork full backline out of position to good effect. Peter Duggan is not long back from Australia after a long break, which makes the work he got through last Sunday even more impressive. Peter seemed to appear at every ruck that developed no matter where on the field and more often than not was able to get in and win possession.
At midfield, Ryan Taylor and Cathal Malone have forged a successful partnership that combines physicality, pace, teamwork, and a deft ability to take a score when the opportunity arises. The North Clare man put in some big hits which rocked Cork and covered most of the pitch. Similarly, Taylor popped up as an outlet for backs and forwards and when in possession always seemed to be able to get away from his marker to initiate a positive move for Clare.
Ian Galvin was very harshly red carded after a poor decision from the referee. We would hope that after an appeal this would be rescinded and that he will be available for the next game. Clare initially responded really well to this, rattling off the next three points to extend Clare’s lead.
If Clare are looking for areas to improve, their use of the ball after that period was very poor. Too often we lumped ball on top of our full forward line with no real imagination. Robert Downey was full back for Cork at this point and found it easy to deal with, especially with the aid of a covering defender, as a result of the red card. Clare needed to progress the ball through the lines at this point but were unable to do so and this allowed Cork to make inroads into the lead Clare had built. After playing a game 7 days ago, perhaps fatigue played its part in this.
Clare have a great chance of making the Munster Final now, with two home games upcoming. Perhaps, we have played the two weakest teams thus far, but Clare should not have any fear going forward. Availability of Shane Meehan, Mark Rodgers, Aidan McCarthy and David Reidy would be a huge boost and give Clare strong options to impact the game off the bench. The summer has opened up now and I’m excited to see where this team can take us.
