*Mark Rodgers and Tony Kelly in action for Clare. Photograph: Sport Action Photography
ONE EYE is on the championship for Clare’s senior hurlers but there is disappointment within the camp from their run of three successive losses, the team’s selector has outlined.
Reflecting on Clare’s 1-23 1-17 loss to Wexford, selector Ken Ralph commented, “We had big games but with no games”.
Tony Kelly, John Conlon, Mark Rodgers and David Fitzgerald all returned for their first starts of 2025 for Clare in Sunday’s defeat to Wexford.
He said, “We had a few guys back today, we had big names with probably no games. No matter who you are, you have to be match fit or you will struggle at times, I thought we started fine, we did everything we needed to do against the wind and set it up ourselves but the second half there was no excuse in the second half, they out fought us they out worked us, they won more breaking balls then us, they won more turnovers than us. For a finish, I thought they ran through us There’s no other reason they were better than us on the day and that was it, especially in the second half”.
Of frustration for the Clarecastle clubman was how Wexford reigned supreme when it came to rucks and breaking ball. “They won eight or nine more turnovers and breaking ball so you’re always going to struggle. In fairness to them when they got a sniff of it there I thought they really upped their work rate and for a finish, I suppose there was really only one team in it”.
Absence of several members of the All-Ireland winning side may have contributed to their poor second half, he acknowledged. “Maybe our injury list might have come back to bite us a small bit today we have a fairly big injury list as ye all now and with a lot of guys with various degrees of training done, a lot of them were on the field today. I’d have to think with the way it faded out that would have to be a big factor anyway, I would guess. This time of year you’re going to pick up a lot of injuries because of heavy training and the ground is heavy and whatever else but it disappointing nonetheless because I thought we set it up for ourselves at home and didn’t kick on in the second half”
Although disappointed with their first three outcomes in the league, the focus for Clare remains on the championship, he stated. “We’re in a spot now alright with three games left all we can do now is kick on and try and regroup and see what way the table is after that. Realistically we’re about eight weeks out now from championship so we kind of have to have one eye on that more than anything else and get our ducks in a row. It was a busy off season for various reasons and with guys coming back so we’re a bit behind where we want to be but we have eight weeks and that is our first priority”.
“We want to try and win a few games in the league as well. We’re lucky enough that we have Limerick next and Cork after that, the other team that’s going to be in the All-Ireland final”, the Tipperary native quipped.
