EVEN IF DEFEAT is the outcome that Clare must deal with on Saturday night, they will not be definitively ruled out of the 2025 Munster hurling qualification race.
There would still be a chain of results that could enable them to potentially advance on scoring difference.
But the cold truth is that the odds will be heavily stacked against them in that instance. If Clare lose to Tipperary in Ennis, then the best points tally they can hope to attain in the table is three, and that would necessitate a last round win away to Limerick.
No team has advanced from the Munster round-robin series since 2018 with a tally of three points.
The stakes are high for Clare, not quite a must win game, but definitely a must not lose game. A second home championship draw in succession, would keep the 2025 dream alive for the Liam MacCarthy Cup holders.
But why are they in this predicament, with only one win across eight league and championship outings this year?
Here are some of the key factors.
*****
1. Shane O’Donnell absence
An obvious starter point but it’s impossible when assessing Clare’s form to ignore the Shane O’Donnell-shaped hole in their attack. Operating without a forward of his talents would hurt any team, and while they are accustomed to doing so in the league in recent years, Clare have this time missed the comfort provided by his availability when the championship commences.
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O’Donnell’s status as the reigning Hurler of the Year amplifies that all the more. Think of the tone he set in troubling Limerick’s defence in last year’s Munster opener, the 1-4 he fired to inspire a team success over Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final, the leadership in the Croke Park decider against Cork with the electric run to create Aidan McCarthy’s goal after Clare’s sluggish start.
A few weeks ago O’Donnell offered fresh hope for Clare with the declaration that he was optimistic of playing in the championship. With the pressure having intensified on Clare, will his return be fast-tracked to feature in some form on Saturday evening?
Shane O'Donnell at Clare's homecoming last year in Shannon. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
*****
2. Tony Kelly withdrawal v Waterford
The news on the Sunday morning of the Waterford game that illness had pulled the plug on Tony Kelly’s involvement in the game, compounded the loss of O’Donnell for Clare. There is a lack of clarity as to whether Kelly will be back in harness to face Tipperary, but his absence was keenly felt against Waterford. His list of achievements and range of hurling talents illustrate Kelly’s importance to Clare, and his input in the finale of that thrilling draw with Cork captured his significance.
The Peter Duggan goal gave Clare a fighting chance of getting back in contention, but they needed something extra to complete the revival. Kelly channelled the momentum from Duggan’s strike by lashing over a long range free as the game entered injury-time. That left Clare trailing by three, David Reidy and Ian Galvin points made further inroads into Cork’s advantage, before it was Kelly who tied the game.
That was a trademark Kelly point, a short sideline cut, gathering the return, and then that surge forward, before the sweeping right to left shot that floated over the bar. Scores by certain players fire up teams, Kelly’s contributions often tend to feel weightier for Clare than merely just causing the change on the scorebard.
Tony Kelly in action for Clare against Cork. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
*****
3. Defensive injuries and off-form players
The pre-match announcement before Clare played Cork saw Conor Cleary scrubbed from the Banner rearguard. He didn’t make the starting line that day, Diarmuid Ryan only lasted 15 minutes before being called ashore as his injury struggles caught up with him. Neither of them were involved in the Walsh Park defeat to Waterford.
Clare have missed those defensive cornerstones. Cleary’s robust presence would have been an asset in the defending for the four goals they have shipped against Cork and Waterford, while Ryan, who fired three points in last July’s All-Ireland final, has the capacity to put opponents on the backfoot from his number five spot.
In addition some of Clare’s players have been off-form. John Conlon had a difficult start in Ennis in curbing Darragh Fitzgibbon’s all-action style before growing in prominence in the second half, and then was caught under the dropping ball for Stephen Bennett’s second goal for Waterford.
When Clare defeated Kilkenny and Cork in last summer’s knockout games, the trio of Aidan McCarthy, Mark Rodgers and David Fitzgerald were amongst their top five scorers on both afternoons. They fired a combined 2-28 in those matches, the comparison figure in the Munster outings to date this year is 1-11. McCarthy did strike 1-7 of that figure against Cork but his shooting accuracy was off in that first half. Brian Lohan has taken two out of that trio off in each championship match so far.
Form can be fleeting, a restoration to high standards is a live prospect for Saturday, but given the terrific performances they served up last year, Clare have been hurt by thosee reduced contributions to date.
Clare boss Brian Lohan. Natasha Barton / INPHO
Natasha Barton / INPHO / INPHO
*****
4. Slow starts and an off-colour league
In their two Munster games to date, Clare have trailed at half-time of both. Against Cork their situation looked perilous at the break, losing by 2-15 to 0-9. That 12-point deficit came after a ruinous opening half spell where they were outscored 2-7 to 0-2 between the 11th and 31st minutes. Against Waterford the game moved away from them in the opening quarter, as the home team accelerated clear by 0-10 to 0-3.
In both cases there was mitigation for Clare in the strong breezes they were hurling into, and they showcased their resilience on each occasion. By the break against Waterford they had trimmed the gap to three points, and were still only adrift by that same margin 20 minutes into the second half. The Cork match featured a second-half tour de force from Peter Duggan that propelled them to the brink of an improbable victory until a late Declan Dalton pointed free forced a draw.
Those slow starts, forced Clare to dig deep into their reserves of energy in order to catch up with their opponents. It’s not a trend they’ll want to maintain, and in a wider sense there was a below-par start to their overall season. Perhaps that’s not surprising in the wake of a memorable All-Ireland success and all the accompanying celebrations, and certainly the need to triumph in the league wasn’t as great as it was twelve months ago when they were challengers rather than champions.
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But relegation to Division 1B wasn’t a welcome development either. They lost all their home games, and only had an away win against Limerick to cherish, as the run of form to kickstart their year never materialised.
It is also a Clare team that were pushing ferociously hard since 2021 to make a breakthrough. After landing the two prized national hurling trophies last year, is a drop-off in performance more explainable?
*****
5. Clare’s grounds for optimism
Clare’s record in nailing down a top three spot in Munster has been impressive, advancing to the All-Ireland series on four out of five occasions, and only getting squeezed out in 2019 on scoring difference.
In their 11 round-robin Munster games at home, they have won six, drawn two, and lost three, a results sheet that indicates their general strength in Ennis. A historical trend of concern is that two of those defeats were suffered against Tipperary, with Premier outfits raiding Cusack Park for eight goals across the 2019 and 2023 encounters.
Their consistency under Lohan’s stewardship and their collective assurance playing home, will instil confidence that they can deliver when the need is greatest. In the search for inspiration, the recent brilliance of Peter Duggan will be something they will hope to see on display again. David Reidy has also impressed, while Ryan Taylor and Shane Meehan chipped in with valuable returns of 0-4 apiece against Waterford.
The personnel at Lohan’s disposal will tell a lot. If his 26-man panel by six o’clock on Saturday evening is bolstered by the inclusion of star names on the comeback trail, Clare’s hopes of achieving 2025 lift-off will justifiably grow.
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The factors behind Clare's struggles in 2025 and their grounds for optimism now
EVEN IF DEFEAT is the outcome that Clare must deal with on Saturday night, they will not be definitively ruled out of the 2025 Munster hurling qualification race.
There would still be a chain of results that could enable them to potentially advance on scoring difference.
But the cold truth is that the odds will be heavily stacked against them in that instance. If Clare lose to Tipperary in Ennis, then the best points tally they can hope to attain in the table is three, and that would necessitate a last round win away to Limerick.
No team has advanced from the Munster round-robin series since 2018 with a tally of three points.
The stakes are high for Clare, not quite a must win game, but definitely a must not lose game. A second home championship draw in succession, would keep the 2025 dream alive for the Liam MacCarthy Cup holders.
But why are they in this predicament, with only one win across eight league and championship outings this year?
Here are some of the key factors.
*****
1. Shane O’Donnell absence
An obvious starter point but it’s impossible when assessing Clare’s form to ignore the Shane O’Donnell-shaped hole in their attack. Operating without a forward of his talents would hurt any team, and while they are accustomed to doing so in the league in recent years, Clare have this time missed the comfort provided by his availability when the championship commences.
O’Donnell’s status as the reigning Hurler of the Year amplifies that all the more. Think of the tone he set in troubling Limerick’s defence in last year’s Munster opener, the 1-4 he fired to inspire a team success over Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final, the leadership in the Croke Park decider against Cork with the electric run to create Aidan McCarthy’s goal after Clare’s sluggish start.
A few weeks ago O’Donnell offered fresh hope for Clare with the declaration that he was optimistic of playing in the championship. With the pressure having intensified on Clare, will his return be fast-tracked to feature in some form on Saturday evening?
*****
2. Tony Kelly withdrawal v Waterford
The news on the Sunday morning of the Waterford game that illness had pulled the plug on Tony Kelly’s involvement in the game, compounded the loss of O’Donnell for Clare. There is a lack of clarity as to whether Kelly will be back in harness to face Tipperary, but his absence was keenly felt against Waterford. His list of achievements and range of hurling talents illustrate Kelly’s importance to Clare, and his input in the finale of that thrilling draw with Cork captured his significance.
The Peter Duggan goal gave Clare a fighting chance of getting back in contention, but they needed something extra to complete the revival. Kelly channelled the momentum from Duggan’s strike by lashing over a long range free as the game entered injury-time. That left Clare trailing by three, David Reidy and Ian Galvin points made further inroads into Cork’s advantage, before it was Kelly who tied the game.
That was a trademark Kelly point, a short sideline cut, gathering the return, and then that surge forward, before the sweeping right to left shot that floated over the bar. Scores by certain players fire up teams, Kelly’s contributions often tend to feel weightier for Clare than merely just causing the change on the scorebard.
*****
3. Defensive injuries and off-form players
The pre-match announcement before Clare played Cork saw Conor Cleary scrubbed from the Banner rearguard. He didn’t make the starting line that day, Diarmuid Ryan only lasted 15 minutes before being called ashore as his injury struggles caught up with him. Neither of them were involved in the Walsh Park defeat to Waterford.
Clare have missed those defensive cornerstones. Cleary’s robust presence would have been an asset in the defending for the four goals they have shipped against Cork and Waterford, while Ryan, who fired three points in last July’s All-Ireland final, has the capacity to put opponents on the backfoot from his number five spot.
In addition some of Clare’s players have been off-form. John Conlon had a difficult start in Ennis in curbing Darragh Fitzgibbon’s all-action style before growing in prominence in the second half, and then was caught under the dropping ball for Stephen Bennett’s second goal for Waterford.
When Clare defeated Kilkenny and Cork in last summer’s knockout games, the trio of Aidan McCarthy, Mark Rodgers and David Fitzgerald were amongst their top five scorers on both afternoons. They fired a combined 2-28 in those matches, the comparison figure in the Munster outings to date this year is 1-11. McCarthy did strike 1-7 of that figure against Cork but his shooting accuracy was off in that first half. Brian Lohan has taken two out of that trio off in each championship match so far.
Form can be fleeting, a restoration to high standards is a live prospect for Saturday, but given the terrific performances they served up last year, Clare have been hurt by thosee reduced contributions to date.
*****
4. Slow starts and an off-colour league
In their two Munster games to date, Clare have trailed at half-time of both. Against Cork their situation looked perilous at the break, losing by 2-15 to 0-9. That 12-point deficit came after a ruinous opening half spell where they were outscored 2-7 to 0-2 between the 11th and 31st minutes. Against Waterford the game moved away from them in the opening quarter, as the home team accelerated clear by 0-10 to 0-3.
In both cases there was mitigation for Clare in the strong breezes they were hurling into, and they showcased their resilience on each occasion. By the break against Waterford they had trimmed the gap to three points, and were still only adrift by that same margin 20 minutes into the second half. The Cork match featured a second-half tour de force from Peter Duggan that propelled them to the brink of an improbable victory until a late Declan Dalton pointed free forced a draw.
Those slow starts, forced Clare to dig deep into their reserves of energy in order to catch up with their opponents. It’s not a trend they’ll want to maintain, and in a wider sense there was a below-par start to their overall season. Perhaps that’s not surprising in the wake of a memorable All-Ireland success and all the accompanying celebrations, and certainly the need to triumph in the league wasn’t as great as it was twelve months ago when they were challengers rather than champions.
But relegation to Division 1B wasn’t a welcome development either. They lost all their home games, and only had an away win against Limerick to cherish, as the run of form to kickstart their year never materialised.
It is also a Clare team that were pushing ferociously hard since 2021 to make a breakthrough. After landing the two prized national hurling trophies last year, is a drop-off in performance more explainable?
*****
5. Clare’s grounds for optimism
Clare’s record in nailing down a top three spot in Munster has been impressive, advancing to the All-Ireland series on four out of five occasions, and only getting squeezed out in 2019 on scoring difference.
In their 11 round-robin Munster games at home, they have won six, drawn two, and lost three, a results sheet that indicates their general strength in Ennis. A historical trend of concern is that two of those defeats were suffered against Tipperary, with Premier outfits raiding Cusack Park for eight goals across the 2019 and 2023 encounters.
Their consistency under Lohan’s stewardship and their collective assurance playing home, will instil confidence that they can deliver when the need is greatest. In the search for inspiration, the recent brilliance of Peter Duggan will be something they will hope to see on display again. David Reidy has also impressed, while Ryan Taylor and Shane Meehan chipped in with valuable returns of 0-4 apiece against Waterford.
The personnel at Lohan’s disposal will tell a lot. If his 26-man panel by six o’clock on Saturday evening is bolstered by the inclusion of star names on the comeback trail, Clare’s hopes of achieving 2025 lift-off will justifiably grow.
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Clare GAA High Stakes Hurling Tipperary