Laois 3-16 – Clare 3-13 at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise
JUST WHEN you think Clare have turned a corner, they skilfully reverse back around it. After a lacklustre start against Limerick and Antrim, Clare produced successive victories over Westmeath, Down and Kerry by an average of 20 points but the step up in opposition allied to a flat first half display ensured that it would not be a comfortable afternoon for Clare on Sunday.
In the end, it was only Willie Hyland’s 72nd minute goal with almost the last puck of the game that separated the sides but in truth, Clare deserved little out of the game after an abject first half and their inability to kill off the game when gaining a lifeline in the second.
Such unpredictability and inconsistency can be put down to the growing pains of such a young developing side but nonetheless it’s thoroughly frustrating viewing at the moment as it’s unknown how Clare will perform until they cross the white lines of combat.
Overall, strange as it may seem, there appears to be a vast improvement in certain areas, especially up front where Clare have already surpassed last year’s total by 13 points with a game to spare. However, Sod’s law inevitably rules that this improvement in attack has coincided with a more porous defence in that Clare have conceded six more points at the six game mark than they did after seven matches last year and one of the obvious places to point the finger is from frees.
Out of the 10-79 that Clare have conceded in six games, over 40 per cent of those have come from placed balls (2-39), a factor that seems to be hurting Clare most at the moment. Now whether you think Clare are being discriminated against due to their perceived status as a traditional hurling power – a kick back to the underdog if you will, or that these are minor indiscretions that won’t even be considered a free in the championship, one might have a case as for a game with little or no malice, there were ten yellow cards distributed.
However, that still doesn’t aid the predicament that the free count was a decisive ingredient on Sunday as Laois’ chief marksman Willie Hyland hit 1-10, with eight of those coming from frees.
The dark clouds initially started to form as early as the fourth minute when Laois cut through the centre of the Clare defence, creating an overlap for John Brophy to finish to the roof of the net. By the tenth minute, that lead was stretched to five as Clare were overrun in midfield but they received their first lifeline in the 13th minute when Nicky O’Connell controlled a Laois puck-out and played a high delivery for Conor McGrath to field and finish with a one handed swing.
By the 16th minute, Clare were level at 1-3 apiece when Sean Collins picked out John Conlon in space from a lineball but far from inspiring the visitors, in truth, that purple patch only papered over the cracks.
After suffering a surprise set-back against Down a week previous, Laois were determined to make amends and as a result, they played in a more defensive manner, playing short puck-outs as well as drawing back their midfield for Clare’s puck-outs.
It frustrated Clare who were unable to get into any flow and five successive points followed from the home side, three from the stick of Hyland who was beginning to cause Brendan Bugler trouble on the wing.
In an effort to spark a revival, Clare rang the changes and by half’s end, only six of the 14 outfield players would remain in their original positions. It did have the desired effect however as Nicky O’Connell (2) and Diarmuid McMahon cut the deficit to just three at the break at 1-9 to 1-6 and considering their lacklustre display, Clare would have felt extremely satisfied to be so close to their opponents.
With time to regroup, Clare reemerged a different animal in the second period and got off to an inspirational start with a Conor McGrath point after only 40 seconds, followed only minutes later by a Darach Honan scrambled goal after goalkeeper Paddy Mullaney spilled a Nicky O’Connell free.
It put Clare into the lead for the first time but it was to be short lived as Willie Hyland hit three out of the next four scores to hold a 1-12 to 208 advantage by the 44th minute. Clare were beginning to dominate the centre through Clonlara pair Nicky O’Connell and John Conlon and it allowed Clare to hit back and build up a four point advantage with another brace from O’Connell and a Jonathan Clancy goal that emanated from a Domhnall O’Donovan clearance which evaded Laois’ last line.
However, it was at this stage that Clare failed to put away their opponents and put the result beyond doubt. Over half of Clare’s 15 wides came in the final quarter and that profligacy at one end allowed Laois a way back in at the other with Hyland and wingback Joe Fitzpatrick pointing before Owen Holohan grabbed a goal when seizing on a mistake by goalkeeper Tuohy in the 60th minute.
Cue an immense solo fightback from Nicky O’Connell who not only picked off two unanswered points to level the game by the 63rd minute but also set up Fergal Lynch for the leading point a minute later.
Again Clare failed to capitalise though by wasting a hatful of chances and inevitably it was Hyland who filled the void when first equalising with a free and then expertly flicking a Joe Fitzpatrick clearance past the onrushing Tuohy to seal the win.
It means that Clare must win their final game against Carlow in Cusack Park in two weeks to guarantee their passage in the Division 2 decider against Limerick. A task that in normal circumstances wouldn’t cause too many sleepless nights but in the current ‘growing pain’ guise, these aren’t normal circumstances.
Laois
Paddy Mullaney, John A Delaney, Brian Campion, Brian Stapleton, Joe Fitzpatrick (0-1), Matthew Whelan (0-1 1f), Brian Galvin, James Walsh (0-2), Sean Burke (0-2), Brian Dunne, Ger Reddin,Willie Hyland (1-10 8f), Owen Holohan (1-0), Neil Foyle, John Brophy (1-0)
Subs
Eoin Costelloe for Dunne (50 mins), Noel Costelloe for Burke (59 mins)
Clare
Donal Tuohy (Crusheen) (6), Pat Vaughan (Crusheen) (8), Conor Cooney (O’Callaghan’s Mills) (7), Domhnall O’Donovan (Clonlara) (7), Brendan Bugler (Whitegate) (6), James McInerney (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (6), Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) (7), Nicky O’Connell (Clonlara) (8) (0-7 4f), Sean Collins (Cratloe) (6), John Conlon (Clonlara) (7) (0-1), Fergal Lynch (Clooney/Quin) (6) (0-1), Jonathan Clancy (Clarecastle) (6) (1-0), Darach Honan (Clonlara) (7) (1-0), Diarmuid McMahon (Kilmaley) (7) (0-1), Conor McGrath (Cratloe) (7) (1-3 2f)
Sub
Caimin Morey (Sixmilebridge) (6) for Collins (49 mins)
Man of the Match
Willie Hyland (Laois) Referee Michael O’Connor (Limerick)