Category: Sport

IN terms of accolades, things couldn’t be much better for Paddy Vaughan at the moment. Still charged on the fumes of Crusheen’s first ever county senior title, the subsequent bestowal of the county senior captaincy for 2011 is the ultimate honour for the 28 year old.

Throughout the latter stages of the county championship and their brief expedition into Munster, Vaughan was Crusheen’s creative lynchpin through his versatility, consistency and leadership. Traits that county manager obviously recognised as well when choosing a player to lead his young Clare squad into 2011.

“It’s a huge honour” admits Vaughan. “Down through the years when you see captains like Anthony Daly, Seanie McMahon and Brian Lohan, they are huge leaders and it would be anyone’s honour to follow in their footsteps.”

Exciting times at both club and county level for arguably the player of the county championship last season.

“It’s hard to believe everything that has happened over the past few months. Last year with Clare we didn’t have the best of years but that changed around fairly fast once we went back to the clubs. For the last few years, Crusheen have been fairly close but this year we put in an extra effort and it was great to get the rewards finally. The celebrations that night in Crusheen were huge and you could see how much it meant to the whole parish. It was brilliant and something I will never forget.”

“And with Clare, I was only talking to someone recently, looking back at the Munster final of two years ago and noticing that very few of that panel are still there today. There’s nearly 20 players from the Clare Under 21 All-Ireland winning team on the panel now so that’s kind of a sign of the times. And I’m sure over the next few years, a few of the Clare minor team that got to the final will be brought onto it as well so it will be harder and harder for the likes of myself to keep a place on the team I’d say. The competition for places is getting better all the time and that can only be good for the county.

“Last year I think there was almost ten new lads starting championship so it was up to the older lads to get them used to championship matches, encourage them along and lead by example on the training field and the playing field.”

Patience is the key to success according to Clare’s new leader as the county looks to build upon recent underage successes and Vaughan is the perfect example of patience, having first been brought onto the county senior panel in 2002 before finally making his championship debut in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2006 against Kilkenny. He is now preparing to mark his 13th championship appearance as captain against either Cork or Tipperary in June.

“I think you have to take small steps at the beginning because you can’t be expecting miracles but we would be delighted to start off the year well. Even with the Waterford Crystal Trophy, it’s good preparation for the league. Our first game of the league is against Limerick so that’s going to be one of the toughest games in it so if we could get to the final of Division 2 and hopefully to get out of it and in to Division 1 next year. That’s where all of the younger players are really going to learn their trade, by playing against all the top, traditional teams like Kilkenny and Tipp so number one winning Division 2 would be the biggest goal and then have a good championship after that.”

That baby steps philosophy also applies to Vaughan’s own current injuries problems as a sprained ankle and a persistent hip injury have delayed his competitive debut as captain. The Crusheen native is out for Sunday’s Waterford Crystal Cup game against IT Tralee and will more than likely miss the remainder of the competition should Clare advance but even the frustration of missing out on Clare’s opening fixture won’t dampen what have been arguably the best period of his life when you consider that he also got engaged recently. County champion, county captain and fiancé in the space of a few short months. On that form, perhaps he should buy a lottery ticket as well.

ANYONE who perused the county senior hurling final programme in October would have come across a self-penned article by county senior hurling manager Ger O’Loughlin entitled ‘The Way Forward’. In it, he outlined his plans for the future not just in terms of age profile and aspirations but also tactics and style of hurling, “focusing a lot more on speed of hurling, vision on the field of play and core and strengthening work of certain panel members.”

It was an enlightening insight into his long-term outlook for Clare hurling, having assessed the standard required from his debut season as an inter-county manager. Now on the eve of his second year in charge of the Banner, the two time All-Star plays down the originality of his blueprint for Clare’s hurling future but still admits the sentiments are very valid.

“Look I’m not the first to have said that but looking at the club scene in Clare, there is no outstanding club team. You have five or six different clubs that can win the county championship and just looking at the games, I just feel the hurling is too slow. Our touch and our mindset and thinking have to be faster when you get on the ball.

“If you look at the top teams, the Kilkenny’s, the Tipp’s, they will turn a 50-50 situation in a split second, especially up front where games are often won and lost with sharp minds and split second decisions. They are the things that right back down along, each squad will have to work on. I know that it’s happening but it’s taken a long time for it to happen in Clare and if persisted with, it should be good for the future.

“We all have to get to that level, otherwise you won’t win at senior level unless you’re sharper and have a better touch and a better finish. And again you have to have the complete package now so I’m hoping that we can develop these type of players.

“It’s going to be from minor upwards and even before minor that the work needs to be done so that when they come into the likes of myself, that I’m not doing the work that should have been done five years ago.”

Having been restricted to gym work for the past two months, O’Loughlin and his backroom team have had scant opportunity to implement those strategies but are eager to get back to the playing field ahead of their first competitive outing against IT Tralee this Sunday in the Waterford Crystal Cup.

“We have gone back training on the field since the third of January and obviously have a programme in place to get the general fitness level up and combined with that, we are introducing some hurling. We played Wexford on Sunday, we’ll do midweek hurling and then we’re into the Waterford Crystal competition and that is one that will knock the cobwebs off guys and get us ready.

“We will potentially have four games before the league starts in that Waterford Crystal competition if we can progress to the final so they are all good for us and we will be looking to give an opportunity to the panel.

“Outside of the college lads, we have quite a big panel at the moment and between different colleges we have 14 lads involved so it will be a great chance for the other 20 odd lads to see can they impress in the Waterford Crystal. If they do that, it’s an opportunity to get onto the final panel proper which we will be looking at and getting ready for the championship.

“Unfortunately we won’t be allowed bring big panels as the offical line is 26 players for the championship so there’s quite a few to go but we’d be hoping that we will have given every guy a fair crack of the whip to try and nail down a place for the panel. But there will be a few lads disappointed towards the mid to end of the league because at that stage we will definitely have an idea where we are going with the championship panel.”

With his official appointment coming in late December 2009, O’Loughlin had little time to pre- pare for last year’s Waterford Crystal campaign that finally ended at the semi-final stage to Davy Fitzgerald’s Waterford. However, a year on, having had the benefit of assessing his squad, viewing the club championship and embarking on an individual winter strength and conditioning programme, he is infinitely more satisfied that the county can achieve their goals this year.

“We’re definitely much more au fait with the type of player we have now. We have come to terms with lads that have retired from the panel, we’ve readjusted and it’s a case of getting on with it now, building the team and producing a better players for the future.

“And that’s the way it is at the moment. It’s going to be a rebuilding process over the next couple of years but notwithstanding, there’s no reason why we can’t give a very good account of ourselves and get out of Division 2. We have our goals set this year that we get out of Division 2 and if possible even a Munster championship and be in the shake up in the All-Ireland series. We know the standard is high and we have a very young panel but in saying that, they’ve all matured, have an extra 12 months under their belts and the majority of them know what’s involved.

“Like everything else it’s a case of ‘only the best and strongest will survive’ so the management are under pressure as well to try and get the results that are required to keep everybody happy. So we’ll be pushing it hard and be very fair to everybody but at the end of the day, it’s all about winning and it’s all about getting the results so by hook or by crook, we have to do that this year.”

A new regime also calls for new leaders on the field and ‘Sparrow’ is confident that new captain Paddy Vaughan and vice-captain John Conlon are the ideal choices to guide the county into the future.

“I think Paddy Vaughan has been the most consistent hurler in Clare for the last six or seven years. We’ve all watched him and whether it was at corner-back, midfield or wherever he’s been played, he’s always given his all. He’s a good leader and he’s a quiet individual by nature but in saying that, he leads from the field of play and I like that in a player. It’s a great chance for him, he’s a very likeable fella and the lads will row in behind him and wouldn’t it be brilliant if he was lifting a trophy at the end of the season somewhere along the way.”

“John Conlon is very much a leader for the future. Again he got it on merit in that every time John Conlon togs out for Clare or Clonlara, he gives it everything and he’ll be a fella that will be around for a long time. He is a leader and those are the qualities we are looking for.

“Even with Brian O’Connell for the last couple of years, Brian always epitomised what you wanted in a captain. Sometimes things don’t work out on the field but it’s not for the want of trying and as I’ve always admired about Brian O’Connell as well is that he was there for seven or eight years and had no silverware to show for it at the end of it and I’m just hoping we can change that around and that Pat Vaughan will be a little more bit fortunate on that side of things. That we can lift trophies and get back there knocking on the door for All-Ireland titles while he’s still at his peak.”

A BLOWTORCH to the cobwebs, a dash of new faces and more importantly a result to match as Clare eventually edged out their stubborn Cork opponents to get the season off to a positive start.

Twelve months earlier, in near identical circumstances, the same opponents had humbled the home side in what was Micheál McDermott’s first competitive outing as manager but this time, it was his new look Clare side that held the aces when it mattered most in the final quarter.

Granted, this was not a patch on the UCC side that went on to contest both the McGrath and Sigerson Cup finals last year, with only four survivors from last year’s clash in Cooraclare as well as being without their Cork senior inter-county trio on Sunday.

However, that won’t concern Clare who crave as many competitive games as possible before they embark on another tilt at the Division 4 title as can be seen by their determined, hungry finish.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though as this evenly matched contest was in the balance throughout, with only a kick of the ball separating the sides at any stage of the contest. Indeed, Clare were slow to start, appearing to be suffering from an imbalance of strength and conditioning in the gym and a lack of actual football due to the collective ban on inter-county sides in November and December.

That early immobility gave UCC a window of opportunity to strike a decisive early blow as Clare seemed ragged and indisciplined. But while freetaker Daithi Casey converted three unanswered frees in the opening eight minutes, UCC were also guilty of spurning three glorious first half goal chances, two of which came in the first six minutes. Had they taken either, Clare’s McGrath Cup campaign might have been over before it had even started but a combination of goalkeeper Joe Hayes and relieving goal-line stops by Niall Whyte and Martin McMahon from Kevin O’Driscoll and Paul Honohan respectively kept Clare’s head above water.

Clare first strike at the posts came after eight minutes when Cathal O’Connor’s shot drifted wide but from the kick-out, a well worked move involving Conor Ryan, Martin McMahon and Alan Clohessy ended up with debutant David O’Brien who pointed from an acute angle.

A minute later Clare had doubled their tally when Gary Brennan found Rory Donnelly who broke a tackle and dissected the posts and suddenly it was Clare who appeared the more threatening side. Daithi Casey hit back with another free but Clare were beginning to dominate the midfield clashes and again it was Brennan who fed full-forward Timmy Ryan to reduce the deficit to only the minimum at 0-4 to 0-3 by the end of the first quarter.

For all UCC’s early threat, it was