Wasteful Clare have no answer as killer Cats show ruthless side

Jamesie O'Connor

TJ Reid celebrates Kilkenny's victory. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

July 02 2022 09:45 PM

It is not easy for any Clare supporter trying to sift through the wreckage of what happened in Croke Park yesterday. But while it was a bitterly disappointing day for Clare, credit has to go to Kilkenny for the performance they delivered.

No one has managed a four-week break better over the years than Brian Cody. Kilkenny were fresh, well rested and primed for the battle, as they were for Limerick when they won the All-Ireland semi-final meeting in 2019.

They got the match-ups right. Mikey Butler completely negated Tony Kelly’s influence, while Huw Lawlor and Tommy Walsh were also outstanding in the Kilkenny full-back line.

In many respects, though, Clare were the architects of their own downfall. You simply cannot afford to shoot 24 wides in a game of this magnitude and use the ball as ineffectively and poorly as they did and get away with it.

In particular, the delivery of ball to the inside forward line invariably was 50-50 at best and a long way from the level that Clare had reached in the Munster championship.

In contrast, Kilkenny’s efficiency was exemplary — with just one wide in the opening 35 minutes. Time after time Clare would miss an opportunity at one end while Kilkenny would then capitalise on a Clare mistake and punish them with a score at the other.

Coming up to half-time, Clare were hanging on, when Eibhear Quilligan pulled off a fantastic save from Eoin Cody that, you felt, might leave Clare with just enough hope. However, Mossy Keoghan’s goal from a ball that should have been cleared and dealt with by the Clare full-back line effectively meant the game was done and dusted as a contest at half-time.

To their credit, Clare were much better in the second half. But it left them with a mountain to climb that was never realistically achievable.

All Kilkenny had to do was make sure they did not concede any goals that may have given Claire hope. Cian Kenny scored Kilkenny’s second goal which put the final dagger into whatever hopes Clare might have had.

All in all, Cody will be absolutely thrilled with the performance his side delivered. All over the field, Kilkenny won the individual battles. The work-rate of the forwards and the turnovers they forced meant they were on the front foot for most of the match.

For Clare, it is a hugely disappointing end to what has been a great season. At the same time, it offers a ruthless and hard lesson in the realities of championship hurling at this stage of the season.

Obviously the loss of John Conlon before the game had an upsetting effect on the side. And in hindsight, legitimate questions can be asked as to whether there was anything left in the Clare tank after what they put into the Munster championship. It also forces us to re-evaluate Galway’s chances against Limerick because the Tribesmen will take huge heart and confidence from the way Kilkenny competed and handled the Clare challenge.

For Kilkenny, it’s a great place to be in, sitting back and watching their final opponents go at it today in Croke Park. And the planning would have started immediately as Cody bids for a 12th All-Ireland title as a manager. If the Cats bring the same desire and determination into the final as they did yesterday’s semi-final, they will have every chance of lifting Liam MacCarthy.

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