Clare 1-24; Limerick 2-20
All good things must come to an end in sport as in life… and so it was that Limerick lost their first championship match in four years and after 17 unbeaten games to deadly rivals and near neighbors Clare in front of a heaving Gaelic Grounds crowd of over 30,000 on Saturday night.
Incredibly, it took the Banner no less than 122 seasons to follow up their 1901 win in the Treaty city with this unbelievable victory that has ramifications for all other contenders hoping to bring Liam MacCarthy back to their county this summer.
Waterford tested the men in green the previous Sunday and it was only the Limerick men’s superior accuracy which saw them edge through after a hectic 70 minutes plus added time.
This time round as normally reliable point takers like Aaron Gillane, from an easy free, Tom Morrissey (three times), Damien Byrnes (twice) and Declan Hannon plus others to the tune of 13 wides in all found their radar on the blink, it meant the normal way of the champions pulling away was no longer available to them.
Instead of finding themselves six or seven points up against a really spirited opposition, they found themselves four points down and feeling the pressure of having to find scores quickly and often if they were to salvage something in this battle of huge intensity.
When Seamus Flanagan goaled in red time to reduce the deficit to the minimum, there was a feeling that they would perform another houdini act but Clare were having none of that mullarkey.
They were the ones who won the following two balls which then allowed referee Colm Lyons to sound the long whistle and bring a tumultuous tie to an end.
The Cork whistler was confident in his decision making until he went from blowing for very little to using the rule book again. Overall I’d say Brian Lohan would feel his side was the harder done by in terms of decisions against but John Kiely could be forgiven for shaking his head when his side were a point down and Lyons waved play on in Clare’s favor when a Limerick attacker clearly had his hurley pulled out of his hand.
That is the problem when reffing outside of the rule book - you get praised for letting the game flow and then decisions which you don’t blow for come back to bite you.
Clare's Ryan Taylor goes on the attack against Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday. [Inpho/Bryan Keane]
I’ve long been of the view that the GAA is playing with fire by allowing the current crop of hurling refs to make up their rules on officiating as they go along. The game has become so physical now, a little like rugby in intensity, that if a player is hurt by this non-officiating, the GAA backside is in the bacon slicer.
Clare began in a frenzy and then upped their game to the point that Limerick were sprinting to stay the pace, only finally getting their noses in front on the half hour when the lethal Seamus Flanagan tapped home for a controversial goal to put them ahead for the first time.
By half-time they maintained the one point lead at 1-10 to 0-12, but if they thought they had weathered the storm, they had another thing coming to them.
Clare "won" the second half by 1-12 to 1-10 to emerge victorious against John Kiely’s team - and set the hurling world alight with possibilities of what might happen this summer.
Other than Waterford in the deep south, all of the other contestants, Cork, Clare and Tipp and in Leinster primarily Kilkenny and Galway will feel that they are not playing for second place anymore.
Brian Lohan’s blueprint showed the green giants are fallible but you are now left to wonder at what price for the combatants?
Clare put so much into this game that their well has to be deficient after such a huge effort; similarly you wonder if Limerick are beginning to run on empty because of the effort they have to put into every match against teams going all out against them for glory.
Cork’s dismissal of Waterford said two things - the Rebels have improved again from last year while the Deise’s lackluster performance is probably due to the fact that they, too, emptied the tank before coming up just short against Limerick the previous weekend.
Limerick too were running on fumes because of that encounter so it was no surprise when Clare scored four late points. The clever Shane O’Donnell, the sublime Tony Kelly, and the match-winning substitute Aron Shanagher (2) pulverizing an already disoriented opponent.
Flanagan's goal was a show of defiance but it was a shot from a sniper rather than a battalion on the attack to take a citadel with a final maneuver.
In all probability now Limerick will have to regroup without the influence of defender Sean Finn and attacking linchpin Cian Lynch so the Clare encounter could have a knock-on affect.
Clare will now fancy taking their former manager Dave Fitzgerald’s team out in Thurles the weekend after next and making a real play for ultimate honors this year.
Clare: E Quilligan; A Hogan, C Cleary, R Hayes; D Ryan, J Conlon, D McInerney (0-1); D Fitzgerald (0-3), Cl Malone; P Duggan (1-1), T Kelly (capt.) (0-4), A McCarthy (0-7, 0-3f, 0-1 ’65,); R Taylor (0-1), S O’Donnell (0-2), M Rodgers (0-3, 0-1 s/l) Subs: A Shanagher (0-2) for Duggan (60 mins), S Meehan for Rodgers (65 minutes), Pl Flanagan for Hogan (73 mins).
Limerick: N Quaid: S Finn, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes (0-5f), D Hannon (capt.), K Hayes; D O'Donovan, W O’Donoghue; Cl O’Neill (0-2), C Lynch (0-1), T Morrissey (0-4, 0-1f); A Gillane (0-7, 0-6f), S Flanagan (2-1), P Casey Subs: M Casey for Finn (half-time, inj), G Hegarty for Lynch (37 mins, inj), D Reidy for O’Donovan (44 mins), G Mulcahy for P Casey (63), C Boylan for O’Neill (70 mins)
Ref: C Lyons (Cork).
Derry 1-21; Monaghan 2-10
There is music in the Derry air in the way they can concoct a medley which leaves their opponents unable to hit the high notes. And the conductor is Rory Gallagher, not the great, late guitarist but the current Oak Leaf manager, who is showing real intelligence in how he applies the hammer to knock out other team’s big name players.
And so Derry eased into a second successive Ulster final as Monaghan’s old failing of following up a great performance with a mediocre one left them playing catch up all game long at Healy Park Omagh on Saturday evening.
In truth, the holders hardly had to break sweat as their superior game plan and athleticism allowed them to win as they liked - something that will hardly be the case for Gallagher as he considers how to take down Armagh in Sunday week’s final at Clones.
Ulster may not prove too difficult for the Oak Leaf raiders this season and Gallagher and his backroom team will be more anxious to see how they get on when rubbing shoulders with the big boys from Kerry, Dublin and Galway as the year progresses.
With a defense that looks watertight except under a high ball and a midfield that has been a revelation with the coupling of Brendan Rogers alongside Conor Glass, the team is well set up.
And with the likes of Shane McGuigan, who scored nine points on Saturday, causing defenses all sorts of problems, there is a growing belief that the team can replicate the performances of the last All Ireland winning team.
What was even more clever was how Gallagher decided to take the sting out of the Monaghan attack by making the likes of Conor McManus and Jack McCarron follow their designated markers up the field.
This meant that these vital cogs in the Farney makeup expended too much energy on the back foot trying to defend where their first line of duty is to attack.
Indeed McManus was shown up as he was unable to stop his marker Conor McCluskey from breaking his tackle before blasting the ball past Rory Beggan to put a serious dent in Monaghan’s challenge at the end of the first half.
Indeed when McCarron was called ashore after less than half an hour, it was a sign that Vinny Corey had accepted that he had been out-thought on how to deploy personnel for this semi-final at Omagh on Saturday.
When speaking of McGuigan being the main source of scoring, what really has become a Derry strength is the fact ten players in all registered scores in this semi-final clash.
Glass and Rogers are currently the best midfield operating in Gaelic football and but for the Ulster champions propensity to leak goals, there would be a louder backing for their chances for ultimate Sam Maguire glory.
Few teams can match the energy the likes of Conor Doherty, Conor McCluskey and Ethan Doherty bring to their play while Paul Cassidy made chances and took two of his own to ensure that Monaghan were always struggling to get back into the game on the scoreboard.
Karl O’Connell may be the blueprint Kieran McGeeney uses in the Ulster final as the veteran Monaghan’s speed when running directly at the Oak Leaf defense yielded 1-1 and also caused them countless headaches trying to prevent his ability to penetrate.
When McCluskey put the Derry side on the front foot again with his super run and goal at the other end, the game was as good as done by the break when they winners lead by 1-12 to 1-5.
Padraig McGrogan’s point on the resumption pushed the lead to eight and it wasn’t long before the Farney faithful were thinking about heading for the exits to beat the traffic on the way home.
Some may have stayed on when the result of a high ball in saw Karl Gallagher finish to the net, but it was more a gesture than a statement of intent.
Kieran Hughes narrowed the margin to five points but with McGuigan pushing out the gap again with pointed frees, Gallagher could already begin planning how to minimise the importance of the huge Armagh players in Sunday week’s final.
Top of his list will be to see how he can shore up a defense to stop Armagh four-goal semi-final romp from being repeated. Their early brace knocked the stuffing out of Down and with Rian O’Neill crowning the display with a brilliantly individual fourth green flag, there will be growing confidence in the Orchard County that they can win out in Ulster.
Derry: O Lynch (0-1); C McCague, E McEvoy, C McCluskey (1-0); C Doherty (0-1), G McKinless, P McGrogan (0-2); C Glass (002), B Rogers (0-1); P Cassidy, Paul Cassidy (0-2), E Doherty (0-2); N Toner (0-1 f), S McGuigan (0-9,0- 5f), N Loughlin Subs: B Herron for Padraig Cassidy, C McFaul for Loughlin (48), B McCarron for McGrogan (65), P McNeil for McKaigue (68), L Murray for Toner (71)
Monaghan: R Beggan (0-2f); K O’Connell (1-1), K Duffy, R Wylie; C Boyle (0-1), D Ward, R O’Toole; D Hughes, K Lavelle; S O’Hanlon (0-1), M Bannigan (0-1), C McCarthy; J McCarron, K Gallagher (1-0), C McManus (0-3f) Subs: S Carey for McCarron (29), K Hughes (0-1) for D Hughes (29), G Mohan for Ward (43), C Leonard for Gallagher (63), S Jones for Wylie (65)
Ref: S Hurson (Tyrone).
Dublin 0-14; Kildare 0-12
Now who saw that coming? Leinster, so vilified in the past few decades for its inability to provide any sort of true contest between counties, produced two in a double-header at Croke Park on Sunday that surprised most if not all of the 30,000 plus crowd present for the semi-finals.
Firstly Division three Offaly produced a great performance to force extra time before bowing the knee to Mickey Harte’s Louth in a pulsating contest that either side could have won before a previously subdued Sam Mulory cut loose to push out the winning margin to six points by the sound of the long whistle.
Those who then chose to stay on for the predicted Dublin turkey shoot against Kildare certainly got value for money as Glenn Ryan’s team lead all the way until the final furlong when they were caught by the experienced Dubs who by that time had introduced several old hands to get them over the line.
Speaking of old hands, Dessie Farrell caused something of a major surprise when he gave fortysomething Stephen Cluxton the nod to stand between the sticks from the start in this encounter.
He produced a few wonderful saves and his restarts were as good as ever, suggesting that if Dublin use this shock to get their gameplan reset, they could be a force in this year’s race for Sam.
They will head towards a 13th consecutive Leinster final win against Louth mindful that Kildare exposed weaknesses in their game, particularly up front where the starting six got little change out of a resolute Lily rearguard.
However when you can turn to the likes of Jack McCaffrey, Cormac Costello, Dean Rock and Paddy Small as alternatives, you have know-how a plenty in your ranks and I expect three of those named will start against Harte’s side in the final.
Kildare will regroup knowing their stock has risen after this herculean effort and could be the dark horses in the groups which will be finalised in the near future.
They played out of their skins to lead with seven minutes to go but like the rabbit in headlights, they froze when given the opportunity to kick on to glory, allowing Dublin to draw level and then win by two points.
Dublin: S Cluxton; D Newcombe, D Byrne, L Gannon (0-1); J Small, C Murphy (0-1), T Lahiff; B Fenton, J McCarthy; R McGarry (0-1), S Bugler (0-1), C Kilkenny (0-1); P Mannion (0-3), C O’Callaghan (0-2, 0-1f), C Basquel (0-1) Subs: C Costello (0-1f) for McGarry (h-t), J McCaffrey (0-1) for Lahiff (h-t), L O’Dell (0-1) for Basquel (50), P Small for Mannion (58), D Rock for Bugler (65).
Kildare: M Donnellan; E Doyle, M O’Grady, P McDermott; D Hyland, K Flynn, S Ryan; K O’Callaghan, A Masterson; A Beirne, McCormack (0-2), J Sargent; P Woodgate (0-4, 0-2f, 0-1 '45), D Kirwan (0-2), J Robinson (0-3f) Subs: P Cribbin for Beirne (46), NFlynn (0-1) for Robinson (48), D Flynn for Kirwan (56), K Feely for Masterson (63), J Hyland for McCormack (69).
Ref: l Kelly (Longford).
Leinster SF Championship semi-finals
Dublin 0-14; Kildare 0-12
Louth 0-27; Offaly 2-15
Leinster SH Championship
Dublin 2-23; Westmeath 1-13
Wexford 1-30; Antrim 1-25
Kilkenny 0-28; Galway 1-25
Munster SH Championship
Clare 1-24; Limerick 2-20
Cork 0-27; Waterford 0-18
Ulster SF Championship semi-finals
Derry 1-21; Monaghan 2-10
Armagh 4-10; Down 0-12
