First blood to Clare

Ash Smoker · January 25, 2009, 05:20:04 PM

From RTE:

Clare 1-12 Tipperary 1-07

Clare emerged victorious in this afternoon's Waterford Crystal Cup final, beating defending champions Tipperary at Ogonnolloe.

Alan Markham's goal, struck 19 minutes into the second half, was the crucial score as the Banner men won the early-season competition for the first time.

Tipperary led 0-03 to 0-00 early on and added a 28th-minute goal
through Patrick Maher, with Clare responding through Colin Ryan (0-04) and Barry Nugent (0-01).

Ryan was called into the Clare side in place of Caimin Morey (flu) and was the top-scorer with 0-06.

Ash Smoker · January 25, 2009, 05:26:02 PM

I know it is early season, but I have feeling could be the team to win Munster this year.
With Cork in turmoil and Waterford reelign from the All Ireland, Clare are in with a great shout.

If Tony Griffin gets a bit of hurling under his belt and with Gilligan staying on, the Clare forwards will be fairly strong.
Watch out for Caimin Morey this year too!

GalwayBayBoy · January 26, 2009, 07:58:47 PM

Can't see past Tipp to be honest.

johnneycool · January 27, 2009, 11:08:08 AM

Quote from: Ash Smoker on January 25, 2009, 05:26:02 PM
I know it is early season, but I have feeling could be the team to win Munster this year.
With Cork in turmoil and Waterford reelign from the All Ireland, Clare are in with a great shout.

If Tony Griffin gets a bit of hurling under his belt and with Gilligan staying on, the Clare forwards will be fairly strong.
Watch out for Caimin Morey this year too!

For some reason I think Clare may be the only team able to put up a contest to Kilkenny if they keep progressing in the manner they have. A soft goal allowed Cork back into a game which Clare were by far the dominant force and terrible, terrible shooting cost them against Tipp in the Munster championship.
would someone in Clare take that stupid great big hurl off tony Carmody and hit him over the head with it, fuckin hell, it takes a week to swing it!

didlyi · January 27, 2009, 06:12:30 PM

Clare have by their Nature the physical presence to match KK. However they need some more hurlers. I think they may have the best chance of taking on KK but couldnt see them beating them. As for tipp, Im sick of hearing the same thing every year is going to be theirs and for no apparent reason. Thye will do well to beat Clare in Munster.

INDIANA · January 27, 2009, 06:20:15 PM

will you stop the lights, clare haven't a prayer of beating kilkenny.

GalwayBayBoy · January 27, 2009, 10:36:18 PM

Quote from: INDIANA on January 27, 2009, 06:20:15 PM
will you stop the lights, clare haven't a prayer of beating kilkenny.

Have to agree. They have size but not enough hurlers. Kilkenny have size and more hurlers than they know what to do with.

johnneycool · January 28, 2009, 08:47:14 AM

Quote from: INDIANA on January 27, 2009, 06:20:15 PM
will you stop the lights, clare haven't a prayer of beating kilkenny.

i said they'd make a contest of it, i didn't say they'd beat them.

When's the last time a team gave Kilkenny a game, it certainly wasn't last year?

INDIANA · January 28, 2009, 08:52:49 AM

what do you define a contest? 10 points would be the closest Clare would get. they just don't have the hurlers to match kilkenny, no-one does.

EddieMerx · January 28, 2009, 02:32:34 PM

Have to agree with Indy on this, It would be a good day if Clare were within 10 points of the Cats. Clare simply don't have the forwards

Bord na Mona man · January 29, 2009, 09:15:41 PM

Clare are one of the few teams who could physically put it up to Kilkenny and not look foolish for doing so.
Back in '04 they did exactly that, deployed a sweeper for damage limitation and got a respectable draw.
They'd still struggle to break the 16 or 17 point mark though.

Reillers · January 31, 2009, 01:18:21 AM

Quote from: johnneycool on January 27, 2009, 11:08:08 AM
Quote from: Ash Smoker on January 25, 2009, 05:26:02 PM
I know it is early season, but I have feeling could be the team to win Munster this year.
With Cork in turmoil and Waterford reelign from the All Ireland, Clare are in with a great shout.

If Tony Griffin gets a bit of hurling under his belt and with Gilligan staying on, the Clare forwards will be fairly strong.
Watch out for Caimin Morey this year too!

For some reason I think Clare may be the only team able to put up a contest to Kilkenny if they keep progressing in the manner they have. A soft goal allowed Cork back into a game which Clare were by far the dominant force and terrible, terrible shooting cost them against Tipp in the Munster championship.
would someone in Clare take that stupid great big hurl off tony Carmody and hit him over the head with it, fuckin hell, it takes a week to swing it!

Clare at the end of the day have proven that they don't have the bottle for the big games, against Cork in 05/06 against Tipp last season, against Cork last season as well. They lost an 8 point lead to Cork, Cork in fairness (as did Tipp) were at the end of the game the better team, Cork dominated in the second half, Naughton like he had done to Galway and Tipp in the first half cuth threw the Clare players like they were butter and the shooting from the Cork players was dead on, not to mention the ability to bring on players like Timmy McCarthy, Fraggy Murphy and Neil Ronan to come on and change the game and be able to make the switches (that should have been there from the start.)

Clare have bottled every big game recently that I can recall. They've a handy enough team but as it's been shown, no bottle, there's nothing or no one there that can finish the game for them.
Clare, when you look at everything that's happened wont challenge KK.
Limerick we all know what happened when they played them, Waterford were the same, Tipp think they can, but they're believing too much of what the papers are writting about them, Cork are the only team that has beaten/ put up a massive challenge to them consistantly over the years and at a time it was KK trying to put a challenge up to us.
This year Cork have a 4th/5th string team playing.

No one will get near this KK team this year, the only ones who can beat KK this year are KK.

Onlooker · January 31, 2009, 04:10:52 PM

It is good to hear that Cork will have a team playing. Good luck to the lads who are prepared to wear the Cork jersey in 2009.

stevetharlear · February 07, 2009, 10:29:05 PM

Quote from: Onlooker on January 31, 2009, 04:10:52 PM
It is good to hear that Cork will have a team playing. Good luck to the lads who are prepared to wear the Cork jersey in 2009.

They'll be off once they get their tracksuits, scabs never last for long.

orangeman · April 16, 2009, 10:12:07 PM

Gerry Quinn's inter-county career is in doubt after he declared that he won't play for Clare as long as Mike McNamara is manager.

Quinn has been absent from the Banner panel since before the League game against Cork on 22 March. On the Friday before that encounter, the half-back, who had been laid low with a virus for the previous twenty-four hours, travelled to a training session in Gurteen to see the team doctor.

According to Quinn, he rang Mike McNamara on his way to the session and informed him about the situation regarding his illness and his desire to meet the doctor. He then claimed that McNamara cut loose with him on the phone.

Nevertheless, the player was hopeful that things could be worked out when he arrived at the session, and after asking McNamara whether the doctor was around, Quinn was informed that he was off the panel.

Disharmony on the Clare camp is the last thing they need after a wretched League which has seen them take only one point from their six games played.

The absence of Gerry Quinn, a stylish half-back, for the championship will be a huge blow for the Banner county with the player reiterating that he will never play for Mike Mac again.