National Hurling League Division One (A & B)/ Clare 1-15; Galway 1-12: Afterwards, Anthony Daly would remark that when the team bus pulled up outside Pearse Stadium, he took one look at the billowing tricolour and knew.
Clare made a few adjustments and decided that if they won the toss, they would hurl with the gale.
They did, and took Galway for 1-14 over 35 minutes. It was enough.
The famous Salthill wind was just the latest in a weekend of adjustments for the visitors. Confirmation of Davy Fitzgerald's two-month suspension - punishment for some heated opinions during last week's Fitzgibbon Cup - led to Ger O'Connell's dramatically late, and steady, elevation to the first team. With Brian Lohan still injured and Frank Lohan up enjoying the rays of glamour at the other end of the field, Clare's back line had a callow look. Their show was as much a reason as any for Daly to be pleased.
"Well, we said that we weren't oozing with players coming through but that we had some good young defenders and I thought they did well. You know, that was a typical tough Galway-Clare league match and you know both teams were going at it. I suppose Galway might have been a bit set up for this after beating Kilkenny, while we didn't do play so well in our last game."
And it was a much more introvert, broken performance by Galway this weekend. In the first half, whatever allowances made for the driving wind they faced into, Galway struggled to contend with the crispness of the Clare hurling. Tony Regan, like glue on Henry Shefflin a fortnight ago, cut a much looser figure in the company of the roving Colin Lynch.
Locating the austere Lisseycasey man at centre-half forward looks to be a bright move on Daly's part. He burned Galway for three effortless points, necessitating a switch between Regan and Fergal Moore.
But elsewhere Galway had equally urgent problems. Ollie Canning, who normally keeps a frugal house, struggled greatly with the gangly weaponry of Niall Gilligan. Gilligan drifted in field to take a Lynch pass early on and clipped his first point after five minutes. It worked, and so he moved in searching for more. Again. And again. He had six points after half an hour and Galway could but let Canning toil on.
In fairness, the defence was flooded. Clare's half-back line and bulky midfield crashed onto Galway puc-out after puc-out. As Conor Hayes would remark, the first half consisted of just a general flow for Clare.
As it was, Daly opted to remove a bemused Ollie Baker from the game when Clare were ascendant. Although David Tierney was getting decent touches through the Banner maelstrom, Ollie could have been forgiven for thinking he was doing just fine.
With Tony Griffin also on song, the match looked like lapsing into a route when Frank Lohan rammed home his (by now) customary goal on 34 minutes, turning Diarmuid Cloonan after collecting a low and none-too-promising ball in.
Down 1-14 to 0-2, Galway hung in there. Cloonan, with just five first-half strikes, managed 1-2, the goal drilled low and daringly after 35 minutes from a free on 20 metres. It was a lifeline.
Using the wind after half-time, it was their turn to peg Clare back. Gilligan did not see another decent ball come his way. As Galway trumpeted - with less than jubilant music - a revival, Lynch was immediately pulled back into midfield.
Full back Brian O'Connell was sent-off for a second booking after hauling down Eugene Cloonan and Frank Lohan was posted deep in his own square for the last 20 minutes.
David Tierney was central to Galway's improving form, with Damien Joyce and Alan Kerins gradually coming into the match.
Down 1-9 to 1-15 with 15 minutes remaining, they looked a fair enough bet to realise what would have been a startling turnaround in fortunes. They shot 10 wides over the last 35 minutes, at least four of which should have been automatic scores at this level.
Cloonan had a close-in free repelled on the goal-line - although a point might have been the more politic option - and John Conroy's first-time pull on the return flew inches wide.
Critically, though, they failed to score through nine of the last 10 minutes, and by then a Cloonan free and a beautiful point from a cut by Tierney was too little.
"We just left ourselves with too much to do," said Hayes. "We fought back well, but I suppose did not take the scores with the ease we should have, and that comes with confidence."
Clare made running repairs as the game dwindled, the workmanlike Markham retiring with an injury and Brian Quinn closing the day with a damaged finger that Daly aptly described as "badly reefed".
This loss was not enough to leave Galway's confidence in a similar state, but it does remove some of the colour from the already fading memory of their Kilkenny win.
Meanwhile, the All-Ireland champions visit the brave new world of Anthony Daly next weekend.
CLARE: G O'Connell; B Quinn, B O'Connell, G O'Grady; D Hoey, S McMahon (0-1, free), G Quinn; O Baker, D McMahon (0-1); A Markham (0-2, free), C Lynch (0-3), T Griffin (0-2); N Gilligan (0-6), F Lohan (1-0), F Forde. Substitutes: J O'Connor for O Baker (27 mins), D O'Connell for D Forde (60 mins), C Plunkett for J O'Connor (63 mins inj) A Quinn for A Markham (68 mins inj).
GALWAY: L Donohue; D Joyce, D Cloonan, O Canning; D Hardiman, T Og Regan, F Moore; D Tierney (0-4), F Healy; F Gantley, M Kerins, D Forde (0-1); A Kerins (0-1), E Cloonan (1-5, 4 frees), D Hayes (0-1). Substitutes: O Fahy for F Gantley (46 mins), J Conroy for M Kerins (58 mins).
Referee: P Horan (Offaly).
