For a match of such importance, there isn’t much to say about the details. Waterford are now out of the championship and Clare well placed to progress but the exchanges never really reflected such high stakes.
Clare were a bit disappointing. They were kept afloat in the first half by Waterford’s terrible shooting — even average conversion rates would have put them under some pressure.
They were a bit low on revs and seem to be able to find a higher level against Limerick than against anyone else. They certainly weren’t at that level on Saturday and looked nervous, conceding frees, shooting their own wides and making basic errors like Adam Hogan hitting the ball across his own goal.
His first yellow was absolutely needless and that indiscipline has been a thread running through the team
But they were thoroughly deserving winners. They had to weather the loss to injury of their best player so far, Aidan McCarthy, and coped with that. Tony Kelly is returning to his best form and was really good on Saturday.
You would have to question what was Darragh Lyons doing as a man marker. That’s not his usual role and to find himself on the inside line with someone as dangerous as Kelly didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Playing him in an advanced role was a good tactical move by Brian Lohan because you try to locate Kelly where he will cause maximum inconvenience and against Waterford, under different managers, that has been on the inside.
Two incidents guaranteed that Clare wouldn’t have much to worry about after half-time. Ian Galvin’s goal gave them an edge on the scoreboard that they never lost and Calum Lyons’s second yellow card meant that Waterford were down their best defender.
His first yellow was absolutely needless and that indiscipline has been a thread running through the team.
As the damp squib unfolded, I thought Waterford were even more disjointed than they had been against Cork. There’s a fragility about them, which their inability to convert chances brings to the surface. Wides don’t just cost you scores but also momentum and confidence.
In fairness to Austin Gleeson, he scored a great point and was up for the battle but he also had a couple of big wides —long, individual pot-shots and suddenly wides are becoming a pattern.
I’d also question the puck-out strategy of bringing defenders like Conor Prunty into advanced positions in search of primary possession or lay-offs
You’d wonder why Waterford persisted with a sweeper after the sending-off, leaving the an already struggling attack under-resourced.
I’d also question the puck-out strategy of bringing defenders like Conor Prunty into advanced positions in search of primary possession or lay-offs. They’re all charging up the field and you end up with random defenders in attack, which partly explains the wides but there was also just poor shooting — Neil Montgomery for instance had a couple of bad wides and Jamie Barron missed a good chance of a goal. This affects the scoreboard and it’s an ongoing problem with declining returns.
They’ve gone from 0-19 against Limerick — easily their best performance — to 0-18 against Cork and now 0-16. That rate of scoring won’t be enough to win any championship hurling match. If you throw in the league, Waterford haven’t scored a goal since the one they got halfway through the campaign against Antrim.
Inaccuracies are just one part of the story and more importantly, it looks like systemic failure. If your system is bringing in only those returns, surely it has to be examined and changed.
From Clare’s perspective the positives are Tony Kelly coming back to form, Fitzgerald and Malone making them very competitive in the middle third. Ryan Taylor has boundless energy and athleticism but needs to mind the ball better and upfront Mark Rodgers and Shane O’Donnell are dangerous.
Once again, John Conlon was very good at centre back and anchored the operation well.
Brian Lohan still has plenty of work to do, particularly with the inside defence where they at times look vulnerable. They’ll fancy themselves at home to Cork and emulating last season is within their grasp.
Just finished watching Waterford vs Clare as live. What an abysmal season for @WaterfordGAA hurling. Indisciplined, dispirited and wayward in their shooting. Hardly any scores from open play today. Can’t remember Waterford winning more than a handful of high balls. pic.twitter.com/w0g22WfDfd
— Daniel Mulhall (@DanMulhall) May 13, 2023
For Waterford the challenge is serious. You could see from the crowd how little support they had compared to Clare and that’s allowing for them being homeless with Walsh Park under renovation.
From a hurling perspective, it’s been a really tough year for them. You can see some of the recognisable patterns of a Davy Fitz team, but I wonder has the game moved on. Teams and systems need to move with it or better, get in front. There are very few tougher gigs in hurling than managing Waterford.
