Clare are deserving champions. In a final that was always going to be decided on tight margins they gave an accomplished performance and met head-on the threats that made Cork favourites.
They had that bit more experience and made it count when seven down in the early stages. But they also had two unbelievable players in Shane O’Donnell, who single-handedly brought them back into the game, and Tony Kelly, who confirmed his upward curve since returning from injury and in the process racked up sensational scores.
The areas where Cork were considered really dangerous were defused: the back four and John Conlon at centre back stood up to the challenges. In the image of their manager, Brian Lohan, all of those defenders not only held their own but came out on top.
Cork still had chances to win it and also grounds for complaint as Robbie O’Flynn at the end was clearly fouled. I thought Johnny Murphy did an excellent job, although he let plenty of really physical challenges go, but he had been whistling tugs on the jersey all day. He just missed that one. O’Flynn also went for goal in extra time when he might have settled for a point.
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Then again David Fitzgerald on his own probably had the winning of the match for Clare. As well as his three points he had a great goal chance blocked by Ciarán Joyce and a number of wides.
Tactically Cork were a bit predictable with the long ball, and they persisted with it despite Clare being ready for that and preventing them from winning clean possession from the puck-outs.
They had the encouragement of a brilliant goal from Rob Downey, who caught the ball over Peter Duggan and took off down the field before taking the goal really well.
You couldn’t say it was a middle-third domination because Tim O’Mahony and Mark Coleman were magnificent in the area. But Clare were comfortably better and Cork were always chasing the game and probably would have taken a draw. Clare didn’t.
To quote Donie Nealon again, having All-Ireland winners on a team makes it easier to pass on the baton to a new generation. It gets a bit tougher when no one in the group has a medal.
Look at the four players who started the 2013 final for Clare. Conlon and David McInerney were outstanding and they blocked an awful lot of ball from getting through.
The outstanding players on the day were, however, O’Donnell and Kelly. With the Olympics coming up it was reminiscent of a relay. O’Donnell rescued the early crisis with a fantastic phase of play and has earned his certain Hurler of the Year accolade.
He then passed the baton to Kelly who took it home.
O’Donnell’s work for the first goal was phenomenal with two involvements. And to be fair to Murphy he played very good advantage for the goal-assist pass that Aidan McCarthy tucked away to bring Clare back into it.
McCarthy was also very good between his frees and overall contributions in two stints, as he came on again in extra time.
Then Kelly’s goal in the second half was as good as you would see. The poise for the finish was superb. When you tap the ball over someone’s head in hurling it’s usually the last resort – especially in the tight space he was operating in – but he then had the calmness to control it and tap it into the net. It was remarkable.
I’m not forgetting Mark Rodgers who also scored a class goal.
Personally I think extra time on the first day is unfair on the players. They are standing around for a long time before it starts and all of the formalities are quite draining, so to have to go for a further 20 minutes is too hard on them.
In extra time players were going down with injuries and the benches were being emptied. It’s a consequence of the condensed season but I think the GAA really needs to reconsider this urgently and change. There were people walking away when normal time was over because they didn’t realise there was extra time.
Of course, it was the same for both teams and Clare handled the challenges very well having been all too aware of the problems of extra time from two years ago in Thurles. They were the better team and would have been very disappointed not to have won this game.
Brian Lohan has put in a very hard shift managing Clare for five years in difficult circumstances, from Covid to Munster final defeats in extra time and All-Ireland semi-final defeats by Kilkenny. It is a testament to their will and the determination of their big players, who at different times all stood up. They have come a long way since giving up that big lead in Ennis on the first day of the season. Their resilience deserves this reward.
