This was a game that had it all, tremendously exciting with a number of great individual performances and, with these two sides being such close neighbours, it was like the battle of the tribes.
The result may have surprised some but I know it won't have surprised too many Clare or Galway people. From the outside looking in, most people felt this was a game Clare would win because of their performance coming through the Munster championship. Yet these sides know each other so well that Galway felt they had nothing to fear and made sure from the start that this was going to be a hard game for Clare to win.
Galway came in really fired up and simply grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. They had so much of the early play but they still only managed to pull ahead by a couple of points at this stage. When a team dominates like that they must score and build up a big lead. After 25 minutes, Galway were only up 0-6 to 0-4. They were playing extremely well, running at Clare from all angles. And your could see that the Clare forwards just were not functioning as a unit, and it took Colin Lynch to score their first point from midfield.
Galway produced a vital goal just before the end of the first half and went in 1-8 to 0-5 in front. Clare had been scoreless for something like 13 minutes in the first half and knew they had to really lift their game in the second.
And Clare were very impressive in the way they dragged themselves back in that amazing second period.
Still, it did take quite a while for them to get going and after Seanie McMahon scored after just a couple of seconds it was eight minutes before they scored again. Then Jamesie O'Connor made his unexpected appearance and Clare suddenly ignited and, after a few minutes, began picking off the points that brought them right back into contention.
At one stage it was still 2-15 to 1-10 for Galway and from then on the value of McMahon's long-range points proved really significant.
He put over two wonderful
scores in the middle of the half and then Niall Gilligan got the goal that had Clare well within reach at three points down.
From there to the end, it was an absorbing game. The pace of the game for the last 15 minutes was incredible. Clare were on a roll and you had to question if Galway could hold on. To their credit, they never faltered as the match see-sawed back and forth.
The were a number of factors that accounted for the Clare fightback. Jamesie made not have done a lot but he settled the Clare forwards. He roamed and picked up a lot of ball, and that reminded me a lot of the way they played against Tipperary in the replay.
He is a player that they wanted to see back and even though he lacked match fitness, his presence alone created a certain amount of panic in the Galway defence.
Ollie Baker's performance was simply amazing. He must have some witch-doctor somewhere to perform so well with his ankle injury as bad as that. His leg was well strapped and while he was not his usual self he definitely threw his weight around.
After "waking up", McMahon played a huge part in the second half and Alan Markham and Niall Gilligan were also significant in bringing the forwards back to life. As I said, Jamesie played his part not spectacularly but effectively. Colin Lynch was also there hustling and bustling.
Galway also put up an admirable performance. Alan Kerins, Ollie Fahy and Kevin Broderick were especially impressive up front and Cathal Moore was also playing tremendously well for them at centre back.
Joe Cooney was always the cool head under pressure and towards the end Joe Rabbitte also started playing like he should. Rory Gantley also did extremely well with the pressure job of free taking.
Few can argue that it was about the result being fair, even if Padraig Horan blew up after only a few seconds. That's always a GAA decision but I don't think Mattie Murphy was too pleased.
Still, it's hard to say who will come out of this game better. For Galway, it will only be a bonus if they win through eventually. Should they come out the next day and lose then this game will have been of no use to them.
Clare still have problems with their consistency. We saw them rise against Tipperary and then drop against Cork and here we had two contrasting halves. If they produce a full game like the way they finished yesterday then they'll be very hard to stop.
Yet you have to wonder if this is a match too many for Clare. It's been said many times before about Clare being tired and not needing extra games, well here's another one. If they do reach the final then it will be seven games in the championship and that's a awful lot of matches for anyone.
I also feel this game proved that Clare are still a bit lost without Jamesie, although PJ O'Connell did well enough when he came on.
Elsewhere, it was unfortunate to see the mismatch between Offaly and Antrim. For 20 minutes or so Antrim hurried and played like they can but I felt so sorry for them towards the end when you could see a few players just shaking their heads. You have to wonder how hurling in Antrim, Down and places like that will survive when they lose as heavily as this. They had some great performances but just came up against a far superior team from Offaly.
Offaly now have problems with injuries, but with regard to Hubert Rigney, I don't think Jackie Carson was wrong because it was the way Rigney came in. You don't expect to see the leg come in when the ball is on the ground in front of you like that. Still, along with Kevin Martin, he will be a loss because they are both part of the backbone of this team now.
It was an impressive display all the same, even if it was against an Antrim team that could not cope. It was another very one-sided affair and another indication that the GAA will have to look at the whole championship structure next year.
In an interview with Ian O'Riordan
