"We didn't play in the first half, quite honestly. We were wondering how we would react to that hard game last Saturday. We were a bit worried about it. It is very little time for guys to recover - Gerald McCarthy

AFTER ANY epic fight the reaction of the chief second is essential. The combatants may be too banged up to provide clarity of thought so we always seek the knowledge of their corner men.

In Gerald McCarthy and Mike McNamara we have two of the most astute hurling brains around. They won't surrender any of the real nuggets that underline their teams' success and drive but they have seen enough from ground level to toss a few pieces of meat to keep the vultures fed.

Cork should have been filleted by half-time. Instead, they saw the eight-point margin as a blessing.

Clare's seven wides and numerous failures to tack on the killer combinations left the door open for relentless forces of nature like Ben O'Connor to turn the tide.

But McCarthy made some enormous calls from the line. He has been presented with an unenviable task of taking some of Cork hurling's greatest ever servants out to pasture. His successor will be even worse off. Many of this team have been creating magic since 1999.

Take Diarmuid O'Sullivan, aka The Rock. A shining beacon at full back for the past decade who McCarthy has been forced to replace on successive weekends. He may have to drop him entirely next.

It is never personal and O'Sullivan threw a nod in his manager's direction as he departed. Clare supporters celebrated his departure, perhaps perceiving a psychological victory. It proved a disaster for them as within a minute his replacement, Kevin Murphy, bagged a goal.

The team leader, John Gardiner, slipped into full back with a renewed relish as Tom Kenny moved to wing back and Cathal Naughton hoovered up the loose ball around midfield.

Cork have evolved on McCarthy's watch. The younger forwards like Pa Cronin and Patrick Horgan chipped in with key scores.

Clare chipped in with a bundle of wides that makes their exit at the quarter-final stage entirely justifiable. Bravery and resilience is no substitute for accuracy.

"It appears we just can't do it easy," said McCarthy afterwards. "We didn't play in the first half, quite honestly. We were wondering how we would react to that hard game last Saturday night. We were a bit worried about it. It is very little time for guys to recover.

"So we had to reorganise and have a look at things. I think we were lucky that the few substitutions we made in the second half, they worked for us."

Luck! Don't believe him. McCarthy deserves credit for having the courage to change the way Cork hurling has been operating successfully for so many years.

Was there another rousing half-time speech that precipitated the remarkable turnaround in form?

"Quite simply, we hadn't played we told them. If we started playing and going for the breaks . . . I mean, Clare absolutely cleaned us out on the breaks in the first half."

A goal and two points from Ben O'Connor, Timmy McCarthy and Patrick Horgan in a frantic two minutes after the break visibly lifted the Cork players. They refused to be deflated by anything that came thereafter. It would've taken Kilkenny at their best to stop them in this mood.

McCarthy also had a genuine gripe. Three games in 15 days was unacceptable scheduling by the powers that be.

"It's too much for fellas," said McCarthy. "It really is. The GAA is asking far too much - particularly of the younger players.

"Fellas think they are younger players so they can keep going but the big games take a lot more out of you too. It is very hard for them to play three championships games in the one week (there was an under-21 match last Monday). They really do need to look at that."

To Mike Mac. The great punisher of intercounty hurlers. The man who makes them strong - especially in the last 10 minutes of a frantic July contest. He doesn't play the media game. He answers questions with an admirable bluntness.

Here is his reaction to the poor Clare shooting that denied them a Munster title and place in the All-Ireland semi-final: "It destroyed our season. A 42 per cent (conversion average). We really have to look at that as part of our game that gave us major problems. If we correct that then we will be a match for the best.

"We're very proud of the way the team played. We're very disappointed in defeat but somebody had to lose that game today and I'm sure Cork would have been heart-broken if we had got a late goal.

"It was one of the great days in Thurles. I'm not sure how you saw it but I think it was one of the greatest games of hurling it has been my privilege to see."

The rest was incidental. Clare brought Cork the distance but that iron Rebel chin stood up to another stern pounding and then, like all the great sportsmen, they found an inner reserve to prevail.