Munster SHC: Clare 3-21 Cork 2-24
Sometimes, it just looks impossible. By half-time in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Cork were doing unto Clare as they had done unto others during the run-in to their first league success in 27 years. Dominant all around the field, they had found plentiful goal opportunities and scored two of them.
Talk in the press box turned to when was the last time All-Ireland champions had been this pitilessly exposed and given the 12-point deficit, there was not a rush of answers.
Start at the finish. Having run down that enormous lead, Clare got a close-in free when Aron Shanagher was fouled by Tim O’Mahony and David Reidy slotted the free in the seventh minute of injury-time. It was the first time Clare had led all afternoon.
Cork were staring into the abyss but somehow managed to force a free of their own when Adam Hogan went high on Ciarán Joyce. By then their accumulated adversity included a red card for Shane Barrett in the 57th minute for a strike on the busy Reidy and an a 45th-minute injury to All Star centre back and captain Rob Downey.
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Still, Declan Dalton converted the free and there was a sense of two sides content with the draw – although each might have won – because for both of them, the afternoon had at its lowest point threatened calamity.
The background to how Clare had gone into their first match as champions at such long odds was acknowledged by their manager Brian Lohan even when invited to ride the grievance horse of being written off by everyone.
“Ah I don’t think so. That’s fair enough. We hadn’t played well all year and Cork had played so well in all of their matches but league is league and championship is championship, so we always felt that we had a shout and we had a chance and that’s how it turned out.”
How it turned out and how it unfolded are two slightly different scenarios. Cork’s form was blistering and had included a six-goal raid on Ennis in the league, Clare’s worst display in a campaign that ended in relegation.
Much of the difficulty stemmed from injury and the inability to field anything like a first team. That problem manifested itself again this weekend, as a number of key players had not much game time and before the start, full back Conor Cleary dropped out to be replaced by Darragh Lohan and after quarter of an hour, Diarmuid Ryan had to go off.
Although the initial exchanges were competitive, there was a feeling that Clare were creaking under the pressure of Cork’s fast moving and clinical attack. In the 13th minute, Brian Hayes took on Lohan with a free advantage and batted to the net for a 1-5 to 0-3 lead.
The gap widened, as in truth Clare were now being beaten all over the field. There was a glimpse of a goal chance for Peter Duggan who expertly fielded a long ball from John Conlon but Patrick Collins saved well. Otherwise, the All-Ireland champions were subsisting on a diet of frees and occasionally inspired points from play.
Cork though were steaming ahead. A volley of 1-5 to no score – the goal, a second from Hayes, courtesy of an assist from Alan Connolly – pushed the lead to 12. Darragh Fitzgibbon was also a scourge, his pace and precision landing three points from play in the first half.
The visitors’ defence was also forceful and Clare got no foothold. In the absence of the injured Shane O’Donnell there was no obvious out-ball target even though Duggan showed promise under high ball but very little made its way to him.
Aidan McCarthy’s free-taking was ropy for a player whose dead-ball striking had been a big element in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and final victories – three off-target in the first half when every little setback drained further hope from the home crowd in an attendance of 20,778.
Cork also had chances to score at least two more goals but Eibhear Quilligan saved from Connolly after he had blocked an attempted clearance by Conlon and Barrett drove wide on another occasion.
Lohan denied that he had gone berserk at half-time to conjure a response, opting instead for meteorological insights on a tricky wind – “if it was hard for us in the first half to win our puckout so it was always going to be difficult for them to win their puckout.”
The recovery was based on two quick goals after the restart. Reidy and Mark Rodgers combined to set up McCarthy for a 37th-minute goal and minutes later after Tony Kelly had further reduced the deficit from a free on his own 65, he launched a long ball into Duggan, which the full forward touched down for Reidy to finish.
Cork responded though and even after the sending-off of Barrett, they led by eight in the 66th minute and a missed free from Rodgers had the air of last rites.
It was Duggan, who led the comeback. If there had been an upside to the league walloping by Cork, it was Duggan’s brief performance at full forward and here he rose to claim a long delivery from Reidy and improvised a brilliant finish.
There was still work to do. Frees from Kelly and Reidy and wonder scores from play by replacement Ian Galvin and Kelly who shook the ground with his equaliser.
“In fairness to our men,” said Pat Ryan afterwards, “they showed a bit of bottle to get the ball. We won the ball, won a great free and look, we managed to get a draw out of it. I’d have taken that this morning coming up here. There was an awful lot of chatter about this Clare team and what was going to happen and Cork were going well and all that.
“We weren’t under any illusions about what we were going to face here today and in fairness, they showed what champions they are to come back in that second half.”
Clare: E Quilligan; C Leen, D Lohan, A Hogan; D Ryan, J Conlon, D McInerney; C Malone (0-1), R Taylor; T Kelly (0-5, 2f), D Reidy (1-2, 0-2f), D Fitzgerald (0-1); A McCarthy (1-7, 0-6f), P Duggan (1-1), M Rodgers (0-2f).
Subs: C Galvin for Ryan (16 mins), I Galvin (0-2) for McCarthy (58 mins), A Shanagher for Rodgers (68 mins).
Cork: P Collins; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue; C Joyce, R Downey, M Coleman; T O’Mahony (0-2), E Twomey; S Barrett (0-2), D Fitzgibbon (0-3), S Harnedy (0-1); P Horgan (0-9, 6f, 65), B Hayes (2-2), A Connolly (0-3).
Subs: G Mellerick for Downey (45 mins), D Dalton (0-1f) for Harnedy (48 mins), B Roche (0-1) for Twomey (55 mins), D Healy for Connolly (64 mins), S Kingston for Horgan (60 mins).
Referee: L Gordon (Galway).
