| Clare master weather to beat Waterford
 By
Graham Clifford
Two counties who appear eternally to be in transition produced a dour game
which yielded a comfortable win for Clare.
This victory for Tony Considine’s men like everything else they
have done thus far this season was overshadowed by the player who wasn’t
there. All-Ireland-winning goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald left the panel at
the start of the season and the word from the management on Sunday was
that the chances of the player returning to the county fold this year
were almost non-existent.
“Davy said himself he won’t be playing this year. Those are
his words not mine and that’s the end of that as far as we’re
concerned,” said Considine.
The match itself was played in horrid conditions with hailstones lashing
Cusack Park and the hurling as a result was pedestrian at best.
Clare needed this win more than Waterford and it showed. Their back-six
were particularly impressive stomping around the pitch like men possessed
holding Eoin Kelly and Dan Shanahan scoreless from play.
In midfielder Jonathan Clancy the Bannermen look to have unearthed a player
of the very best quality.
Waterford had the wind at their backs in the first-half but failed to stamp
any measure of authority on the game.
They needed three Eoin Kelly frees and a 65 from Ken McGrath to lead by
0-6 to 0-5 at the interval. Fergal Lynch and Tony Carmody got the best of
Clare’s scores in the opening half.
Clare moved up a gear after the break and soon pulled away. It was their
tenacity rather than their technique which improved in the second period.
Colin Lynch claimed the first high ball after the restart and was immediately
fouled.
There is a bunch of bright, young exceptionally-talented hurlers emerging
in the Banner none more so than Bernard Gaffney who took the frees in the
second-half and soon had Clare in front.
Waterford continued to win plenty of ball but were over-elaborate in the
build-up while Clare moved the ball swiftly up the field and had half-forwards
with enough creativity to seriously damage a Waterford defence missing the
outstanding Tony Browne.
Once Clare edged in front they always looked like winning. The teams
swapped points until Clare leading by a solitary score with 10 minutes
remaining goaled through Gaffney whose first-time shot squeezed past Chris
Hennessy in the Waterford goal.
Subsequent points from Clare made the final score look like a rout, which
was hard on the Deice men. Clare could have some very big summer Sundays
ahead of them with or without Davy Fitzgerald and are closing the gap on
the top two teams in Ireland.
Manager Tony Considine said afterwards that Clare were still a work in progress
but he had some excellent players and a lot to look forward to in the summer.
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