Munster hurling championship off to a flyer: Clare showed no fear in Limerick

WE’RE now two weeks into the Munster hurling championship, with Clare, Limerick and Waterford having two games played each, and Cork and Tipp just one.

As is usually the case, Munster hurling lives up to the hype — well, for the most part.

To address the obvious, it looks like a very long road back for Waterford after the weekend’s performance. That’s disappointing, given I had expected their solid performance against Limerick two weeks ago to have stood to them.

They had been written off by many going into the Munster championship but held their own against the Treaty men. I’m not sure what went wrong on Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh for them, they simply never seemed to get out of the starting blocks.

One point in the first 20 minutes or so isn’t anywhere near the type of scoring needed in this championship. As things stand, they could make it back from the brink, but I think it’s doubtful.

Cork, on the other hand, began their Munster championship campaign a week later than all of the other counties, and got the job done. They looked relatively solid throughout the pitch, however, Waterford had a couple of potential goal chances. If any of those had come off, and they might have on another day, the scoreline could have been much tighter.

FULL VALUE

The game of the weekend was undoubtedly Limerick versus Clare in the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday night, however. It should have been on free-to-air TV, but in fairness, the GAAGo coverage was top-notch, and the teams gave viewers full value for money.

Limerick were tipped as clear favourites to win Munster from the word go this year, but their dominance has faltered. Following a slower start than expected against Waterford on week one — winning by just two points, I thought they’d come out last weekend and take a scalp — especially given Clare were coming in off the back off a loss to Tipperary.

Limerick had all their big names playing or available, they were just out-worked and out-hurled all over the pitch. 

A late goal in their favour looked like it could have turned the tide, but Clare never let up.

Not one of the pundits on GAAGo predicted a Clare win, and in all honesty, I agreed with them before the game. Come half time, the potential for the Banner men to make the trip to Limerick count was there.

I did question if they could keep their pace and intensity up for the full game, but they certainly did. They looked very strong, and much better prepared than they did against Tipperary.

Clare had lost out to the Premier two weeks ago, which is disappointing in their own back yard given it would have been a game they would definitely targeted to win. Going in against Limerick following a defeat like that could have been exceptionally difficult. They worked hard, kept their heads up, and got the job done. And, without Nickie Quaide, Limerick could certainly have lost by more.

Lastly, Tipperary have played just one game so far in the championship. The weekend gone was a free weekend for the Premier side. Having overcome Clare in the melting-pot that is Cusack Park in round one two weekends ago, maybe Liam Cahill’s side could have benefitted from having a run out for a second weekend in a row to keep their momentum going.

They showed some promise in their first outing, with some championship debutantes showing their metal, and with the side holding out to secure two points on the board.

On a positive note, Tipperary looked lethal up front, scoring five goals — some due to sheer brilliance and others due to mistakes from Clare’s goalkeeper and backs.

What Cahill’s men must improve on is closing out the game — despite being on top of large periods of that game, Clare came very close to catching them.

Before round two I would have predicted that Limerick would be Munster champions, with Tipp and Cork the two likely to also make it into the All-Ireland series in no particular order.

Now, it’s anyone’s guess. Thanks to Clare, the Munster senior hurling championship has been blown wide open.