The momentum has swung in favour of spirited Clare men
GALWAY must have woken up last Sunday morning wondering just how they weren’t already in the All-Ireland final. The explanation won’t have been long in coming to them as they sifted through the video though. As Clare lay prone with their jugular exposed, Galway failed to deliver the killer blow. The Tribesmen hit 22 wides in total last Saturday, a fair enough tally over 90 minutes. But crucially, 12 of those wides came in the opening half of normal time. They should have been out of sight by halftime. Instead, they find themselves under the gun tomorrow — and facing an ultra-talented Clare now smouldering with self belief. Liam Sheedy hit the nail on the head in the RTÉ commentary box 15 minutes in to that most epic of drawn semi-finals. ‘They’re like rabbits in the headlights,’ the former All-Ireland-winning Tipperary boss lamented as a shellshocked Clare trailed by 1-7 to 0-1. The clock had ticked over to 17 minutes by the time Clare got their second score. But from there they went on to win the next 75-odd minutes by 1-29 to 0-23. Even more deflating for Galway is the fact that they had a second gilt-edged chance to put them away with the last puck of the game. Midfielder Johnny Coen will have nightmares over the shot he dropped short into the hands of Banner keeper Donal Touhy with the last meaningful action of extra-time. Galway’s lack of killer instinct may yet prove very costly. Clare’s refusal to lay down brought back memories of their drawn 2013 All-Ireland final when they reeled in Cork with the last puck of the game. They went on to win that replay, and last Saturday was their first appearance back at Croke Park since. It took them a long time to reacclimatise to the surrounds of HQ — and nine points down there should really have been no way back. Yet they found a way, just like in 2013, and momentum has now swung heavily back in their direction as they return to the more familiar surrounds of Semple Stadium. If Clare play for a full 70 minutes then logic dictates they should win. Add in the fact that Galway will be without AllStar centre-back lynchpin Gearóid McInerney though injury — and with Joe Canning likely operating at below 100 per cent having come off early last week — and the case strengthens further. Clare were 3-1 to beat Galway last week — they’re 7/4 to win tomorrow. And considering that they should be far better for the experience of last weekend, their chances have never looked better, leaving Galway potentially facing into a very long winter wondering just what could and should have been.