Shock as Tipp are toppled
IT was the eighteen seconds that rocked the hurling world. Down one end Jake Morris struck the upright and from the rebound Clare built a counter-attack of brutal efficiency.
In the blink of an eye it was down the other end. A rampaging Podge Collins closing in on goal, panic spreading through the Tipperary ranks. Collins drew his man in and passed to Ian Galvin on the overlap.
Galvin’s finish was sublime. In the context of the match it felt like a huge moment – and it was – but it was about more than that. It was a seminal moment for both these sides.
For Tipperary it spelled the end of their summer and, perhaps, the end of the line for a certain way of doing things. After a month of struggle, of huff and of puff, the Premier look in need of a rethink. Probably it’s an even more significant moment for Clare.
Ever since their All Ireland success of 2013, the Banner have been the great underachievers. So much so that there have been times when you’ve been left to wonder whether that All Ireland success was a flash in the pan, a brilliant managerial coup pulled off by Davy Fitzgerald against the head.
There were certainly times in the first half on Sunday afternoon when you were left with that impression. They looked a team devoid of confidence, their touch was terrible, their passing just as bad.
The contrast between this oddly lethargic Clare and a Tipperary team looking in patches like their imperious best was seemingly yawning and, yet, by the time the half-time break rolled around Clare were only four points down.
An injection of physicality and intensity bolstered their efforts and the introduction of Podge Collins at half-time gave them a focus and an outlet they’d been lacking up until that point of the match. Nevertheless until the Galvin goal you’d be hard pressed to say there was much special about the Banner. They did little more than keep touch – closing occasionally to within two – with a visibly tiring Tipperary side (who’d played four weekends on the bounce). That’s the context we have to bear in mind. Clare still have a lot to prove, to us and to themselves. Victory last Sunday was a first step – their first significant victory in a close game since their All Ireland success – and not a means in and of itself. If last Sunday is to mean anything it’s got to be backed up next Sunday when Limerick come calling to Cusack Park. It should be something to behold.