SHORT GAME’S A KINGDOM WORRY

EAMONN FITZMAURICE is afraid his players might be caught short in Ennis.

The Kingdom boss watched Clare overcome Limerick in the quarter-finals and noted how goalkeeper Joe Hayes has developed a short-kick out strategy.

It’s a remarkable statistic that Clare went short with almost 90% of their kick-outs in that game.

That virtually guaranteed them possession but also negated arguably their greatest strength, the ball winning ability of midfielder Gary Brennan.

Fitzmaurice said: “Joe Hayes is very good. He got caught for the goal at the end against Limerick but he’s very good. Last year at Croke Park in the All-ireland quarterfinals, we found it difficult to deal with their short, placed kick-outs.

“It’s something we have to try to get after. Clare are used to it and have been at it a couple of years now.

“They come in numbers up the field and they can be hard to stop. We’ve to try and get on the front foot there if we can.”