February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Level at the changeover, Kilkenny proceeded to destroy Clare by a remarkable 2-13 to 0-5 in a totally one-sided second half.
On the previous two occasions that Cody’s side won the league, they went inexorably on to add the All-Ireland title to their haul of silverware. Even if the competition pales in the face of the significance of the summer championship, this dominant performance augurs well for Kilkenny supporters.
Admittedly, the opening half might not have set the pulses racing in Thurles, but after that, Kilkenny were positively awesome. The gap could have been greater had Davy Fitzgerald not made a superb save from Henry Shefflin in the 39th minute, and given that was only one of three outstanding Fitzgerald blocks during the contest as a whole, Clare were fortunate not to have been humiliated.
In that second half, Kilkenny were a sight to behold. Fast, furious and focused, they struck early with an Eoin Larkin goal laid on by the influential D.J. Carey, who had struck for a penalty in the opening period. Then Shefflin latched on to another perceptive Carey pass to blast his shot past Fitzgerald for a third goal, all the while points raining in from Larkin, Carey, Tommy Walsh and substitute Eddie Brennan.
Elsewhere, Bryan Barry and Derek Lyng took a grip of midfield, and the excellent Peter Barry and J.J. Delaney snuffed out the Clare threat with some pristine defending. The losers, who last won the title in 1978, simply had no answer.
“Against Kilkenny, you can’t afford to tune out for any period of time, and when they upped a gear we didn’t live with them,” said Clare manager Anthony Daly. “You have to keep battling, battling, battling.
“Maybe one or two of our lads dropped the head, but the league has been good to us. We’ve discovered a lot about ourselves, and we’ll go into Limerick on 5 June with all guns blazing.
“I’m not going to make excuses. Maybe we’re not good enough, maybe we got tired, I don’t know. But it’s a closed chapter not as far as I’m concerned.”
They’ll need considerably more ammunition come June, however. Very much in the game at this early stage, Clare was found seriously wanting when Kilkenny turned on the power. The contest soon petered out in front of a stadium that was emptying of Clare supporters by the minute, and perhaps fortunately few of the faithful witnessed the dismissal of Gerry O’Grady for a reckless pull on Walsh in the 65th minute.
Niall Gilligan finished with 0-5, including four frees. He might have had a goal near the end when sub Daithi O’Connell created the opening, but his shot was poorly struck. Only Fitzgerald, O’Grady (before his sending off), Brian Lohan and Gerry Quinn emerged with some credit, and for all their sharp form earlier in the campaign, this was another dark day for Clare.
As for Kilkenny, they move on to wrest the All Ireland back from Cork.
“The second phase of the league gives you really tough games week in week out,” said Peter Barry, “so we’re showing our intent I think. We didn’t qualify for the second phase last year and I don’t think we ever really recovered.”
If this league has been a pointer, then the odds of Kilkenny winning another All-Ireland have already shortened.