*Ken Ralph gives instructions to Mark Rodgers. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’S senior hurlers cross paths with beloved neighbours Limerick on Saturday evening for the first time since last year’s dramatic Munster final.
Demand for tickets at TUS Gaelic Grounds is already high ahead of the clash. It is the first home game for the reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions since their provincial win over Tipperary last May while for the Banner County, it’s a first competitive affair there since July 2021 when the controversial sin-binning of Aidan McCarthy played a part in Clare’s Munster semi-final defeat to Tipperary.
Mark Rodgers was among the standout players for Brian Lohan’s Clare in a comfortable opening round win over Westmeath.
Producing a positive performance is the main goal for them this weekend, the Scariff forward outlined. “The last time we played Limerick was the Munster final and we all know how that game went, it was a great game but we came out the wrong side of it, we’ll be going into Limerick on Saturday with the intention of playing well, performing and hopefully getting the result”.
According to the UL student, the fresh additions to the county panel are exerting more pressure on their fellow squad members. “The young lads have brought a freshness and a real appetite for work, they are really driving on the older players on the panel and the guys who have been around for a couple of years, no one is comfortable in their position anymore because there’s a lad coming up behind you and if you don’t perform he will be in your jersey next”.
All Star David Fitzgerald told Clare GAA TV that he’s expecting a big test from Limerick this weekend. “It will be another chance for other lads to get a run out and keep filling in towards championship”.
Lohan is expected to unveil a different team from which began Clare’s League bid last weekend. Debuts were handed out to Adam Hogan, Brandon O’Connell and Jack Kirwan while Gearoid O’Grady and Keith Smyth made their first league appearances from the bench.
Limerick boss John Kiely is determined to see an improvement from his charges, off the back of a first round loss to Cork. The Treaty County let an eight point half-time lead slip as they lost out by a single point to the Rebels, their second one-point defeat to the same opposition already in 2023.
“Ultimately it’s a combination of factors. The opposition puts you under pressure and you respond accordingly. We didn’t cope in the second half as we’d like or expect and boys will be disappointed with that. But, it’s the first round of the league. We’ll double down, get back on the training field and work hard,” he said of their loss.
Captain Declan Hannon is a doubt for Saturday’s tie with what Kiely described as “a nasty cut to his finger”.
There’s more positive news on the injury front for Limerick with the return of Cian Lynch after missing the bulk of the 2022 season while Doon’s Barry Murphy made his first league start since rupturing his ACL in 2021. “There’s a few of them there, they need as minutes as they can get. They need to make every minute count. it will be a great experience for them under their belt no doubt but listen, we came here to win the match and we didn’t,” Kiely stated.
