*Clare manager, Brian Lohan. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
CLARE delivered an excellent attacking performance but will have to shore up defensively, manager Brian Lohan has said.
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For the third time in Lohan’s seven seasons in charge, Clare won their first game in the Munster SHC when overcoming Waterford 2-33 4-21 on Sunday afternoon in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg.
Lohan was satisfied with Clare’s six point win over Peter Queally’s side but admitted the concession of four goals and defensive errors would have him pulling his hair out. “I am pleased with the result and with how we played. Offensively putting up 2-33 is a fair testament to how the team played and to their workrate all over the field and it was a really good performance from an attacking perspective”.
Their return of 2-33 almost eclipsed the 3-31 tally which they put on the board against the then Davy Fitzgerald managed Waterford in the fifth round of the 2022 Munster SHC.
Injuries meant league time was scarce for Inagh/Kilnamona’s Seán Rynne in the Allianz National Hurling League but he grabbed the opportunity in Sunday’s championship opener. “It was a very tight call between Seán and a number of others. He went out and did the business. Look I am really happy with all the team. It was a brilliant performance all over the field,” Lohan said.
Selecting a first fifteen was not easy, the manager noted. “It was a very hard job picking the team and that is the case particularly this year. It’s very difficult to pick our first fifteen and then the match day twenty six but that is why we are here”.
Among those to put their hand up when introduced was Diarmuid Stritch of Clonlara who excelled with three second half points. “He was dangerous. He has that lightening pace. I thought he was fouled a couple of times and didn’t get the frees. We have to put up with that sometimes”.
Communication when attacking the ball left Clare exposed in defence, the two-time All-Ireland winning full back believed. “They were getting goals which were keeping them in the game and we will get criticised for that but we will try and improve. Sometimes we were a little over eager today when attacking the ball with two or three contesting when one would have done. It’s a problem for us but we kept responding to the goals”.
He added, “when they got the goals in the first half we responded, Tony (Kelly) responded twice and we kept responding. I haven’t seen the free count yet but I am disappointed with the number of frees they got. We will have to look at that”.
Clare’s hurlers are continuing to deliver, he said, “we have asked an awful lot of this team. During the league we asked an awful lot of them. Whether they were going up to the North or to Carlow or wherever we were putting pressure on them and we put pressure on them again for today and they responded. There is great stuff in the team and we are just delighted with them”.
