*Clare joint captain, Ian O’Brien. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CLARE’S minor hurlers have a clean bill of health as they make their championship bow this Easter weekend.
While getting to the latter stages of the Munster and All-Ireland minor hurling championships is the aim of Clare minor hurling manager Ger O’Connell and his backroom team, their full focus at this time is on this Friday evening’s opening game in the campaign.
FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles is the venue for their meeting with Tipperary where the throw in is set for 7p.m, and the Clare manager believes that his charges are facing a serious challenge.
“They were narrowly beaten in a number of their group games last year and failed to get out of the group having entered that campaign as defending All-Ireland champions. They will want to bounce back from that. Tipperary schools have been prominent in the provincial colleges hurling competitions in the past couple of seasons so they would seem to have a strong panel from which to select”, Ger told The Clare Echo this week.
Preparations for this campaign started at the end of last year and in the region of eighty five players were led to trials before the squad was cut to just over thirty.
Since the start of this season preparations have been taking place and included were challenge games against Limerick, Laois, Offaly, Dublin, Kilkenny and Galway. All of the thirty four strong squad have been given an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the starting fifteen.
“We made progress through these games and the lads have worked hard. For the past month the focus has been on this Saturday’s opening game in the campaign”, O’Connell outlined.
The joint captains are Ian O’Brien from Cratloe and Colm Daly from St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield.
Conor Keogh (Sxmilebridge\) and Patrick Murphy (Tulla) are competing for the goalkeeper’s position.
In line for positions in defence are Colm Daly, Fionn Plunkett (Clarecastle) and Cian Maxted (Clooney/Quin). Isaac Hassett, also from Clooney/Quin and another survivor from last year is set to play at midfield while up front James O’Donnell (Broadford), Ben Talty (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield) and Cratloe’s Ian O’Brien are expected to be in the starting line up.
“We have a clean bill of health, thankfully for what we expect will be a big challenge. As I said, Tipperary will be keen to bounce back from last year. They contested the final of the under 16 competition against Tipperary and they have a strong panel”, Clare’s All-Ireland winning minor goalkeeper in 1997 added.
The Clonlara clubman is joined in the backroom team by coaches, Barry Corbett, Kevin McNamara, Ryan Morris and Ronan McMahon. Kevin Sammon and Paul Mannion are selectors and Killian Nugent is the goalkeeping coach and also the kit manager. Others involved are Barry O’Connell and Kieran Jones on analysis, Ryan Power and Maeve McInerney (physios) and Derek Morris (S&C).
Round 2 is set for Saturday week at Zimmer Biomet Pairc Chíosóg when neighbours Limerick will provide the opposition and those games will be followed by a home game in Sixmilebridge against Waterford on April 24 before travelling to Pairc Uí Rinn to face Cork on May 1. The Munster final is scheduled for May 15.
