*Clare’s Emmet McMahon. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
HAVING put up a spirited display against Kerry in the Munster final, Clare’s senior footballers are back in championship action this weekend.
Mark Fitzgerald’s men welcome Cork to Cusack Park for a 6pm start on Saturday evening in what is the game they will be targeting the most to gain a successful outcome in the All-Ireland series.
An away tie against Tyrone plus a meeting with the recently crowned Ulster champions Donegal lie ahead for Clare but for now their focus is firmly on the visit of John Cleary’s Cork to Ennis.
Speaking following the seven point Munster final loss to Kerry, Fitzgerald outlined that Clare showed “what they are capable of” and proved that they were fully entitled to be taking on some of the best teams in the country.
They will look to bounce back this weekend and attempt to record successive championship victories over the Rebels in as many years. A late point from Cillian Rouine in last year’s Munster quarter-final helped Clare to overcome Cork for the first time in championship since 1997.
This will of course spur on Cork who will be anxious to avoid losing to Clare in successive seasons. The game has been described as the “defining” moment Leeside in their football campaign for 2024.
Fitzgerald and his management team have named an unchanged team for the game.
