*Clare manager, Brian Lohan. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
JOHN CONLON’s resolve has been praised by Clare manager Brian Lohan who admitted a return of three wins from the first three rounds of the National League was the target they set when commencing preparations for this season.
Clare cantered past the challenge of Down in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg on Sunday afternoon recording a twenty nine point victory. It follows their fourteen point win at the expense of Davy Fitzgerald’s Antrim in round two and their two point victory over Dublin in the opening round.
It leaves Clare in a healthy position so far as immediate promotion back to Division 1A of the Allianz National Hurling League is concerned.
Speaking following Sunday’s facile win over Down, Lohan outlined they had approached the first three rounds as phase one of their league campaign. “We’re happy to get three out of three, that was the goal when we started out back at the end of November, we’re happy to get six points on the board, we’ve the first phase of the league done now, we’ll take a break for a week and go again”.
Among the big pluses of the latest victory was the return to the saffron and blue of John Conlon. The Clonlara man made his first appearance of the year when starting at centre back, a remarkable recovery considering the serious injury he sustained last autumn.
On the recovery of the two-time All-Ireland winner, Lohan said, “We’re used to it with John, he just gets himself right, it was a big downer for all of us when he got the injury but typical John he just got on with it and it is great to get him back out on the field, he got a bit of a knock in the first half so we took him off at half time”.
Allied with the experience of Conlon was the debuts handed out to Senan Dunford, Niall O’Farrell, Ronan Kilroy and Jamie Moylan. “We had Senan Dunford, Ronan Kilroy, Jamie Moylan, Niall O’Farrell playing wing back for the first time, it’s good to get those guys getting a bit of game time and I’m sure they will have a big say in Clare hurling into the future”.
All teams are keeping one eye on the championship, Lohan remarked. “Every team out there at the moment has one eye on the championship and trying to get ourselves in as good a shape as we can for the Munster championship because when it starts it is pretty intense”.
There is nothing Clare can do to counteract the fact teams competing in Division 1A are facing stiffer tests in each round, he acknowledged. “We are where we are, it is as simple as that, Dublin are a good team, they came down here and we had a right good game with them, there is a gap between some teams in the league and other teams in the league, our aim was to get six points for the first phase of the league and that is what we’ve done so we’re happy enough”.
