*Brian Lohan addresses the Clare team. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’s senior hurlers are in a “good position” to reach a third successive Munster final, manager Brian Lohan outlined.
A one point win over Waterford saw Clare’s senior hurles record successive victories in the Munster SHC. They travel to Tipperary this Sunday where a win will guarantee their passage to the All-Ireland series but also a place in the provincial decider. “It’s a good position going down into it and we’ll take it on and see how we get on”.
Resilience has been evident within the Clare ranks, Lohan felt. “It put us under pressure when we tuned out for that period of time against Limerick but, look, we’ve responded. Our players have shown great resilience to get four points on the board so we’re delighted with that.
While Tipperary cannot qualify for the All-Ireland series having just one point on the board from their three games to date Clare are unlikely to take anything for granted in their final group game.
Liam Cahill’s Tipperary have yet to register a win in this year’s championship. “It’s the Munster championship, it’s going down to the last weekend and we are in there and we will see how we get on,” the two-time All-Ireland winner said.
He was pleased that Clare kept their composure amidst various comebacks from Waterford. “We are delighted with them and with how they responded after a lot of setbacks in that second half today”.
Tony Kelly’s return to action was welcomed by Lohan, the Ballyea man hit 1-1 upon his introduction. “It’s really good to have him back and we are delighted to get him back on the field. His contribution today is what we expect from Tony”.
On the late withdrawal of David McInerney due to injury, the Clare manager stated, “he was a massive loss. He went off the field a couple of minutes from the end of the Cork game due to injury. He tried to get back for today but didn’t make it”.
He acknowledged Clare letting teams back into games is “an area we have to work on but look, we can’t complain, the lads played really well and did some great scoring. The goal threat was always there I thought, and happy to get the result”.
Waterford’s dominance in the third quarter was “a tricky patch,” for Clare, Lohan reflected. “A lot of silly wides and if we got those shots again you’d think that you wouldn’t hit those wides but you are up against a tough team and fair play to them, they did well and nearly everything they hit went over the bar, so credit to them. But we stuck at it, showed resilience and we got our reward in the end”.
