*Patrick Crotty and Barry Nash watch as the sliotar flies by. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill

PLENTY OF LEARNINGS will be taken from Clare’s disappointing nine-point loss to Limerick in the final of the Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling Cup.

Early frees from David Reidy had Clare 0-03 0-01 ahead with six minutes played of Sunday’s final but when a double from Colin Coughlan levelled matters, Limerick would push in front and hold onto the lead for the remainder of the contest.

Reflecting on the loss, Clare manager Brian Lohan outlined, “I think it was more than a training session, we lost a game, we were well beaten on the scoreboard, I’m disappointed enough with the extent of the defeat”.

He added, “We tried to learn a bit from it, we showed a bit of desire, maybe it was only one or two points, we were able to get the ball over the bar, we got a good share of possession in the second half, we could have got more goals but didn’t”.

With the return of the round-robin provincial format, it is likely that the teams with the strongest panels will prevail. On this note, the first time senior appearances of Mike Gough, Darragh Lohan, Darren O’Brien, Patrick Crotty and Robin Mounsey in the competition were a plus. “We think we have a bit of quality in the guys we have, taking into account that we had nine guys #involved in Fitzgibbon Cup this week, very conscious of those guys, behind you is a good share of our lads that are long-term injuries, it’s important to get to those guys to be getting that game-time, a match like that against those Limerick lads is as good as ten training sessions”.

Playing against Limerick offers the Clare players and management the chance to learn, the Shannon native believed. “Anytime you play against those guys you will learn, every team is in the same position, they’re trying to learn as much as they can, those guys don’t seem to be going backwards. They’ve so much competition, even looking at Ard Scoil Rís and the power they had, they are doing a lot of things right in Limerick”.

Clare needed a pre-season runout, Lohan acknowledged. “To get the pre-season, it was good to get it in this year and try get a bit of work done because we certainly need it, this year once is starts it comes thick and fast, we have the five league matches and then very little of a break between it followed by four championship matches in five weeks”.

Related News

active travel tulla rd ennis
Start date of construction for Ennis' Active Travel scheme 'is imminent'
Irish-Open-Friday-183
Doonbeg must target lasting legacy Irish Open left in Lahinch
0.9
€6.6m for transformation of Tuam Station House to enterprise hub
matchmaker bar lisdoonvarna 1
Samaritans to support revellers at Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival
Latest News
block r shannon industrial estate 1
Mbyronics lease Block R in Shannon Free Zone as part of Mid-West expansion
aoife power niamh mcmahon 1-2
Power pulls it over the line to win player of the week
active travel tulla rd ennis
Start date of construction for Ennis' Active Travel scheme 'is imminent'
clooney quin v feakle 07-09-25 jerry o'connor 1
Clooney/Quin complete turnaround from relegation battle to county semi-final in twelve months
Irish-Open-Friday-183
Doonbeg must target lasting legacy Irish Open left in Lahinch
Premium
Clooney/Quin complete turnaround from relegation battle to county semi-final in twelve months
Doonbeg must target lasting legacy Irish Open left in Lahinch
€6.9m allocated to transform Cloister into community space
West Clare man (22) charged with sexual assault of 13 year old girl at Vandeleur Woods
Dublin man accused of harassing ex Clare hurler Páidí Fitzpatrick over nine month period

Advertisement

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.