29 July 1999 Edition
Sportsview: Clare live to fight again
By Dan O'Neill
When referee Pat Horan controversially blew his whistle for the end of the Clare- Galway epic, the Westerners had every right to feel aggrieved. After all, he had played just five seconds injury time when there should have been at least two or three minutes played. More significantly for them, he denied Galway a free from a scorable position as Frank Lohan of Clare fouled Ollie Canning just as the game ended.
One wonders if the ref's swift whistle had anything to do with the fact that the GAA are now gauranteed another huge pay-day for Monday's (yes Monday's!) replay.
However, Sunday's game was such that even if Galway had converted that free, the Clare men would have found another score before the real injury time could be played out. Their legendary ``never say die'' attitude was clearly on display as they clawed themselves back from a nine-point gap with 16 minutes played in the second half to earn another replay.
I suspect that the neutrals watching the game will not be too disappointed with the referee's antics, as I'm sure they will relish another chance to see these two sides in battle again. I've heard many punters commenting that this was the best game of hurling that they had seen in years!
This, one of the finest hurling clashes in recent years, was preceded by the Antrim-Offaly game which preceeded it must rank as one of the worst at Croke Park for a while (especially if you're an Antrim man!).
There was much pre-match talk that Antrim were an improved side from last year and that they would give Offaly a run for their money. I wasn't too convinced and I even suggested to a friend ( a hardened Antrim fan) that they they would not come within 20 points of Offaly. Unfortunately, I was proved correct, albeit that the margin was 22 points at the end. Offaly were even afforded the luxury of 15 wides.
The huge gap between Leinster and Ulster hurling was graphically illustrated. Only Gary O'Kane, Seamus McMullan and Conor Cunning looked like half decent hurlers in the Antrim camp and with their minors suffering another heavy defeat to Wexford on Saturday, things don't look too good for hurling in Ulster.
There is a serious need for more full-time coaches and a vastly increased investment by the county board in GAA promotion. Very little talent seems to be filtering through from their underage set-up. They should take a leaf out of Galway's book. Here is a side that only plays one game in their province against poor opposition yet they can match Munster and Leinster's best when they get to the quarter-finals.
For Offaly though, despite their easy victory, this was a costly exercise. They now look certain to face Cork without two thirds of their half-back line. Centre-back Hubert Rigney was hospitalised after a tackle by Antrim's Jacke Carson and wing-back Kevin Martin was also sent to hospital as he was suspected of losing the tip of his finger in a clash.
Ulster SFC Final
Down vs Armagh (Clones, 2.40)
Ulster finalists Down and Armagh have made one change from their respective semi-final line-ups for Sunday's decider.
Armagh's Cathal O'Rourke replaces the injured Alan O'Neill in the Orchard counties forward-line.
In a positional switch, Diarmud Marsden will move from corner to centre forward while Oisin McConville completes a strong full-forward-line. Meanwhile, Down manager Peter McGrath has replaced the injured Ciaran Byrne (hamstring) with Paudie Matthews in the Mourne men's defence. Ross Carr and Gerard Deegan will switch wings in the half-forward line. As expected, Down captain James McCartan is not fit to play due to a back injury which kept him out of their semi-final win over Tyrone.
Verdict: I expect Armagh to be slight favourites to win this one due to the absense James and Gregory McCartan from the starting Down line up.
Leinster SFC Final
Dublin vs Meath (Croke Park, 4.20)
Dublin defender Paul Curran will definitely miss Sunday's final after breaking his collar bone a month ago against Laois. It was thought the Thomas Davis player might figure at some stage of the game, but he has ruled himself out. Peadar Andrews is expected to get the nod in his absence.
Meath are likely to be without Tommy Dowd for the Leinster decider due to the seriousness of his back injury, however I would expect that the Dunderry player could come off the bench at some stage of the game.
John McDermott's participation is not yet known after the sad loss of his mother this week. Jimmy McGuinness is on stand-by.
Nigel Nestor (hamstring) is also rated doubtful for Sunday's clash.
Verdict: I fancy Meath to come through this one despite the injury to the inspirational Tommy Dowd.
All-Ireland SHC quarter-final replay
Clare vs Galway
Banner county manager Ger Loughnane has ruled out the possibility of star forward Jamesie O'Connor starting the replay against the Tribesmen, saying that he will be giving the player another cameo role.
Ollie Baker suffered some swelling on his injured ankle after Sunday's drawn game but is expected to be fit for the replay.
Galway may be without five of the starting line-up that faced Clare last Sunday for Monday's game. Their are injury worries over Kevin Broderick, Cathal Moore, Eugene Cloonan, Brian Feeney and Michael Healey.
Verdict: Galway have lost that element of surprise for the replay and I expect Clare to book a semi-final date with KIlkenny.
Ireland's under-18 footballers secured third place in the European Youth Championships in Sweden with a 1-0 win over Greece on Sunday.
A Clive Delaney goal was enough to settle the tie. Ireland lost the chance to defend their European title won in Cyprus last summer after losing 2-0 to Italy on Friday in controversial circumstances.
However, this represents another magnificant achievment for Brian Kerr and Noel O'Reilly's management of our underage sides since they took over in 1997.
Eddie Irvine could yet become the first Irishman to win the Formula One championship after winning the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
He answered his critcs in spectacular fashion who claimed he couldn't handle the pressure of being Ferrari's number one driver in Schumacher's absense. We knew he could ``talk the talk'' but Irvine has showed that he can ``walk the walk''. He is now only two points behind Mika Hakkinen in the overall standings after the Finn finished third on Sunday.
A repeat performance on Sunday at Hockenheim will put the Irishman in pole position to win this year's world championship.
When referee Pat Horan controversially blew his whistle for the end of the Clare- Galway epic, the Westerners had every right to feel aggrieved. After all, he had played just five seconds injury time when there should have been at least two or three minutes played. More significantly for them, he denied Galway a free from a scorable position as Frank Lohan of Clare fouled Ollie Canning just as the game ended.
One wonders if the ref's swift whistle had anything to do with the fact that the GAA are now gauranteed another huge pay-day for Monday's (yes Monday's!) replay.
However, Sunday's game was such that even if Galway had converted that free, the Clare men would have found another score before the real injury time could be played out. Their legendary ``never say die'' attitude was clearly on display as they clawed themselves back from a nine-point gap with 16 minutes played in the second half to earn another replay.
I suspect that the neutrals watching the game will not be too disappointed with the referee's antics, as I'm sure they will relish another chance to see these two sides in battle again. I've heard many punters commenting that this was the best game of hurling that they had seen in years!
This, one of the finest hurling clashes in recent years, was preceded by the Antrim-Offaly game which preceeded it must rank as one of the worst at Croke Park for a while (especially if you're an Antrim man!).
There was much pre-match talk that Antrim were an improved side from last year and that they would give Offaly a run for their money. I wasn't too convinced and I even suggested to a friend ( a hardened Antrim fan) that they they would not come within 20 points of Offaly. Unfortunately, I was proved correct, albeit that the margin was 22 points at the end. Offaly were even afforded the luxury of 15 wides.
The huge gap between Leinster and Ulster hurling was graphically illustrated. Only Gary O'Kane, Seamus McMullan and Conor Cunning looked like half decent hurlers in the Antrim camp and with their minors suffering another heavy defeat to Wexford on Saturday, things don't look too good for hurling in Ulster.
There is a serious need for more full-time coaches and a vastly increased investment by the county board in GAA promotion. Very little talent seems to be filtering through from their underage set-up. They should take a leaf out of Galway's book. Here is a side that only plays one game in their province against poor opposition yet they can match Munster and Leinster's best when they get to the quarter-finals.
For Offaly though, despite their easy victory, this was a costly exercise. They now look certain to face Cork without two thirds of their half-back line. Centre-back Hubert Rigney was hospitalised after a tackle by Antrim's Jacke Carson and wing-back Kevin Martin was also sent to hospital as he was suspected of losing the tip of his finger in a clash.
This weekend's fixtures
Ulster SFC Final
Down vs Armagh (Clones, 2.40)
Ulster finalists Down and Armagh have made one change from their respective semi-final line-ups for Sunday's decider.
Armagh's Cathal O'Rourke replaces the injured Alan O'Neill in the Orchard counties forward-line.
In a positional switch, Diarmud Marsden will move from corner to centre forward while Oisin McConville completes a strong full-forward-line. Meanwhile, Down manager Peter McGrath has replaced the injured Ciaran Byrne (hamstring) with Paudie Matthews in the Mourne men's defence. Ross Carr and Gerard Deegan will switch wings in the half-forward line. As expected, Down captain James McCartan is not fit to play due to a back injury which kept him out of their semi-final win over Tyrone.
Verdict: I expect Armagh to be slight favourites to win this one due to the absense James and Gregory McCartan from the starting Down line up.
Leinster SFC Final
Dublin vs Meath (Croke Park, 4.20)
Dublin defender Paul Curran will definitely miss Sunday's final after breaking his collar bone a month ago against Laois. It was thought the Thomas Davis player might figure at some stage of the game, but he has ruled himself out. Peadar Andrews is expected to get the nod in his absence.
Meath are likely to be without Tommy Dowd for the Leinster decider due to the seriousness of his back injury, however I would expect that the Dunderry player could come off the bench at some stage of the game.
John McDermott's participation is not yet known after the sad loss of his mother this week. Jimmy McGuinness is on stand-by.
Nigel Nestor (hamstring) is also rated doubtful for Sunday's clash.
Verdict: I fancy Meath to come through this one despite the injury to the inspirational Tommy Dowd.
All-Ireland SHC quarter-final replay
Clare vs Galway
Banner county manager Ger Loughnane has ruled out the possibility of star forward Jamesie O'Connor starting the replay against the Tribesmen, saying that he will be giving the player another cameo role.
Ollie Baker suffered some swelling on his injured ankle after Sunday's drawn game but is expected to be fit for the replay.
Galway may be without five of the starting line-up that faced Clare last Sunday for Monday's game. Their are injury worries over Kevin Broderick, Cathal Moore, Eugene Cloonan, Brian Feeney and Michael Healey.
Verdict: Galway have lost that element of surprise for the replay and I expect Clare to book a semi-final date with KIlkenny.
Sport in brief
Ireland take bronze in Sweden
Ireland's under-18 footballers secured third place in the European Youth Championships in Sweden with a 1-0 win over Greece on Sunday.
A Clive Delaney goal was enough to settle the tie. Ireland lost the chance to defend their European title won in Cyprus last summer after losing 2-0 to Italy on Friday in controversial circumstances.
However, this represents another magnificant achievment for Brian Kerr and Noel O'Reilly's management of our underage sides since they took over in 1997.
Irvine ``walks the walk''
Eddie Irvine could yet become the first Irishman to win the Formula One championship after winning the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
He answered his critcs in spectacular fashion who claimed he couldn't handle the pressure of being Ferrari's number one driver in Schumacher's absense. We knew he could ``talk the talk'' but Irvine has showed that he can ``walk the walk''. He is now only two points behind Mika Hakkinen in the overall standings after the Finn finished third on Sunday.
A repeat performance on Sunday at Hockenheim will put the Irishman in pole position to win this year's world championship.