Clare under-21′s facing difficult task
July 13th, 2010 by Kevin EganAfter a dismal weekend for the senior hurlers of both Clare and Limerick, it falls to the under-21 hurlers of each county to try and salvage something for the season when they compete for a place in the Munster final tomorrow night in the Gaelic Grounds. After a long and lean decade when they failed to win a Munster title at either age group, the fortunes of Clare underage hurling have turned around in the last twelve months and their All Ireland under-21 championship last year has heightened the sense of optimism in the county that better days may lie ahead. A minor title was also banked by the Banner county last Sunday and their status as 1/4 favourites in advance of tomorrow night’s game is unsurprising to those who would might simply look at the bare form of the match.
Looking back to the minor championship of three years ago would be little help either since both teams exited that championship tamely at the hands of Tipperary, who went on to win the All Ireland.
Clare bring back seven of the team who started last year’s All Ireland under 21 decider with Kilkenny and two of the subs from that day. Their key men down the spine of the team have also gained plenty of senior experience. In particular, the attacking fulcrum of John Conlon at centre forward and Darach Honan on the edge of the square looks very threatening and should cause Limerick plenty of problems. Pat Vaughan is playing some fantastic hurling at midfield while Caimín Morey is a very talented hurler, even though his selection at centre back looks a little unorthodox. With Conor McGrath doing a good job of replacing Colin Ryan’s freetaking, this is a Clare team that could go deep into this championship.
Nonetheless, this is a dangerous game for them and one where it is well worth taking a second look at the 3/1 available about Limerick. It’s too easy presume that the problems with the Limerick senior hurling panel would have fed down into the under 21 set up, but in actual fact this is a panel that have enjoyed a healthy preparation for this tie. They’ve had some competitive results in challenge games, while their team is packed with capable hurlers and looks particularly strong at midfield and half back.
Last year Clare enjoyed a good win between these two teams, largely driven by Honan and Ryan scoring 3-8 from play between them. Good hurlers like Honan and Ryan will always score if given a regular supply of ball and they enjoyed that and more in Cusack Park as Clare won a mountain of ball in this sector. Limerick will need a much improved performance at midfield tomorrow night but their chosen pairing of Tom O’Brien and Nicky Quaid each hurled quite well against Offaly at the weekend and could be in the kind of form to give Limerick a good platform of possession.
Pat Begley will of course still have to step up and deliver against Honan, but he should have a good chance of doing so with a very strong half back line in front of him. At the other end of the field, Graham Mulcahy and Sean Tobin are two players who have plenty of scores in them and they can keep the scoreboard ticking over and keep this game competitive.
Clare are entitled to be favourites and there is of course the inherent danger that this Limerick team will fail to do justice to their strong look on paper, as has happened to good Limerick teams previously, however at 3/1 there is plenty of incentive for taking the chance that this group might just deliver. At home and with a big crowd sure to turn out, this Limerick team should have the wherewithal to step up to the mark and give Clare a very competitive game and in the interests of value, a 1pt bet on Limerick at 3/1 is recommended.
Tags: Clare, Limerick, under 21
Categories: Hurling
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