Carey and company prey on Clare's squanderlust

After the previous week's poetry, yesterday's second Guinness All-Ireland hurling semi-final was prosaic stuff. It was hard, scrappy and claustrophobic. In the end, Kilkenny's superior forward play - with DJ Carey and Brian McEvoy again outstanding - and more assured finishing was sufficient for a four-point win over Clare at Croke Park.

If Kilkenny won the match in the second half with improved performances everywhere on the pitch, Clare probably lost it in the first. Having survived a dreadful start, they hurled well with their defence battening the hatches on their highly-regarded opponents and their forwards creating plenty of chances.

The problem was that the chances weren't being converted. Despite the higher level of accuracy which has been a feature of Clare's point-taking this season, their marksmanship was awry yesterday. They compounded their problems by going for goals from an early stage of the match.

This was influenced by the early scores conceded, but it ended up costing them an interval lead, let alone one that would have accurately reflected their advantages of possession and opportunity.

If eventually Kilkenny's forwards did the trick for them, their reputedly wobbly defence upped the game considerably in the second half and prevented Clare from opening up avenues to goal at the rate which undid Galway in both quarter-final matches.

One unlikely principal in all of this was Pat O'Neill who was named on the morning. Although he had been expected to start if Eamonn Kennedy failed a fitness test, fears that he would be too slow for full back didn't seem the most confident premise for starting him at centre back.

In the event he played well, albeit that Clare might have assisted him by lining Conor Clancy out on the 40 where his physical presence was never going to inconvenience the hefty O'Neill in the way it had done so influentially against Galway's Cathal Moore.

When changes were made, O'Neill coped well with nimbler opponents and in the second half his formidable presence asserted itself to an even greater extent. As a stopper and powerful striker of the ball, he was at once a bulwark and a platform for the team going forward.

He had solid support from Michael Kavanagh and Peter Barry on his flanks and Clare's manager Ger Loughnane acknowledged that his team hadn't been able to penetrate the Leinster champions' half-back line.

Behind them Canice Brennan survived a stressful opening on Niall Gilligan and grew in composure whereas Willie O'Connor did likewise on David Forde. Philip Larkin betrayed signs of rustiness but was never fully exploited. It could be argued that Kilkenny's backs were lucky in the first half to escape as lightly as they did, but the unit never panicked and was beginning to find its bearings by half-time.

One aspect of the play which will take some remedial work before the final is the accuracy of the defensive clearances. Time and time again, the ball was struck straight to Claremen or out over the sideline - a waste of ball-winning which did much to exert extra pressure on the side.

A great start saved Kilkenny from the full consequences of Clare's first-half dominance. In fact the winners assembled all but a point of their interval total in the first and last five minutes of the half.

O'Neill launched a free from his half-back line in the opening seconds of the match and John Power broke it for corner forward Ken O'Shea. His shot was parried by Davy Fitzgerald but carried over the line. A few minutes later Andy Comerford added a point.

Clare showed great application in painstakingly reducing the deficit. Their defence took a grip on Kilkenny with Brian Lohan excellent at full back and he went on to have his best match for the county this year. Liam Doyle played Carey well in the first half and Brian Quinn dealt firmly with Charlie Carter all afternoon - forcing his eventual substitution.

Centrefield never realised Clare's theoretical advantages and Kilkenny captain Denis Byrne gave his best performance of the campaign without dominating.

Four points down without scoring, Clare began the comeback and as early as the seventh minute when Niall Galligan skinned Canice Brennan but made no mark on the scoreboard. Points followed - six in succession - and by the 23rd minute Clare led 0-7 to 1-2.

Further goal opportunities were created: James McGarry fingertipped out an effort by Colin Lynch and Alan Markham kicked weakly straight at the goalkeeper after an incisive solo. Loughnane and his selectors must have felt frustration at the missed chances and that surely turned to concern when Kilkenny's short points burst before the interval yielded three points.

The final one which tied up the match came from a neat piece of skill from John Power, who enjoyed a satisfactory afternoon, contributing two points and asserting himself well in the second half in the company of Sean McMahon whose influence wasn't as marked as usual and whose long-range striking went on the blink.

The tone of the second half was set early as McEvoy raced in for a point 20 seconds after the restart. The wing forward had another fine match in what has been an excellent season. His work-rate was tremendous and his pacy, skilful thrusts created considerable difficulty for Clare.

One item of worry for Kilkenny may be that Henry Shefflin had such a mixed afternoon. Although he ended with three points, he was a bit marginal to proceedings for much of the 70 minutes, although his confidence did appear to be returning in the final quarter.

His free-taking didn't go brilliantly, with a couple of puzzling misses prompting speculation that Carey might take over. Instead, Shefflin persevered and landed two against the three he missed.

The final quarter began with Kilkenny leading by four, 1-11 to 0-10. Stephen McNamara, who cried off with an injury in favour of David Forde before the throw-in, had come on as a substitute in the 41st minute. Twelve minutes later he was on the end of a move to score the goal which cut the margin to only a point. McNamara's afternoon went downhill from there and he got the line in the 66th minute for a second bookable offence.

His goal was, however, Kilkenny's moment of greatest crisis and a suitable cue for Carey. After all the controversies and poor form of recent years, he is having a great season. Thriving amidst more reasonable expectation and an improved attack, he has played his own deadly game and pounced on whatever opportunities arise.

Byrne's sideline cut broke between Lohan and Shefflin and Carey was in on goal. His finish was assured and emphatic. It underlined his own contribution and smothered the Clare revival. Although Clare threw themselves at it in the closing 10 minutes, Kilkenny's defence was in control.