National Hurling League Div 1A/Galway 3-11 Clare 1-13: Clare manager Anthony Daly said yesterday's thorough defeat by Allianz National Hurling League holders Galway was a "serious eye opener", but for most of the 5,000 in attendance at Cusack Park it was more something from which to avert the gaze.
A late goal from replacement Dáithí O'Connell shrank the margin to four points, but the index of discomfort for Clare was sufficiently comprehensive to leave Daly in a very sombre mood and the players more downcast than is customary after March defeats.
He wasn't even willing to accept the traditional placebo. Asked had all the handling errors and unease on the ball been the result of heavy training by the Clare squad, Daly replied that they were indeed doing stamina work.
"We have. But everyone else is too. I was disappointed with the hurling. We worked hard on it last week and got together early on Friday evening.
"We looked good then, but it's about match practice. The Kilkenny game helped Galway - playing at that sort of pace. Our first two games were more sluggish than that.
"But we've found the level we need to get to," he added. "If we play like that next week it's ominous.
"Kilkenny will beat us out the gate, we'll be annihilated. Galway got three goals, Kilkenny will get six."
Only the near faultless striking of Niall Gilligan and a plague of inaccuracy among the Galway forwards kept the match alive for as long as it was.
But, even then, there were limits. Galway corner forward Damien Hayes - replaced last week against Kilkenny - bounced back yesterday with a sparkling performance that netted him 2-4 from play and the Man of the Match award.
Gerry O'Grady battled away honourably to try to contain Hayes, but he was left chasing shadows.
Even before the start Clare were forced into a number of changes. Veteran defender Seán McMahon was ruled out with a groin injury and Conor Plunkett deputised.
But it was farther up the field that the real problems began. Daly lamented the difficulties of fashioning a half forward line, and yesterday's configuration featured a converted corner back (Frank Lohan), a listed wing back (Alan Markham) and a centrefielder/centre back (Diarmuid McMahon).
But for a brief period in the first half this improvised collective imposed themselves physically on the Galway half backs and engineered some reasonable scoring positions.
Once Galway tightened up around the middle, however, even that laborious threat diminished greatly.
Clare actually went 20 minutes without scoring and a one-point lead was gradually and remorselessly turned in to a five-point half-time deficit.
Galway got the goals when they needed them. In the sixth minute Kevin Broderick forced David Fitzgerald into an acrobatic save, but - unfortunately for Clare - the rebound fell to Damien Hayes who cracked in his first goal.
Clare's comeback was built on Gilligan's dead-ball striking, which accounted for all but one of the team's first-half total. But the ascendancy lasted all of two minutes and, with the match level at 1-3 to 0-6, Frank Lohan was set up by McMahon but struck the goal-chance wide.
It was Clare's last chance to move decisively in front, and five minutes before the break Brian O'Connell conceded a penalty by collapsing Damien Hayes but benefited from the permissive regime of referee Barry Kelly, who kept his yellow card to himself for the afternoon.
Ger Farragher, struggling against the sizeable inhibition of Brian Lohan in his first full comeback match and hitting seven wides on the day, cracked home an excellent shot.
Briefly, Clare halved the four-point, 2-5 to 0-7, interval deficit, but Galway's forward game came together and three points rolled back the revival.
Kevin Broderick, David Tierney and David Forde combined to let Hayes loose for his third goal five minutes from time.
Galway manager Conor Hayes was as happy with the performance as he was with the result.
"We had to come here and get our league back on track. It looked a bit shaky for a while in the first half and we hit a lot of wides. Finally, the breaks came for the forwards in the second half."
Daly pondered another major deficiency when bemoaning the loss of Seán McMahon. "He's a leader on the field, which is something we're lacking. We've few enough All-Ireland winners left, but there's an awful lot of lads in their mid and early 20s who need to stand up and start answering the questions."
GALWAY: L Donoghue; D Joyce, S Kavanagh, F Moore; D Hardiman, L Hodgins, O Canning; D Collins, D Hayes; D Tierney, D Forde (0-2), F Healy (0-2); D Hayes (2-4), G Farragher (1-3, goal from pen, 2fs), K Broderick. Subs: T Regan for David Hayes (64 mins), R Murray for Tierney (65 mins), N Healy for Broderick (68 mins), K Hayes for Forde (71 mins).
CLARE: D Fitzgerald; B O'Connell, B Lohan, G O'Grady; D Hoey, C Plunkett, D Clancy; C Lynch, G Quinn; A Markham, D McMahon (0-2), F Lohan; N Gilligan (0-10, three 65s, 6fs), B Nugent, T Carmody. Subs: A Quinn for Markham (49 mins), D O'Connell (1-0) for F Lohan (50 mins), C Forde for Hoey (51 mins), D O'Rourke for Nugent (56 mins), B Lynch for G Quinn (0-1) (65 mins).
Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath).
