Cork genie let out of the bottle once again

Recent traditions were overturned in Semple Stadium, Thurles, yesterday as Clare lost their Guinness Munster hurling championship. Older traditions were however upheld. Six years, 1932-38, was confirmed the longest shut-out of Cork and Tipperary in the Munster championship; Cork returned to the county's winning ways and the danger of classifying them as underdogs in finals was re-emphasised.

Jimmy Barry-Murphy's new team - only Brian Corcoran remained of the side which last won Munster for the county seven years ago - managed to hit 19 wides and still hurl their way through the formidable challenge of reigning champions Clare whose troubles reached critical mass on a memorable afternoon.

Cork were able to afford a fairly fallow second half during which they managed only two points until their crowning surge in the last three minutes. Damage had been done in the first half, particularly the second quarter, when their forwards found their range.

In the 33rd minute, the crucial goal was scored. A lazily dropping ball from Fergal McCormack was knocked back when Sean McGrath improbably beat Brian Quinn in the air just at the endline beside the right-hand post. Joe Deane deftly doubled the ball into the far corner of the net.

Over the entire afternoon, defenders were the star turns for Cork. Diarmuid O'Sullivan had little trouble with Ronan O'Hara, bizarrely parachuted into the team despite his unconvincing championship track record.

Corcoran overwhelmed David Forde on the 40 and although the great man struggled when Niall Gilligan moved on to him, Cork will be pleased that they survived such a below-par contribution from their most celebrated player. Sean O hAilpin had a great second half by way of compensation and Clare's forwards were never able to take a decisive hold on their opponents.

But it was the right-hand side of the winners' defence which contributed most handsomely. In the corner Fergal Ryan swept everywhere across the full-back line and further afield. His attention to marking - his tussle with Alan Markham was a highlight of the match - never deviated and his clearances frequently relieved pressure at the back.

In front of him Wayne Sherlock was equally sharp and tireless in his pursuit of loose ball. Perceptive and quick, he played a huge role in blunting the edge of the Clare attack in the early stages of the match and his game never faltered thereafter.

Mickey O'Connell had a sweet afternoon. He must have been driven near frenzies of irritation by the constant warning that Colin Lynch would do to him what he did to Waterford last month. If he didn't hit eight points, he did manage five, as well as a lively performance which never allowed the physical advantages of Lynch and Ollie Baker to deter him.

When Clare turned the screw after half-time with two quick points from Baker and the 1-3 interval lead began to evaporate, it was noticeable that the Cork forwards were having trouble winning anything. McCormack and Timmy McCarthy - whose pacy runs troubled Clare but didn't always lead to the most effective conclusion - caught a bit and, crucially, Cork stayed in front throughout by somehow managing to time two points to perfection.

But the secret of their game was speed, fast striking, quick movement and never allowing Clare to subdue them completely. Neil Ronan's mobility was exceptional in the first half and on the inside line the elusive McGrath (although not serviced terribly well at times), Ben O'Connor, whose stunning point at the end put Cork four clear, and Joe Deane, who posed a constant menace, completed an exuberant attack.

Barry-Murphy made critical changes in the final quarter, bringing on a hungry Alan Browne to curtail the rampant Liam Doyle, who had been returning ball into his forwards at a highly productive rate.

Browne competed in the air and, together with Kevin Murray, revitalised the team's attack.

It has been seen over the last two seasons that Clare have struggled to put impressive performances back-to-back. Amidst the euphoria which attended last month's awesome defeat of Tipperary, the losing manager Nicholas English while wishing them well, drew attention to a critical consideration.

That was how often could they repeat a display of such intensity and purpose. Yesterday represented a falling-back from that standard, but there were still some fine performances around the field. The champions' weakness was an old one - failure to turn possession into scores.

Even two years ago when the team was playing to its optimum, the wastage rate on opportunities created was considerable. But at least the ball was flying over the bar as well as wide and big scores ensued.

One of the most obvious misapprehensions arising from the defeat of Tipp was the notion that Clare's attack would be as menacing in the absence of James O'Connor. The team's top forward had broken his arm with the side well on the way to victory and although he hadn't played a dominant role in proceedings up until his departure, his influence was always going to be missed.

So it proved. The very qualities O'Connor brings to the forwards were those most sorely lacking. The rapier cuts - whether in acquiring loose ball around the half-forward line or in snapping up scoring chances - weren't there and whereas the wides total was in keeping with Clare's greater economy this year, it also reflected the fact that they weren't creating as many chances.

His absence was most acutely felt in the 68th minute when Dickie Murphy awarded Clare a 20-metre free, an obvious opportunity to level the match. Forde, O'Connor's replacement as the short-range free-taker, missed and Cork felt sufficiently liberated to run off a sequence of three unanswered points.

The fact that O'Connor was injured represents another unwelcome trend for Clare this year and this was exacerbated by the final-quarter departure of Baker with an ankle injury which almost certainly rules him out of the All-Ireland quarter-final in three weeks' time, a date O'Connor is also likely to miss.

Whereas they're by no means out of the running for this year's All-Ireland, Clare's task won't be getting any easier especially now that the red and white genie is out of the bottle in their own back yard.