Brian Lohan expressed his displeasure with the application of the black-card rule after Clare held on for a three-point victory against Dublin in the National Hurling League Division 1B final at the Gaelic Grounds.
Rory Hayes was sin-binned and a penalty awarded against him for his attempt to prevent an early Cian O’Sullivan shot on goal. The Dublin forward’s strike was saved by Éibhear Quilligan, but Thomas Walsh called the play back and John Hetherton slotted the penalty.
“The black card was very soft,” said the Banner boss after the 2-26 to 3-20 victory. “Again, Clare penalised for a black card. I wonder will that rule apply to other teams in the championship or in the league? We’ll see.
“I thought it was a free out. I couldn’t believe that he was pointing to go in on a black card. Look, I haven’t seen it back. This is just watching it live. I thought Rory was fouled.”
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Lohan also revealed that Shane O’Donnell’s half-time withdrawal was due to a knock. The 2024 Hurler of the Year scored 1-1, assisted 0-2 and was fouled for three pointed frees during his 35 minutes on the pitch.
“Another knock. We’ll have to see how he is,” said Lohan. “We’re carrying a couple of knocks and we’ll hope to get them cleared up.
“But you have to get up to the pitch of the game and you have to attack the game. You’re not going to get through these games unscathed. That’s just the nature of the job.”
Top scorer Mark Rodgers emerged as a concern when he hobbled off after appearing to twist his ankle. The free-taker had nailed 0-12 from 12 shots, including three from play. When collecting the man-of-the-match award, Rodgers expressed hope that the injury wasn’t too serious.
“He’s with the physios now, so we’ll see what he’s like this evening and tomorrow morning,” said Lohan.
“They (O’Donnell and Rodgers) are really good players. When they’re attacking the ball, they’re really good. They were lightning for us in the first half.”
The manager responded to questions about the fitness of Tony Kelly, David McInerney and Adam Hogan.
“We went with our strongest 15 that were fit. They’re just not fit. Physios and our medical people have a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks.”
When asked if any of them would be missing for the Munster opener against Waterford in a fortnight’s time, Lohan replied: “Hopefully not. We’ll try and have a full panel to pick from.”
Defensive frailties will be a major focus for Clare between now and then. Dublin carved out three goals from direct supply, plus a couple more chances.
“The second goal that they got was a really soft goal from our defence to give away. Just not watching the runners at all. It was a really poor goal,” said Lohan.
“They had one or two other opportunities as well. It’s an area that we have to work on.”
Lohan remains unsure what the effect of Division 1B hurling will be when they head into the Munster championship.
“Look, 1B is not at the same level, obviously, as what 1A is. That’s the big question – are we going to suffer in intensity when it comes to the first round and the second round of the Munster championship because we haven’t been at the level these guys are at?”
