MUNSTER SHC FINAL - Tipperary 2-21 Clare 0-19:TIPPERARY WERE eventually comfortable winners of a first Munster title in seven years at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday. That much tallies with what was generally expected, but it obscures an alarming 15 minutes during the second half when the winners were held scoreless and Clare chopped back a forlorn-looking 12-point deficit to five.
But in a microcosm of the wider conflict, Clare's exhaustingly compiled sequence unravelled when Tipperary's riposte restored a goal and a point to the margin in the space of little over a minute, leaving the outsiders with too much to do in the final 10 minutes.
Overall, the match went much as anticipated, even down to Tipperary's black-out. After a powerful first half's hurling, full of clever movement and top-class finishing, had left the favourites eight points clear, their followers were all too aware of the county's propensity to make hard work out of protecting good leads.
Clare had created some good openings but piled up a demoralising 10 wides, as against just three for their opponents, and a couple of goal opportunities were averted by calm goalkeeping from Brendan Cummins and alert defensive cover.
When the second half opened with two further points from Tipperary, courtesy of the once again ebullient Séamus Callinan and Shane McGrath, there looked no earthly way Clare could make a match of the half-hour that remained of the final.
Although 19 points is rather a large total to concede for a team that looked so superior over the 70 minutes, Tipperary weathered the storm and Sheedy can look back on some fine performances in a defence that lost full back Paul Curran to a shoulder injury in the 25th minute. Not every team has a current All Star as a replacement full back, but even the availability of Declan Fanning was disruptive, as he battled to get to the pitch of the match.
In the half backs, Conor O'Mahony and Eamonn Corcoran had sound matches during a worrying second half, particularly the former, who swept across the defence and made a number of timely interventions - even if his clearances did not always hit the right airspace.
Clare had begun with just two full forwards, Niall Gilligan and Mark Flaherty, and Tony Griffin playing in a withdrawn role. But nothing really worked satisfactorily. And as well as reverting to a more orthodox formation later in the match, manager Michael McNamara also replaced four forwards in an attempt to introduce the hint of menace that might have produced a more profitable conversion rate.
Tipp had no such problems and that greater facility taking scores was the primary difference between the teams. Callinan (1-3) and John O'Brien (1-4) led the scoring returns from play.
The former was building on an eye-catching debut in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last month, when he hit 0-3 from play.
Yesterday he again impressed, but at times inexperience showed with four wides in the second half and the occasional wrong option - quibbles when set against a big score in his debut senior final.
O'Brien's been around a lot longer and has been troubled by injury and difficulties in nailing down a team place. Yesterday may well have been his best display for the county, as he showed well for puck-outs and worked back in defence as well as taking with aplomb the game's decisive score.
But in the first half it was Lar Corbett who took the fight to Clare. As early as the fifth minute he produced a stunning score, killing McGrath's long ball on his stick and whipping it over the bar.
His runs caused havoc in the opposing defence. For example, in the 25th minutes he made a move over to the left corner, gathered the ball and flicked it back to the supporting O'Brien, who shot the point.
As a supporter of the attack he was on hand for Callinan's two goal chances, not needed for the first, which the young centre forward cracked home in the 27th minute, and two minutes later just failing to get a clean touch on a rebound from the second.
Eleven years since he was a colossus in Clare's win when the counties previously met in the Munster final, Colin Lynch again gave a Trojan display and scored three points to drive his team's revival, but there wasn't enough scoring threat to take the comeback beyond stubborn resistance.
Declan O'Rourke replaced Flaherty in the first half, but didn't have the happiest of afternoons before being taken off again.
Tony Griffin was again quiet and although Diarmuid McMahon posed some genuine problems under high ball he didn't manage to turn it into something tangible.
Despite being hampered by this reduced threat and with Tipp not spilling goal chances as Limerick did in the semi-final, Clare did well to piece together a phase that threatened to reignite the match.
Between the 45th and 57th minutes Clare knocked off seven points - six from play - without reply, reducing the margin to five points 0-14 to 1-16.
The sequence was built on domination of the restarts and urgent forward breaks from the back, where Patrick Donnellan and Gerry Quinn, switched to centre back for most of the second half, piled forward.
Quinn started the revival with Niall Gilligan, whose frees kept the scoreboard clicking, Lynch and Jonathan Clancy also getting in on the act.
But as the match swayed before Tipp's eyes, O'Brien provided a steadying touch. In the 58th minute he presented for and won Cummins's puck-out and galloped on to within range before dispatching his side's second goal.
Seconds later Eoin Kelly - in quietly efficient rather than starburst mood, but still hitting four points from play - provided the pass for O'Brien to add a point.
The remainder of the scoring was divided more or less equally and, crucially, Clare's momentum had been halted even if they persevered gamely to the end.
Tipperary now have the luxury of resting up until next month in the All-Ireland semi-finals, while Clare await quarter-final opponents from next week's qualifiers.
TIPPERARY:1. B Cummins; 2. E Buckley, 3. P Curran, 4. C O'Brien; 5. E Corcoran 6. C O'Mahony, 7. S Maher; 8. J Woodlock (0-1), 9. S McGrath (0-3, one sideline); 10. P Kerwick (0-1), 11. S Callinan (1-3), 12. J O'Brien (1-4); 13. E Kelly (capt, 0-6, two frees), 14. L Corbett (0-2), 15. S Butler. Subs: 21. D Fanning for Curran (30 mins), 29. M Webster for Kerwick (48 mins), 23. H Moloney (0-1) for Butler (53 mins), 19. B Dunne for Woodlock (66 mins). Yellow cards: McGrath (47 mins), C O'Mahony (69 mins), E Corcoran (71 mins).
CLARE:1. P Brennan; 2. P Vaughan, 3. F Lohan, 4. G O'Grady; 5. G Quinn (0-1), 6. C Plunkett, 7. P Donnellan; 8. B O'Connell (capt), 9. C Lynch (0-3); 12. T Carmody (0-2), 10. D McMahon, 15. J Clancy (0-1); 11. T Griffin, 13. N Gilligan (0-9, six frees), 14. M Flaherty (0-3, all frees). Subs: 18. D O'Rourke for Flaherty (26 mins), 17. G O'Connell for Plunkett (40 mins), 20. F Lynch for O'Rourke (60 mins), 19. B Nugent for Griffin (62 mins), 27. M Murphy for McMahon (68 mins).Yellow cards: Clancy (12 mins), Vaughan (26 mins).
Referee:D Kirwan (Cork).
