Clare dig deep to find parity with on-form Tipperary

Clare 0-17 Tipperary 1-14:IT'S A SHORT enough spin from Ennis back to Mike McNamara's place in Scarriff, and with a result like this, plus the pleasant stretch in the evenings, the Clare manager would have enjoyed the drive.

On current form, a draw with Tipperary is practically as good as a win.

Naturally, Tipperary also got something out of it as it extended their unbeaten league run to four games, but it was Clare who badly needed to come away from Cusack Park with something - at least the point - while also restoring a little faith in their home supporters.

They got that and some more, as their brave fight to earn that share of the points was duly acknowledged by the albeit small attendance. This result will also serve their confidence well. Clare hurling is still very definitely in the rebuilding phase, yet performances like this are crucial to the process.

McNamara still cuts as daunting a figure as he did back in his earlier days with Clare, and he still doesn't hand out praise easily.

"Well we were playing in Ennis," he said. "And I said that it was vital that we win all our home matches. And it is vital that we do. So from that point of view it's still a little disappointing.

"But overall I'd be happy enough with the draw. For a time there at the end we were searching for the winner, and came close enough. Part of the problem is that we're still not creating goal chances. That's something we have to work on."

Clare, he added, weren't as bad as their defeat to Limerick last Sunday suggested, especially given the number of wides they hit, and they were more productive up front on this occasion. Mark Flaherty has established himself as a free-taker of remarkable accuracy and reliability, as his 0-10 here suggests. He didn't miss a placed ball all afternoon.

Fergal Lynch, Declan O'Rourke and David Barrett also chipped in with good scores, while Niall Gilligan - so often their main point architect in the past - surprisingly ended up scoreless. Overall it was more determined and physical Clare performance, and the draw was the least they deserved - even if they needed the last four points of the game to secure it.

Both sides then had their chance to win it in injury-time, with Tipperary coming closest with a fine long-range effort from midfielder Shane McGrath - only for Clare goalkeeper Philip Brennan to make a brilliant leap and catch. At the death, Gilligan missed a chance to win it for Clare, and that at least provided the game with an electrified climax.

It was slower to start, however, as both sides were guilty of messy, awkward hurling in the opening half. Tipperary were inclined to over-run the ball, and while they do boast some quick hurlers in McGrath and newcomer Pat Kerwick, it too often resulted in lost possession.

James Woodlock opened their scoring inside 60 seconds, but they only added two more over the next 20 minutes, allowing Clare to build an early advantage.

Tipperary's goal on 24 minutes also came against the run of play, and was far too easily conceded by Clare. In misreading a simple clearance, they allowed Tommy Fitzgerald to snatch the simple goal, which put Tipperary back in front by 1-4 to 0-6.

Eoin Kelly had been slow to settle, but after drifting out the field was a more notable presence, and his opening free on 33 minutes helped Tipperary enjoy a one-point lead at the break. Still, at that point neither team had played particularly well, despite the decent conditions, with Tipperary already hitting a very worrying 10 wides.

It remained point-for-point for the early stages of the second half, partly explained by the evenly matched midfield pairings. Colin Lynch is still producing the goods for Clare alongside new captain Brian O'Connell and Tipperary also have an efficient unit in McGrath and Woodlock.

As time wore on the furthest Tipperary got in front was four points, and with just under 10 minutes left to play, this looked decisive. Ryan O'Dwyer did well when introduced, and it was another substitute Séamus Butler who pushed them 1-14 to 0-13 in front with a fine point from out on the left sideline.

Clare dug deep, again, and three successive frees by Flaherty brought them back to within a point - just before Tony Carmody set up Fergal Lynch for the equaliser.

The draw steers Clare clear of relegation, not that their manager even dreamt of that: "Relegation? Well I never mentioned relegation. What I am concerned about is getting ready for the Munster championship. It's very important Clare make a good show of themselves in the Munster championship, something we just have not done for the last few years. That's what we're working towards, and we still have a lot of work to do. But I'm happy with the effort."

For Liam Sheedy, the calm and contemplative Tipperary manager, the share of the points was also a worthy reward: "It's always hard to come away from Cusack Park with a result. We did hit quite a few misses in the first half and that came against us in the end, and we also could have snuck the win there as well right at the finish.

"But we're still unbeaten and that's important. We've one more game to go now and hopefully that will leave us in the good position for the play-offs."

CLARE: P Brennan; T Keogh, F Lohan, G O'Grady; P Donlon, C Plunkett, T Holland; B O'Connell, C Lynch (0-1); J Clancy (0-1), D Barrett (0-1), D O'Rourke (0-2); N Gilligan, F Lynch (0-2), M Flaherty (0-10, frees). Subs: B Bulger for Plunkett (50 mins), T Carmody for Barrett (58 mins).

TIPPERARY: B Cummins; E Buckley, P Curran, C O'Brien; E Corcoran, C O'Mahony, B Dunne; J Woodlock (0-3), S McGrath (0-1); P Kerwick, D Egan (0-1), J O'Brien (0-1); E Kelly (0-6, two frees), T Fitzgerald (1-0), W Ryan (0-1). Subs: D Hickey for Kerwick (52 mins), R O'Dywer for Egan (57 mins), S Butler (0-1) for Fitzgerald (58 mins), L Corbett for Ryan (63 mins).

Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).