Clonlara survive wobble to beat Crusheen in Clare hurling final

Clonlara 3-18 Crusheen 2-16

County finals are rarely simple. Clonlara were better from the start, and if they had been really clinical their margin of victory could have been in double figures. But they wobbled after half-time, their lead was boiled down to a goal, and having won the game once they were forced to steady themselves and win it again. They refused to blink.

Nearly an hour after the final whistle the cup was still detained on the pitch, posing for selfies. John Conlon was the last player to escape down the tunnel, drawn by raucous chanting from the winners’ dressingroom. He was the only survivor from the last Clonlara team to win the Clare title, 15 years ago; before that, they had waited nearly 90 years. All of that quiet torment had come to this sweet end.

It must have crossed Conlon’s mind that his best chance of another medal had passed. They had lost three finals since 2008, and it was seven years since they had last contested a final. Two thirds of that team were no longer playing. Clonlara slipped down to the senior tier of the senior ranks last year and took that championship in their stride, but that was also the day when they resolved to make a fresh start.

“I suppose it was a turning point for us,” said Conlon. “I stood up in the dressingroom and said ‘That’s not good enough. We can celebrate all we like or we can knuckle down.’ I think we were back training within two weeks in the gym. Donal [Madden, manager] put everything in place and training went from three nights a week to four nights a week. Psychology work, nutritionist – everything just went through the roof.

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“It’s all the sweeter when everyone just buys into the process – I don’t want to say that word process. That’s what happened. Everyone got really friendly, on and off the field. Some of my best friends now are 22 or 23 and it’s great to have a bunch of those friends”.

Crusheen had lost to Clonlara by nine points in the group stages of the championship and had forged an underdog’s path to the final. Though they never looked like winning they will reflect on the 11 wides they committed in the first half, and how they rattled Clonlara in the third quarter. But they didn’t lead after the seventh minute, and their second-half surge couldn’t quite draw them level.

Clonlara led by seven points at the break but they could have been out of sight. Three times in the opening 15 minutes they butchered goal chances, partly as a result of poor-decision making, partly because of magnificent scramble defence.

Luke Hayes hooked Jarlath McMahon, Cian Dillon hooked Ian Galvin, when both times it looked like a goal was the only logical outcome. For the other chance Donal Tuohy made a spectacular save – contorting his hurley to block the shot near his arm-pit – but with a two-on-one overload O’Meara should have slipped the ball to Ian Galvin and simplified the chance.

Crusheen’s resistance finally cracked 12 minutes before the break. Ian Galvin, whose playmaking was terrific, released Michael O’Loughlin with a sweet pass and his shot beat Tuohy with brazen pace.

Six minutes later they broke through again. With the centre of the Crusheen defence increasingly exposed Adrian Moriarty charged down the middle and had nearly reached the small parallelogram before he released the ball to Colm Galvin, riding shotgun. From that distance there was almost nothing Galvin could do to miss.

To stay in the game Crusheen needed to make some adjustments on the hoof. Dillon, the former Clare player and Crusheen’s veteran full back, couldn’t hold Ian Galvin and he was switched to the half back line, where his influence grew. Oisin O’Donnell started at corner forward, but he came out to the middle third and was absolutely pivotal to their comeback, rifling home a brilliant goal and racking up 1-4 altogether.

At the other end, though, Crusheen couldn’t put a harness on Ian Galvin or Michael O’Loughlin, who finished the game with a stunning 2-9, 2-2 from play. O’Loughlin’s second goal, 10 minutes from the end, turned the game for the last time. Colm Galvin sent in a piercing delivery that O’Loughlin fielded behind his man. His first attempt was hooked by Hayes, and then he missed the ball entirely with a left footed kick, but as he fell to the ground he made last-ditch contact with a swinging hurley.

O’Loughlin struck the next three points in quick succession, including a lovely score from the wing and a towering free from close to his own 65. That put them nine points clear and out of danger at last.

Clonlara: Seimi Gully; Logan Ryan, Ger Powell, Michael Clancy; Paraic O’Loughlin, Dylan McMahon (0-1), David Fitzgerald; Aidan Moriarty (0-1), Jathan McMahon (0-1); Colm Galvin (1-0), John Conlon (0-2), Colm O’Meara (0-1); Michael O’Loughlin (2-9, seven frees), Ian Galvin (0-2), Diarmuid Stritch (0-1).

Subs: Cian Moriarty for Stritch (50), Micheál Stritch for D Stritch (58), Daniel Moloney for J McMahon (60, inj), Conor Bourke for A Moriarty (60+2, inj).

Crusheen: Donal Tuohy; Luke Hayes, Cian Dillon, Eanna McMahon; Diarmuid Mullins (0-1), Ross Hayes (0-3, three frees), Tadhg Dean; Eoghan McMahon, Jamie Fitzgibbon (0-1); Gerry O’Grady, Conor O’Donnell (0-2), Cilléin Mullins; Oisin O’Donnell (1-4), Fergus Kennedy (0-2), Breffni Horner (1-3, two frees).

Subs: Ian O’Brien for McMahon (40), Luke Ketelaar for C. Mullins (51), Gavin O’Brien for O’Grady (63), Mark Perrill for Kennedy (60+3).

Referee: Niall Malone (Éire Óg).