Limerick signal future purpose

On two occasions before a ball was pucked in any sort of anger, the public address announcer deemed it necessary to inform patrons to Hennessy Park in Milltown Malbay yesterday that pickpockets were believed to be operating inside the homely little ground.

Clare should have listened to the warning of people with ill-intent being at large and perhaps shored up their defence as a precautionary measure.

Although there was no larceny - grand or otherwise - involved in Limerick's ultimately deserved win, there was also little evidence of the rock-solid defence normally associated with Claremen when the two critical second-half goals which decided the match were scored.

Be that as it may, Limerick's victory bore further confirmation of a side that is evolving into one of genuine substance.

It's a marriage of youth with experience. "The young fellas are looking after the older lads, rather than the other way around," quipped Limerick manager Eamonn Cregan. It is working, if results are anything to go by. Three matches, three wins: who could ask for anything better?

Cregan, though, isn't getting carried away. "It's only March," he insisted, "there is a long way to go yet." So there is, but there was no denying that Limerick, especially in the second half when questions were asked and answered, showed courage to complete the task.

After a first half in which Limerick had any of the benefits of the diagonal wind that swept in off the Atlantic, but trailed by two points, the manager politely requested his players to "hold (their) heads up high" in the second half.

Limerick did more than that, producing a display that was - in many ways - like Clare at their most clinical. In the midst of a fine team display, with many of the younger generation showing they had no hang-ups or historical baggage, one of the most stirring performances came from an old hand, TJ Ryan at fullback.

He was instrumental in single-handedly halting a number of Clare attacks and his passion seemed infectious to his teammates.

Apart from the customary rivalry, the wind was a factor in the game. In golfing parlance, it would have been considered a two-club wind, and both sides - particularly the free-takers - seemed to be affected in the first-half.

Entering the final 10 minutes of that first phase of attrition, Limerick, who had most of the possession but who had used it poorly, actually held a one point advantage until Niall Gilligan wielded some magic.

Gilligan was given too much space by his marker Dave Ryan and utilised it to good effect, scoring three points - all from play - while Jamesie O'Connor added another from play after being set up by Conor Clancy.

Limerick's only reply in a nervous period of play for them was an Ollie Moran free, and so it was that Clare marched in at halftime with a two-point lead, 0-7 to 0-5, and apparently with the initiative.

Two minutes into the new half and that seemed a fair assessment of the situation as Ronan O'Hara and O'Connor added further points.

Then it all changed. Shane O'Neill's low ball into his attack in the 40th minute was misjudged by both Frank Lohan and Brian Quinn. Limerick full forward Brian Begley could hardly believe it when the sliotar finished at his feet but he didn't need to be asked twice and whipped it to the net.

A minute later and Barry Foley outjumped a couple of Clare defenders and sent over the equalising point. Even when O'Connor responded with two pointed frees (conceded by over-zealous tackles from TJ Ryan), the urgency remained in Limerick's play and they were rewarded in the 47th minute with a Barry Foley goal after Ryan's long free was again missed by the Clare defence.

Limerick never trailed again and it was a reflection of the ability of their young blood to produce that David Hennessy, only on the field a matter a minutes as a substitute, calmly slotted over the insurance point.

In contrast, Clare laboured as the game went on and their cutting edge was blunted further by tight Limerick marking, exemplified by substitute Stephen Lucey's taming of Gilligan.

For Clare, the defeat is one that will hurt. But it is unlikely to have any long-term, terminal effects. After all, many of their players have been involved in non-stop championship fare for a number of years, and they're also in the middle of a heavy stamina training programme.

Yesterday though, there were no excuses, just the realisation that, on the day, they were beaten by the better team.

LIMERICK: T Houlihan; S McDonagh, T J Ryan, D Ryan; B Geary, O Moran (0-1, free), M Foley; J Foley, C Smith; S O'Neill (0-1), M O'Brien (0-1), J Moran; M Keane (0-5, three frees), B Begley (1-0), B Foley (1-2). Subs: D Stapleton for Smith (22 mins), S Lucey for D Ryan (half-time), J Butler for Stapleton (57 mins), D Hennessy (0-1) for Moran (65 mins).

Clare: D Fitzgerald; D Hoey, F Lohan, B Quinn; L Doyle, J Reddan (0-1), A Daly; O Baker, C Lynch; J O'Connor (0-6, four frees), G Hegarty, A Markham; N Gilligan (0-3), C Clancy, B Murphy (0-1). Subs: R O'Hara (0-2) for Hegarty (9 mins), K Kennedy for Quinn (51 mins), E Taaffe for Markham (55 mins), G Quinn for Baker (60 mins), F Tuohy for Murphy (65 mins).

Referee: J McDonnell (Tipperary).