Clare manager Cyril Lyons has defended the decision to replace John Reddan in Sunday's Munster championship tilt with Tipperary. Playing at midfield, Reddan scored three points from play before being substituted for the final quarter by Ollie Baker. The decision caused a lot of comment after Clare's narrow defeat.
"I felt we'd gone out of it a bit in the middle," Lyons said, "and that we needed to pick up some breaking ball. John hurled very well but Noel Morris was one of Tipperary's best players. Someone said to me afterwards that I deserved the Michael Noonan award for tactical brilliance."
Morris was a conspicuous success for Tipperary, having come in as a replacement for the injured Eddie Enright. In what was a fast and exciting game of hurling, he and Reddan were both impressive on the ball, but Morris was beginning to damage Clare and had scored his second point just before the decision was made to introduce Baker.
Afterwards Clare captain Brian Lohan said that he and his players had been very tired by the end of the match. Lyons believes that the heavy rain on Saturday played a part. "The heaviness of the field was very noticeable when I walked it beforehand. It would have been very sapping on legs and a lot our backs were in constant demand. It wasn't stand-up hurling either but forward and back, in and out. They had to cover a good deal ground."
Unlike last year, defeat by Tipperary doesn't spell the end for Clare. The introduction of the qualifier system means that there will be another chance next month when the first round of the GAA's repechage structure takes place.
"It has softened the pain," says Lyons. "We can proceed in championship hurling, albeit in a different system. To have to wait a year for your next match after being beaten by one or two points is very cruel. Errors are highlighted when the match is discussed as people wonder about what might have happened.
"No one goes out to lose a first round but we're glad for the second chance. It's up to us now."
Another advantage is the opportunity to play fresh opposition. Clare have played nobody except Tipperary for the past three championships. Aside from the repetitiveness, the period has coincided with Clare's need to rebuild and Tipperary's rise to the status of All-Ireland champions.
"Over the past four years we've played Tipperary five times," says Lyons. "So every defeat has created bad memories that players can end up carrying into the next year's match. We'll at least have something different to look forward to now. We have four weeks to get over any knocks we picked up and to work hard. The time factor will be important for us."
He is philosophical about the waning interest in the county, which contributed to one of the smallest turnouts of Clare supporters since the county emerged as championship contenders seven years ago.
"I suppose it was because we'd had a very poor League run. People were hedging their bets. It's nothing that a win won't cure."
