Clare v Wexford, SHC Qualifier, Cusack Park, Ennis, 5th July, @3.45

T0001

Can Clare keep their two-in-a-row dreams alive, or can Wexford pull off the shock of the year?

Cathal Mc Allister is the referee

Warper

Clare should win this especially with it being on in Ennis. Should be a good game though, Wexford have improved a lot this year and still hard to know where Clare are at.

shamco

T0001 wrote: »

Can Clare keep their two-in-a-row dreams alive, or can Wexford pull off the shock of the year?

Cathal Mc Allister is the referee

McAllister is not a bad ref . He certainly is a lot better than McGrath who I see gave another soft free to decide a match in Antrim

wingbacknr5

shamco wrote: »

McAllister is not a bad ref . He certainly is a lot better than McGrath who I see gave another soft free to decide a match in Antrim

Is this game on TV?

shamco

wingbacknr5 wrote: »

Is this game on TV?

Yes on RTE

wingbacknr5

shamco wrote: »

Yes on RTE

Great, thank you.

Warper

I still cant print off my ticket for this game through the seasonticket website? Maybe its not ready yet?

Rightwing

Clare should win this by about 10 points if they can get into 2nd gear.

purplepanda

This strange "theory" that many seem to have claiming Wexford are getting better this season will be confirmed or not on Sunday.

Last year they drew in normal time against Clare & took Dublin to a replay, this year they already have lost against the Dubs by 6 points & I can't see any chance of improvement against Clare?

How exactly Wexford will have improved after losing against Clare this Sunday is lost on me! :pac:

WX to lose by 8 points & continue going backwards :mad:

castletownman

On a side note, Wexford GAA lost one of it's icons today with the passing of Tim Flood, winner of three AI medals and one of the last remaining links from the great hurling team of the 1950's that captivated the country. RIP

Should serve as some sort of extra motivation for the boys on Saturday.

savannahkat

To any of you who never saw Tim Flood play you missed seeing one of the very best. He was a stylish back when brawn was more admired than style and was a forerunner of the modern type back. I saw him give one of the finest displays I ever saw from anyone against Kilkenny in the Nowlan park. He was a one man team that day.

letowski

Wexford Team:

Mark Fanning; Liam Ryan, Matthew O'Hanlon, Keith Rossiter; Eoin Moore, Lee Chin, Ciaran Kenny; David Redmond, Harry Kehoe; Garrett Sinnott, Podge Doran, Liam Og McGovern; Paul Morris, Conor McDonald, Rory Jacob.

Strange to see Jack Guiney losing out, got the equalising goal against us last year. He can be a bit inconsistent, but he is still under 21 and wont improve his quality sitting on the bench. Chin at center back is different too, as he played there during the league but not against the Dubs.

McDonald will be a handful, likely Dillon will be marking him. I think they will give our boys a tricky enough task at home, especially if some of our key players are still off form.

castletownman

letowski wrote: »

Wexford Team:

Mark Fanning; Liam Ryan, Matthew O'Hanlon, Keith Rossiter; Eoin Moore, Lee Chin, Ciaran Kenny; David Redmond, Harry Kehoe; Garrett Sinnott, Podge Doran, Liam Og McGovern; Paul Morris, Conor McDonald, Rory Jacob.

Strange to see Jack Guiney losing out, got the equalising goal against us last year. He can be a bit inconsistent, but he is still under 21 and wont improve his quality sitting on the bench. Chin at center back is different too, as he played there during the league but not against the Dubs.

McDonald will be a handful, likely Dillon will be marking him. I think they will give our boys a tricky enough task at home, especially if some of our key players are still off form.

Jack being inconsistent is an understatement. He scored a point almost straight from throw in against the Dubs but was totally anonymous there on in and was actually lucky to last as long as he did before being taken off in the second half. In the under-21 semi against a poor Offaly side last week was responsible for at least five poor wides in the first half when the game was there to be won, but went out and fired over some fine points in the second half when the game WAS done.

And anyone who saw the Dublin match last time around would have seen Shore having no presence despite his tall frame, and being susceptible to either being hooked too easily or miscuing passes out of play. Fair balls from Dunne for making the changes.

Pretty much would have gone with the same team with maybe Chin midfield for his athleticism alongside O'Keeffe for his running game, and Kenny centre-back (Kehoe making way then).

Wexford will be as game as they were last year, and will give a good account of themselves but I just feel the fact it's Clare's first championship game at home since winning the AI means any possible complacency will be thrown out the window and their class will come to the fore at the end.

letowski

Clare Team:

Pa Kelly; Jack Browne, David McInerney, Cian Dillon; Brendan Bugler, Conor Ryan, Patrick O'Connor; Colm Galvin, Patrick Donnellan; John Conlon, Tony Kelly, Colin Ryan; Paudraic Collins, Conor McGrath, Cathal McInerney.

Two changes so, Kelly for Touhy in goals and Cathal McInerney for Duggan.

I must admit I didn't fully expect Davy to drop Touhy despite his poor performance against Cork. Thought he was the more stubborn sort, but I think he has made the right call. Touhy's puckouts are poor, and with the lack of ball winners in this Clare team, this quality carries extra weight.

Duggan is a little unlucky but Kelly simply has to play further out the field, which means Duggan is the odd one out around the middle as he can't really drop his captain, free taker and main ball winner (Donnellan, Ryan, Conlan).

Overall I'd be hopeful of a good performance and a return to the type of game we like to play. With our three best forwards, Kelly, McGrath and Podge back to their usual roles we can achieve this against a talented Wexford team. It important from our point of view that the experienced players (Bugler, Donnellan, Colin Ryan) find form, if we want to make any impression on this year's championship.

Clareman

Wow, big call in dropping Touhy, 1 that I honestly didn't think Davy had in him considering they had a row earlier in the year. I think purplepanda is spot on when he says that Wexford haven't really moved on from last year. I don't think Clare can afford to take things easy, they can't really "go through the gears" as they seem to be either play flat out or not at all. Hopefully Clare will remember last years game and not drop with 10 minutes to go assuming they have it won, they should have been beaten last year at the end of the game.

I reckon Clare are a good bet on the handicap (-7) but not by much.

Mountainlad

Clareman wrote: »

Wow, big call in dropping Touhy, 1 that I honestly didn't think Davy had in him considering they had a row earlier in the year. I think purplepanda is spot on when he says that Wexford haven't really moved on from last year. I don't think Clare can afford to take things easy, they can't really "go through the gears" as they seem to be either play flat out or not at all. Hopefully Clare will remember last years game and not drop with 10 minutes to go assuming they have it won, they should have been beaten last year at the end of the game.

I reckon Clare are a good bet on the handicap (-7) but not by much.

There's no real evidence that Clare have moved on from last year either though

Clareman

Mountainlad wrote: »

There's no real evidence that Clare have moved on from last year either though

All Ireland Senior and Under 21 Champions, league semi-finalists, if both teams have stayed the same then Clare are still a bit ahead, being at home is a huge advantage as well.

Mountainlad

Clareman wrote: »

All Ireland Senior and Under 21 Champions, league semi-finalists, if both teams have stayed the same then Clare are still a bit ahead, being at home is a huge advantage as well.

Right but how can Wexford have moved on from last year when they exited the championship in basically this round last year?

Clareman

Mountainlad wrote: »

Right but how can Wexford have moved on from last year when they exited the championship in basically this round last year?

The only way you can compare teams is by comparing the teams they've played, as purplepanda pointed out they drew with Dublin last year, they were beaten (in the end) by 6 points this year.

And wasn't the match between Clare and Wexford the next round last year, Clare beat Laois in this tie last year.

Mountainlad

Clareman wrote: »

The only way you can compare teams is by comparing the teams they've played, as purplepanda pointed out they drew with Dublin last year, they were beaten (in the end) by 6 points this year.

And wasn't the match between Clare and Wexford the next round last year, Clare beat Laois in this tie last year.

Yeah Wexford beat Carlow, but what Im saying is basically they are at the same stage they were last year. So they've had the one game against Dublin, where they were being tipped all around to cause an upset unlike last yeat. Now, expectations are reduce. Similar to last year, when despite drawing with Dublin they were well bet the next day and got over Carlow by 2 points. No expectations against Clare, and being honest there is no way that game should have gone to extra time.

With that said, I wouldn't be the least surprised if this was some way close.

Do Clare look like they've improved this year based on the performance v Cork? Not saying that result makes them a bad team, but you can't use last years comparison of what Clare achieved in further rounds having beaten Wexford in extra time, then exclude the Cork game and judge Wexford based on the Dublin game this year.

letowski

I think you're making a fair point Mountainlad. The thing is, Clare's system of play is much more in the spotlight this year, and teams have well thought out strategies to deal with it, like JBM had in June. However, the form of key players such as Bulger, Kelly, Donnellan, etc. has to improve if we are to push on, as they are critical in the type of game plan we play.

I think this is Davys biggest test as manager, to get his team back firing. We dont want to go down the road kinda like the Tipp 2010 team, where 4 years on their weaknesses haven't been addresses. Then again, we've one of the youngest squads in the championship, and our u21 team is favourites for the All-Ireland, so you would hope there would be a natural progression and improvement.

Mantis Toboggan

Good start here from wexford, looking very sharp and lead 3-1 after 7 minutes

Mal-Adjusted

Wexford have all the intensity in the opening few minutes.

Mantis Toboggan

Cracking goal from wexford, poor goalkeeping though. Clare could be in trouble here.

obezyana

Would RTE bloody well start broadcasting in HD the picture is terrible.

131spanner

1-6 to 0-1, Clare looking shook

Hotfail.com

What on earth is going on!?!?

Mantis Toboggan

obezyana wrote: »

Would RTE bloody well start broadcasting in HD the picture is terrible.

The game is in HD, am watching it in HD right now. Cracking picture.

obezyana

Buddy Holly wrote: »

The game is in HD, am watching it in HD right now. Cracking picture.

Does RTE 1 broadcast in HD? On Sky 101 it doesn't.

TheMilkyPirate

Must have took about 13 steps there free out all day.

Hon wexford!!

Neeson

Buddy Holly wrote: »

The game is in HD, am watching it in HD right now. Cracking picture.

No it's not. Look at the blurriness of the pitch. If it was HD it would be far clearer.

obezyana

I would not like to be in the Clare dressing room at half time Davy will be like a bulldog.

Neeson

It's upscaled SD on a HD channel.

Mantis Toboggan

Neeson wrote: »

No it's not. Look at the blurriness of the pitch. If it was HD it would be far clearer.

Are you sure you are watching rte one hd and not just the regular rte one?
MMy picture is perfect.
Must say the pitch looks in great condition.

Diabhal Beag

Lads forget HD. Wexford have a 8 point lead already!

131spanner

Chipping away at this lead, slowly.

Mantis Toboggan

Could prove to be a crucial save there by the clare goalkeeper.

Mal-Adjusted

great save from Kelly

dastardly00

Wexford need to stop giving away silly frees. They are undoing all their hard work.

Diabhal Beag

Poor effort from Jacob really

Mantis Toboggan

obezyana wrote: »

Does RTE 1 broadcast in HD? On Sky 101 it doesn't.

You must be watching on Sky, sky have refused to broadcast that channel for some reason.

131spanner

Great stuff from Pa Kelly there.

It's a good thing Colin Ryan is on form, picking away the points from frees is the lifeline at the minute.

obezyana

Buddy Holly wrote: »

You must be watching on Sky, sky have refused to broadcast that channel for some reason.

Yeah I'm on Sky. They have HD for nearly everything except RTE 1. I'll just have to try and make out what the players are doing.

131spanner

Shaping up to be a cracking second half, lads!

Nib

How did people survive without HD in the past?

Watch the game and stop bloody moaning.

131spanner

Oh Podge...

Mantis Toboggan

My Lord, what was podge Collins thinking, very foolish.

dastardly00

That was idiotic from Collins.

Kristopherus

WTF was Collins at. Idiot:mad:

Diabhal Beag

Stupid to touch the helmet there. One of the most stupid red cards to ever concede.

obezyana

Nib wrote: »

How did people survive without HD in the past?

Watch the game and stop bloody moaning.

Calm down lad i for one was only pointing out how crap the picture is no big deal. No usual HD for me but hey it doesn't matter im watching and enjoying.