JOE CANNING KNOWS people will question Clare after their second-half collapse against Limerick, but the Galway great will hold fire.
Brian Lohan’s side led their Munster senior hurling championship opener by nine points in the 52nd minute in Ennis on Sunday, but lost by three.
The All-Ireland champions outscored their hosts 3-6 to 0-3 in a superb final quarter, adding salt to the wounds of last year’s national semi-final defeat.
“If I was from Clare, I’d be going, ‘Jesus how did we lose?’ It’s mistakes, it’s basic errors that can’t happen at inter-county level,” Canning says.
The 2017 All-Ireland winner and Hurler of the Year disagrees with the notion that is a mental issue on big days.
“If you look at that free [Diarmaid Byrnes goal], it’s a miss-hit, [Conor] Cleary goes to catch the ball in the square. Is that a mental thing? It should have been left to the goalie. It’s a split second reaction.
“It’s very hard to say it’s a mental meltdown or anything like that. I don’t think it is. You’re playing the best team over the last however many years… it just gave them a bit of confidence, because Limerick were under pressure.
“Semi-final last year, you could say tactically, but that’s a management thing. That’s not a players’ thing. Tactically, they got it completely wrong last year, playing a sweeper. The year before that, I’m not too sure. Kilkenny are good, like.
“People will question it now because they haven’t [won], but they’re the only team really to beat Limerick in championship in the last few years as well — be it once, but they’re running them really close the whole time. Other teams haven’t got over the line against them. I’d question other teams really, before I’d question Clare, to be honest about it.”
At that, Canning’s attention turns to Cork. The sides now face off in a do-or-die contest at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday after the Rebels were stunned by Waterford last time out.
“When you look at the Cork forwards, there’s three guys that were on the 2013 All-Ireland team. A lot of the older guys are still there. This conveyor belt, the word they’re all talking about down there, hasn’t come yet.
“They’re still going back to the the same guys again. And that’s no disrespect to them.
“There’s talk of this Cork coming, and I have more questions over them than I would over the likes of Clare or other teams. I don’t think they have the spine of their team sorted by any means.
“If they lose to Clare Sunday, you’re going from this week saying, ‘Jeez, they’re in contention for a Munster final or going for the All-Ireland drive…’ It’s one week basically that it all changes, which is crazy.”
Canning fancies Clare to come through on Leeside, especially if a dogfight unfolds.
