THIRD TIME’S A charm.
Clare emphatically ended their All-Ireland hurling semi-final hoodoo against Kilkenny on Saturday, but midfield star David Fitzgerald insists the 2022 and 2023 defeats weren’t mentioned.
While Banner boss Brian Lohan spoke about being “fed up” being hurling’s “nearly team” and the need to beat Kilkenny afterwards, Fitzgerald was adamant any third time lucky talk was strictly outside the Clare camp.
“It’s probably a narrative in the media, the same with Limerick and losing three times (to them) in the Munster final,” he said. “Everyone makes a deal of it.
“From a playing point of view or in the dressing room, it’s always just ‘next game’ regardless of who you’re playing. Today was just an All-Ireland semi-final. Like Kilkenny, we wanted to get to the final.
“Thankfully, it was us today, it was them last year so we just need to work on things that didn’t go well today and build for Sunday week.”
Fitzgerald hailed the impact of Clare’s substitutes and the defensive effort as they overturned a five-point half-time deficit to win by two and power into their first All-Ireland final since 2013.
“In fairness, the bench really got us over the line today. Everyone that got onto the pitch really contributed. (Ryan) Taylor making his return; everybody knows how good he is, the energy he brings around the middle. He had a massive impact on the game, then the likes of Ian (Galvin) was red-hot when he came on and thankfully got us over the line.
“We were probably flat in the first half. Our structure was poor. Looking in from the stand it was probably not noticeable that the breeze was quite strong so they were getting easier deliveries than we were and were sitting off us and benefitted from that. But in the second half, the breeze helped quite a lot.
“Some of the backs’ performances were incredible, really. Probably got a bit of stick after the Limerick game and they really stood up. Adam Hogan is an outstanding corner-back, David Mc (Inerney) wing-back, (John) Conlon at six, (Conor) Cleary at three all really solid games.”
“Kilkenny are a different animal up here in All-Ireland semi-finals as we found out the last two years,” he added. “We were under no illusions in terms of the intensity they were going to bring. We were obviously trying to match that and kind of ground it out.”
Clare now face Cork in the final on 21 July after the Rebels ended Limerick’s Drive for Five yesterday. It’s a repeat of ’13, when the Banner reigned supreme in the replay.
While Fitzgerald was yet to learn Clare’s opponents when he spoke post-match on Saturday, he was looking forward to the fortnight ahead before a “tough outing”.
“It will be enjoyable,” he concluded. “It will be a novelty for some guys but once you get to a final it’s all about winning, really.
“There’s no point being ecstatic today and then coming back in two weeks’ time and not performing or letting the game pass you by.”
- With reporting from Fintan O’Toole
