Séan Moran gets an assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of Clare and Wexford from Dublin manager Kevin Fennelly, whose side lost to both counties in this year's championship.

When Clare take on Wexford in Sunday's All-Ireland qualifier third round, it will be five years after the counties were expected to come together in a dream All-Ireland final. Instead Tipperary caught Wexford on the hop and the opportunity to play the champions of the previous two years against each other was lost.

Both counties have slipped from that lofty status in the past few years but victory tomorrow would push the winner within a match of an All-Ireland semi-final.

The balance of probabilities favours Clare who have had plenty of time to prepare for this with only mild exertions against Dublin interrupting the past two months since losing to Tipperary in the first round of the championship.

Wexford on the other hand will be only seven days from losing a tense Leinster final to Kilkenny. It's a schedule that the county has complained about since losing last Sunday. In truth the match was fixed for tomorrow more than six months ago when the fixtures list indicated that the losing Leinster finalists would play a qualifier on July 13th.

For two days last week, the fixture was moved back until the 20th but revised forward again when it became clear that there would be no room to cater for a replay should the match end in a draw.

On Wednesday night, the Wexford county board requested and were granted a hearing by the Games Administration Committee. There was never likely to be a change in the fixture but the county officers present were not disposed to seeing matters from the GAC's point of view.

The short recovery time and the loss of two players - Liam Dunne with suspension and Adrian Fenlon whose hamstring injury is unlikely to have had sufficient time to heal - places Wexford at a disadvantage.

But the constant agitation on the issue with a match coming up calls to mind controversies such as the Tony Keady and Colin Lynch suspensions, which were allowed to get in the way of Galway's and Clare's preparations for All-Ireland semi-finals in 1989 and '98 respectively.

One man who believes that Wexford are still in with a good shout is the one manager who has encountered both teams this year. Former Kilkenny and current Dublin manager Kevin Fennelly saw his team lose to both Wexford and Clare and differs from the consensus view that Clare looked far more polished in their win.

"Wexford were equally as accomplished against Dublin as Clare were. Dublin were slightly flattered against Wexford while Clare were very flattered beating Dublin by as much as they did."

He isn't swayed in his argument by the absence of Dunne and Fenlon from the Wexford team. "Adrian Fenlon's a loss because of the quick delivery into the forwards, a massive loss but he was also out last Sunday and they nearly beat Kilkenny. Liam Dunne isn't as central as he used to be to the defence but he's a loss because he'll be hard to replace."

Fennelly also believes that having to play the match a week after their last game shouldn't be such a major concern for Wexford. "It gives them a chance to get right back on the field after losing the Leinster final. Portlaoise will be a smaller pitch, which will suit them better. With all the play they had last Sunday Wexford had the opportunity to beat Kilkenny and I think they'll learn from that."

Wexford's main problem last weekend was the failure of the forwards to take chances and the over-reliance on free-taker Paul Codd who supplied all but four of his team's points.

"They needed to be taking on their men and working into better positions before scoring," says Fennelly. "They tended to shoot from bad positions. If they treat the Clare backs with the same respect that they treated the Kilkenny backs then they won't win. They have plenty of pace and plenty of scope but didn't take on the defence enough."

He doesn't think that Clare's defence will be as formidable a proposition as Kilkenny's was and that as a result, Wexford can improve.

He also believes - while acknowledging "both sets of forwards are struggling" - that Clare may struggle to reproduce the attacking display that snuffed out Dublin in the last qualifier round. "The Clare defence has been the best in the country in recent years but it's gradually breaking up. They've done a great job in the last seven years but it's hard to keep doing that.

"Up front they lack a little bit. If Jamesie O'Connor was in top form I'd have no worries about them winning. Niall Gilligan had a great game against Dublin but hasn't been at his best against other opposition. I think it's wide open and Wexford have a good chance."