Little earthquakes
The history of Cork v Clare matches can be distilled into a handful of classics, with Sunday’s clash now top of the pile. Probably the one game on the shortlist that wasn’t a final was the 1995 Munster semi-final, which set the Banner on their way to unprecedented success at the time.
Cork’s 1999 All-Ireland-winning side, who beat Clare in that Munster final, were feted before the final yesterday. Among them was Brian Corcoran, the only man to start both the ‘99 final and that ‘95 Munster semi when Ollie Baker’s late goal saw Clare snatch it.
In his autobiography, Corcoran described the final moments as “a sequence of play that changed hurling history”. “Fergie Tuohy took it (a sideline), floated it in to the edge of the square and then Ollie Baker batted it to the net… Yet, if it wasn’t for that, most of Ireland would never have heard of Ger Loughnane,” Corcoran wrote.
As we saw yesterday, on such tiny moments do sporting careers turn.
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Experts that know their stuff
RTÉ’s Damian Lawlor picked two astute supporters for his pre-match vox pop on Jones’s Road in John Fenton and Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin, both of whose analysis was on the money.
“It will be a shoot-out,” O’Loughlin said. “The last day in Páirc Uí Chaoímh was 3-26 to 3-24, the previous times to that there was only a puck of a ball between us. From a Clare point of view, we have developed four or five of the best forwards in the country and our defence are going to have to take on possibly the up and coming forward line as well.”
“I hope there will be goals because goals will get the crowd going,” reckoned Fenton, who agreed it would be high-scoring. “That’s what we want to see, goals, and the more goals the better.”
Scorelines and inflation
Speaking of Ger Loughnane, he has stated that his greatest disappointment in hurling was losing the 1978 Munster final as a player against Cork. “I will never, ever forget the feeling of dejection,” Loughnane said. That was the second successive provincial decider Clare lost to the Rebels but what was most noteworthy in hindsight was the scoreline – 0-13 to 0-11, which would be unthinkable now.
To put it in context, Cork had equalled their 1978 Munster final tally in the 26th minute yesterday when Patrick Horgan sent over a free, which also saw him leapfrog TJ Reid and become the championship’s all-time highest scorer. Not to be outdone, Clare equalled their scoring total a minute later through an Aidan McCarthy effort from play.
Whole new ball game
For the first time, the final was aired on BBC television and many viewers, predictably, took to Twitter to share their thoughts. “Turned on BBC this afternoon and have seen this mad sport called #Hurling. It’s wild! Quidditch, Lacrosse, Hockey, MMA, Rugby, Soccer and Egg and Spoon all in one,” posted one user.
“I nearly called ‘Offside’ when one goal went in, before realising I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about,” wrote broadcaster Paul Embery.
In words
I’d personally love to see both teams going down the tunnel, putting on their clothes, going back to their hotel and coming back here in two weeks’ time. – Liam Sheedy believes drawn finals should go straight to a replay – after players have dressed, of course.
In numbers
15 – Times the teams were level
