In a poor performance in even poorer weather conditions, the Banner went down to an on-form Tipperary team on Sunday, in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Having started out the day stuck in traffic for 45 minutes in Ennis, I should have felt an unease about the day, but I didn’t. I knew it was going to be a tough game to claim, despite many Clare fans thinking it would be easy, and many Tipp fans writing it off. The 2 games Tipp had against Limerick certainly brought them up to Munster Championship class and, thus, completely outclassed Clare at every position on the field.

Many (including myself) would say that Tipp’s 2 goals were very soft and fortunate. However, despite the fact that it was only the 2 goals in the final score difference, had they not have scored those 2 goals, there would definitely have been other scores. There was no doubt that Tipp were in control for almost all of the game. Clare did show some drive when they came out for the second half, but it wasn’t enough, and only lasted a few minutes. After two miserable performances, many questions are being asked. Clare can (and have done) beat the best, so what has gone wrong. One thing that was lacking, in both the championship game last weekend and the league final weeks ago, was change and direction. The latter being especially noticeable in last Sunday’s game.

Are Clare finished? We’ve heard it asked many times, but I don’t think so. There’s obviously something wrong though, but the current team can perform. Lynch feeding a Gilli and Griffin duo for a spectacular performance seems to be a fading memory. Congrats to Tipp, they truly deserve to be in the Munster final, and best of luck to them.