Sunday, November 17, 2024

Cork v Clare: How the players and management rated in the All-Ireland hurling final

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Clare ratings

1 Eibhear Quilligan: Steady and accurate with his puckouts for the majority of the game. Robbie O’Flynn’s extra-time shot was hit from distance but it still had to be saved. Rating: 8

2 Adam Hogan: Picked up Alan Connolly from the off and kept him to just a single point. Hogan received a yellow card in the first half, but it didn’t deter the Feakle man from producing some heroic defending thereafter. Rating: 8

3 Conor Cleary: Faced a difficult battle against the powerful Brian Hayes and was booked after 23 minutes but the Clare full-back stuck to his task and made some important interceptions before going off injured late on. Rating: 7

4 Conor Leen: Leen marshalled Patrick Horgan from the off and stood up to be a real leader in the last line of the Clare defence over the course of an epic contest. Rating: 8

5 Diarmuid Ryan: Ryan’s battle with Harnedy was one of the duels of the afternoon, with both players having periods on top. Ryan scored 0-3 and Harnedy registered 0-4, though Ryan’s efforts from downtown were inspirational. He was also strong in the air. Rating: 7

Clare’s Diarmuid Ryan had a terrific battle with Seamus Harnedy of Cork. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

6 John Conlon: Conlon stood as a reassuring presence at the heart of the Clare defence and was particularly strong under the dropping ball. Delivered a powerful and composed performance to help the Banner claim All-Ireland glory. Rating: 8

7 David McInerney: Did a great job curbing the influence of Declan Dalton, who had made such a big impact in the semi-final. Was lucky to get away with not receiving a black card late on in normal time. Rating: 7

8 David Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald just kept shooting. He didn’t allow six wides and others dropping short to take away from his cutting edge. The Inagh-Kilnamona clubman finished the game with 0-3 and delivered a tireless performance. Rating: 7

9 Cathal Malone: Malone was burnt by Shane Barrett for an early point but the Clare midfielder steadied the ship after that and ran himself into the ground from the middle third as the Banner relentlessly harried and chased. Rating: 7

10 Tony Kelly: What words can you say? Kelly produced moments of magic in this final that seemed barely believable – a stupendous wonder-goal, a ridiculous point when spinning in injury-time and another in extra-time that is already guaranteed to feature on a highlights reel of the greatest All-Ireland final scores. Rating: 9

11 Mark Rodgers: Opened Clare’s account with a point in the fifth minute and was a real menace when on the pitch. Showed some brilliant skill to drill home his second-half goal. The Scariff man finished the game with 1-3. Rating: 8

Mark Rodgers of Clare scores a terrific goal against Cork. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

12 Peter Duggan: Duggan couldn’t chase down Robert Downey for Cork’s first-half goal, but he was strong after the break. Scored Clare’s first point of the second half and created their second. Rating: 7

13 Aidan McCarthy: McCarthy’s 17th minute goal was a momentum-swinging moment in the match. He backed himself all afternoon and made an impact when reintroduced for extra-time. Rating: 8

14 Shane O’Donnell: Stood up in that difficult early period when Cork were on top. Demonstrated incredible desire to drive forward, despite being repeatedly fouled, to set up Aidan McCarthy for the opening goal. Injury hampered his impact in the second half. Rating: 8

15 David Reidy: Struggled early on as he was well marshalled by Niall O’Leary but Reidy grew into the contest. Popped over 0-2 and was taken off just before the hour mark. Rating: 7

Bench: Ryan Taylor clipped over a nice point moments after coming in off the bench while fellow subs Ian Galvin and Shane Meehan also chipped in with important scores. Rating: 7

Management: The Clare management didn’t panic in the opening stages when Cork led 1-8 to 0-4. With Tony Kelly deployed at midfield, Shane O’Donnell started to have a huge impact when drifting further inside. Lohan trusted the depth of his squad all season. Rating: 8

Clare manager Brian Lohan celebrates with his former manager Ger Loughnane after the final whistle. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Cork ratings

1 Patrick Collins: Cork’s long puck-outs were mostly defused and Collins struggled to find moving targets as he had done Limerick. Made one really good save in extra-time but had no chance for Clare’s goals. Rating: 6

2 Niall O’Leary: Did a good marking job on David Reidy, who was replaced after 59 minutes, having been restricted to two points. Was cool in possession and mopped up his share of breaking ball. Rating: 7

3 Eoin Downey: Had a titanic battle with Peter Duggan in the second half of normal time, but Cork’s defence was cut open for three goals and survived a number of scares. Scored a towering point. Rating: 7

4 Sean O’Donoghue: He picked up Shane O’Donnell once he was switched inside. O’Donoghue couldn’t hold him in the first half but gradually established something approaching parity and tried to play him from the front. Rating: 6

5 Ciaran Joyce: Had his best game of an injury-interrupted season, putting out fires all over the Cork back line. Sharp and aggressive in the tackle, made a goal-saving block from David Fitzgerald in extra-time. Rating: 7

6 Rob Downey: Had the strange distinction of scoring one of the greatest All-Ireland final goals even though it might only have been the second best goal in this final. Replaced in extra-time. Rating: 7

Cork’s Sean O’Donoghue and Robert Downey with Shane O’Donnell of Clare. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

7 Mark Coleman: After a patchy year, in which he lost his place at one stage, Coleman had a storming final and was critical to Cork’s comeback in the final quarter of normal time. Finished the game with three points. Rating: 7

8 Tim O’Mahony: Along with Joyce and Coleman he produced his best performance of the season in the final. Scored three terrific points and also contributed two assists. Ran out of steam in extra-time. Rating: 7

9 Darragh Fitzgibbon: Struggled to influence the game at centre-field, but improved in the second half when switched to the forwards. Landed two points from four shots, but Cork needed more from one of their leaders. Rating: 6

10 Declan Dalton: Managed just two shots from play, both of which went wide, and wasn’t presented with any opportunities from long frees. Couldn’t pick up breaks from puck-outs either. First Cork player replaced. Rating: 4

11 Shane Barrett: Came into the final as one of the contenders for Hurler of the Year and was a key contributor to Cork’s blistering start. Scored two points and made three turnovers in the first half but drifted to the margins in the second half. Rating: 6

12 Seamus Harnedy: A powerful performance from one of Cork’s great warriors. Had his hands full with Diarmuid Ryan at times, but contributed four points and three assists before his legs gave up. Rating: 7

Clare’s Diarmuid Ryan and Seamus Harnedy of Cork during the All-Ireland SHC final. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

13 Patrick Horgan: Came into the game after a slow start. Went close with a batted shot for goal and missed just twice from 13 shots – including two points from play. Cork’s inside line, though, struggled for impact. Rating: 6

14 Alan Connolly: Couldn’t reproduce the form he had shown in the Munster championship and in the All-Ireland semi-final and was successfully bottled up by Clare. Scored a point but never threatened a goal. Rating: 4

15 Brian Hayes: Made a strong start, and both of his points were terrific scores. But he wasn’t nearly as effective as a puck-out target as he had been in other games and was smothered as the game wore on. Rating: 6

Bench: Ethan Twomey was the best of the Cork subs, although Shane Kingston improved in extra-time. Robbie O’Flynn had big chances to shape the final outcome. Tommy O’Connell made some impact too. Rating: 6

Management: The Cork management weren’t afraid to use their bench and loaded the forward line with pace in the last 10 minutes of normal time. They tweaked their match-ups as the game developed. Puck-out strategy didn’t work this time. Rating: 6

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