Another year, another Clare loss against Limerick in the Munster SHC Final.
Brian Lohan’s side will feel sickened not to come out with their first provincial crown since 1998 and there were some decisions that went against them at times, most notably the challenge(s) at the very end.
However, there are large aspects to Sunday’s game and stats to suggest why they narrowly lost.
Matchups
The two main forwards that Lohan’s team had to keep an eye on was Aaron Gillane and Seamus Flanagan.
The former is a player who usually shows up in big games while the latter had hit 4-7 from play in his previous 4 games.
Clare decided to put Rory Hayes on Flanagan and to be fair to the corner back, he did a tremendous job.
Flanagan scored nothing and was largely ineffective in play.
The other main matchup was Cian Nolan going on Gillane and unfortunately for Clare, they got this horribly wrong.
Nolan, a late change coming in for the injured Conor Cleary, did okay in the first few minutes as he tried to ruffle the Limerick forward's feathers.
As the match went on though, it became apparent that it was the wrong call.
Nolan got booked and for Gillane’s goal it looked as if Nolan was avoiding a second booking. If he made one wrong move, he was gone.
Gillane scored a three-pointer and Lohan had no choice but to hook Nolan eventually.
It’s something the Banner need to look at if they are to meet Limerick again this season.
Goal for Limerick! - Aaron Gillane's strike finds the back of the net and puts Limerick in front. pic.twitter.com/fv04HPDiYB
— The GAA (@officialgaa) June 11, 2023
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Shot Selection
Kilkenny achieved a 71% conversion rate against Limerick in the All-Ireland Final. Above that sort of figure is what is needed to beat this monster of a side.
Clare were way off the mark on Sunday though.
The Banner had 44 shots compared to Limerick's 36. Clare scored 1-17 from play, Limerick scored 1-15 from play, Clare had them. However they converted just 23 shots overall, a 52% shot accuracy.
Stats on todays Munster SHC Final
Clare 1-22@LimerickCLG 1-23 pic.twitter.com/FgHebfne0v— GAA Statsman (@gaa_statsman) June 11, 2023
Having 12 wides was bad enough but dropping five balls short must have been a sickener for Brian Lohan.
Tony Kelly was Clare's leading scorer of the day with 0-6, but he had 11 shots.
It wasn't the usual shot percentage heights the 2013 Hurler of the Year can reach.
As shown in this graphic, Limerick only took one shot outside the opposition half while Clare took 12.
Limerick seemed to take better shot options than the Banner, a main reason why John Kiely's side won the battle
Clare had a 58% shot accuracy against Cork and, even worse, 38% v Kilkenny in the 2022 All Ireland semi-final.
There is no doubting Lohan's charges have smashing hurlers but when it gets to crunch time they need to convert their chances to win big matches.
Key Moments
Clare led by three at half time, but on another day that margin could've been six, possibly nine.
Mark Rodgers reacted brilliantly to score his goal but the same player spurned a gilt-edged opportunity too when Nickie Quaid saved it.
Ryan Taylor also had a big chance to rip the net if he acted quickly when given the space.
Instead, he took to long to get into position, the Limerick players converged on him and he blazed his shot wide, not even getting a point out of the attack.
Limerick only took the lead after the early stages when Gillane hit his goal, another stat that will haunt Clare.
The third quarter is usually a big quarter for top-level GAA. Clare lost that 1-5 to 0-3, that was the winning and losing of the match.
Clare did rally in the final stages but the All-Ireland champions still found critical scores at the end to get them home.
Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Limerick v Clare in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final here on #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/9dlpwcph9P
— The GAA (@officialgaa) June 11, 2023
Clare stumble on the big day
The Banner have been in 30 Munster finals, as Donal Óg Cusack articulated on the Sunday Game.
They have won 6, last winning the Munster SHC in 1998.
That's a 20% win rate, only Kerry have a worse percentage with 17%.
To put that into context since the last time the Banner won it, the United States of America has gone through five presidents.
John Conlon, Tony Kelly and Shane O'Donnell have never won a Munster medal.
Neither have Clare greats Brendan Bugler, Podge Collins and Colin Ryan, who have now left the panel.
It is a barren spell for the Banner but it's clear they are getting close.
Maybe they just need luck or a piece of TK magic to get them over the line.
They do have the best record in the round robin stages but can't produce that form on the big day when it matters.
The longer it goes on though, the more frustrated the Clare public will get.
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