Clare will come away from this afternoon's All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kilkenny with plenty of regrets.
Their performance in the opening half was well short of what was required, finding themselves in a five-point hole at the interval. That was largely down to their own approach to the game, with the Munster side employing a more defensive approach than usual.
When they returned to a more attacking approach in the second half, the game was a very different one. They got right back into the game, although Kilkenny ultimately ran out winners in dramatic fashion.
RTÉ pundits big decision went against Clare in Kilkenny loss
While Clare will no doubt rue their own mistakes during this game, they might also feel that some key decisions went against them.
Referee Colm Lyons made a few big calls over the course of the game, including not playing an advantage for Clare in the second half that looked incredibly likely to result in a goal for the Brian Lohan's side.
In that instance, Mark Rodgers caught a long ball into the full forward line that had initially been dropped by Kilkenny's Huw Lawlor, went through on goal and put the ball in the net. However, the referee blew the whistle just as he won possession and brought it back for a Clare free further out the field. Their players were incensed with the decision.
Speaking on RTÉ after the game, the punditry trio of Liam Sheedy, Anthony Daly, and Jackie Tyrrell agreed that Clare were hard done by with this decision and few others over the course of the game.
Sheedy: Peter Duggan played the best game he did in a long time. This is a refereeing mistake as far as I can see, because he caught the ball and had possession of it, but then (the referee) blows the whistle.
You could clearly hear the whistle, but the reality is he should have let that play on. You have to say, over the course of the 70 minutes, Clare were the losers with the big calls. Sat here watching the game, I'd say they probably came out on the wrong side of it.
That was a big moment, I think a goal at that stage might have been enough to get Clare over the line...
Daly: Why not play on? I don't know.
Tyrrell: It's like he gave Kilkenny the full advantage, but he was very quick to pick it up for Clare. That's the frustration you see in Tony Kelly afterwards, he's saying 'the ball is in his hands, let him have the opportunity'.
Daly: Nobody goes out to have a poor game in an All-Ireland semi-final, but I thought Colm had a poor game today. That's just my take on it, there were a couple of calls...
The free was a crucial bit. [Kilkenny] showed all of their experience, but I just thought Colm got a few calls wrong.
I'm not going blaming the ref. Kilkenny put in a huge performance and won the game fair and square, so I'm not going blaming the ref.
While Kilkenny full deserved their victory, there is no doubt that this was a big decision that went against Clare.
The game might have been a different one had it went their way.
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