Shane O'Donnell of Clare is tackled by Eoin Downey of Cork during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 2 match between Cork and Clare at SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Sunday’s All-Ireland Final is bound to be a game of very fine margins and there’s every chance it’ll be decided in the end by the outcome of some real box-office individual battles.
Here’s betting that the victorious team will be the one that comes out in top of three or more of the below key battles.
Tony Kelly v Darragh Fitzgibbon
These two are unlikely to be marking each other directly but their respective influences on the game will likely decide the midfield battle.
Fitzgibbon is surely on any current shortlist for the Hurler of the Year after a stellar campaign that has seen him score 22 points from play so far in the championship and create many scoring opportunities for others with his ability to break the lines.
Kelly hasn’t been quite so influential but it was always going to take him some time to get back up to full speed after his long injury lay-off and in the quarter-final win over Wexford and the second-half of the semi-final win over Kilkenny he was very good.
There’s every chance he’s on an upward performance graph that will see him produce a really big performance today. He’ll need to, because you know what you’ll get from the ultra-consistent Fitzgibbon.
Conor Cleary v Alan Connolly
Conor Cleary is an underrated defender who’s hugely important to this Clare team. Hugely physical, the tightest of man-markers, and very quick across the ground for a big man, he’s a nightmare to mark for opposition full-forwards.
He’s stronger under a high ball than Alan Connolly, but if the Cork full-forward gets a good supply of angled or low ball into him, it’ll be very interesting to see if Cleary has the footwork to keep with him in tight spaces.
Connolly is absolutely lethal at creating half a yard for himself with a jink in either direction, and if he can then run into space there’s very few defenders who can live with his sheer pace. He hasn’t scored a goal since his hat-trick against Tipperary, and there’s a feeling in Cork he’s primed for a big performance in this game.
Shane O'Donnell v Eoin Downey
O’Donnell has been Clare’s best player this year and if the Banner County are to be crowned All-Ireland champions they’ll need another big performance on what might well be his last ever championship appearance.
O’Donnell’s movement, speed, surprising strength, vision, and ruthless finishing make him the full attacking package. If he gets the ball in his hands, it’s very difficult to stop him scoring or creating for someone else.
Eoin Downey is a talented hurler who looks like he’ll develop into a generational full-back, but he’s still quite inexperienced and it’ll be interesting to see how he copes if O’Donnell gets turned and runs at him, as he doesn’t have the same low centre of gravity as the Banner County forward.
John Conlon v Shane Barrett
This might well be the most crucial individual match-up of all. Conlon is the spiritual leader of this Clare team and very much the glue that holds their defence together, so if Barrett comes out on top here it would be a huge boost for Cork.
The Blarney man will be full of confidence after giving Declan Hannon a nightmare of an afternoon in the semi-final. He ran the Limerick centre-back ragged and will be confident his pace will allow him to do the same to Conlon if he can get on enough ball.
Conlon likes to hold the centre and protect his full-back line rather than follow a roaming centre-forward, but if he lets Barrett go the Cork attacker can do serious damage as a personal tally of 2-16 so far in the championship attests to.
Mark Rodgers v Robert Downey
Mark Rodgers was Clare’s best player when these two teams met in the Munster SHC, scoring 1-5 from play, but as the championship progressed his form tailed off until the second-half of the All-Ireland SHC semi-final win over Kilkenny.
On his day he’s a potential match-winner, and Clare will hope he catches fire again on Sunday.
Rob Downey is developing into a centre-back of real authority and has the physical tools to dominate Rodgers under the high ball, but he’ll have to be aware of the Scariff man’s knack for dropping off in to pockets of space and scoring from distance.
