McGrath: Clare body language not good in loss to Cork
A lack of fight was very much evident in Clare's loss to Cork in Sunday's Division 1A hurling clash in Ennis, according to Shane McGrath, with the former Tipperary star adding that the Banner have a lot of soul searching to do ahead of their Munster opener against the Rebels on 20 April.
Relegation now looks a certainty for the defending champions after Pat Ryan's side ran out 15-point winners at the now Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, scoring six goals in the process. After edging out neighbours Limerick in the previous round, in what was their first win of the campaign, hopes were no doubt high that Clare could push on.
There certainly was no push at all from the hosts, with Shane Barrett exploiting a gap in the home rearguard on eight minutes to fire home the Rebels' first goal. That set the tone for the afternoon, with Clare's cause not helped by the dismissal of Peter Duggan and David Fitzgerald in the second half.
"Did Clare want to be there yesterday?" That was the question McGrath posed on the latest edition of the RTÉ GAA Podcast.
And the 2010 All-Ireland winner had much evidence to observe for him to categorically say that Brian Lohan's side were well off it, a performance more worrying than the loss to Wexford a fortnight ago.
"Going by their body language and the way they approached the game, things were done and dusted at half-time. It was 3-09 to 0-09," he said.
"They brought no fight, it was worse than the Wexford game, where at least there was a bit of a fight. As regards dispossessing Cork and turning them over it just wasn't there.
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"Clare will now not have a significant competitive game until the Munster championship. It will be internal stuff and I would imagine they'll get challenge matches off the Leinster teams over the next few weeks, that will be a no-brainer but you can't beat the competitive stuff. Expect a lot soul searching. Clare are mature and they'll find their way but can they get back up to the level again?"
For McGrath, Clare's anaemic display against opposition they pipped in last year's All-Ireland final came into sharper focus by the ease in which Shane Barrett goaled early on.
"You have to look at the way Shane Barrett got in for his goal! Now his footwork and his burst of pace was phenomenal and I think he's a class act. He would have been hurt with how the All-Ireland final went last year for him and the job John Conlon did on him. He scored 1-04 from play and he looked so busy; he wanted to be involved in everything.
"He just ghosted past five Clare lads; it was non-contact stuff. Normally down through the years we're talking about Cork being the non-contact team. Yesterday, Clare did not lay a glove.
"The only thing that happened of note were the five yellow cards for needleless stuff; jerseys getting ripped, off the ball stuff. David Fitzgerald had his moment of madness for his strike and got sent off as a result. He will feel terrible for that today, no doubt about it."
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