93 minutes into the final game of the 2011/’12 Premier League season, Martin Tyler uttered the immortal words “I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again”. Oh but we did Marty. Yesterday. At the same venue, involving the same team. It wasn’t after 93 minutes, and it was Ilkay Gundogan rather than Sergio Aguero. Finally, whereas the Argentine condemned Queens Park Rangers to demotion, Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa were safely ensconced in mid table before the late reversal.
With the exception of Jack Harrison’s 94th-minute belter removing the collective Leeds United backside from the relegation bacon slicer, everything with pretty much along expected lines. Down in Munster, the same can be said about the final instalment of Round Robin fixtures in the local hurling championship.
Limerick and Clare had already nailed down the leading roles in the province’s showpiece event which meant – owing to Cork’s surprising win over Waterford the previous week – Kieran Kingston’s team held the upper hand in the battle for the qualification spot other than the finalists by way of the head-to-head victory.
Even if Waterford had pulled off a most unlikely of victories in Cusack Park, they would still have required Tipperary to do them the favour of beating Cork to have a hope of progressing. However, while such didn’t happen, nor did Liam Cahill’s charges keep up their own end of the bargain, the combined foresight of Fergus Gibson and Mystic Meg couldn’t have foretold what did actually happen.
That Tipperary, who goaled after about eight seconds of play, would deliver the most insipid display the one seeing eye here has ever witnessed from an amalgam in blue and gold. Or what of Clare, making a half dozen changes – including leaving John Conlon and Tony Kelly out – and still hurling Waterford off the field.
Though rather than lament the shortcomings of those for whom Summer 2022 is now over, it’s instead only right to acknowledge the obvious progress made by the victorious sides in both games.
Perhaps Clare in particular. Seldom has a group of players been touted for multiple successes as were those won an All Ireland title and National League gong under Davy Fitzgerald.
For whatever reason, the Banner County haven’t, until now at least, fulfiled what appeared to be their potential at the time the greatest Clareman of them all led them to the Promised Land.
Now, while the fact remains that Limerick will still have to be dislodged from their perch as rulers of the battle field, Brian Lohan has quite obviously got Clare motoring again. Maybe even more significantly, mind you, they now have the type of depth to their panel that anybody hoping to have elongated campaigns must have.
In that sense, Cork are absolutely the same. As best proven by the rejuvenation of Conor Lehane. But also the impact imparted on prospective progress of the group by the likes of Tim O’Mahony and Jack O’Connor and Shane Barrett off the bench.
The big question, however, is whether either of them have improved sufficiently enough to quell the murmuring Shannon tide. Only time will tell.