The GAA season normally takes a while to warm up.
But in the cold of January, there is still plenty of fire emerging from teams, and players looking to impress early in 2016.
Clare opened their Munster hurling league with a narrow win over Cork on Sunday afternoon 1-14 to 0-14, as Davy Fitzgerald and Donal Óg Cusack stood side by side for the first time on the sideline as part of the Clare backroom team.
Davy Fitzgerald has been vocal throughout his Clare tenure about how his side appear to be on the wrong calls by referees ever since their All-Ireland triumph of 2013.
That appeared to change yesterday, but there is still one thing that the two-time All-Ireland winner is unhappy with.
Clare lead Cork 8-6 at ht in the Bridge. TK (0-5) and Gudgie (0-2), Conlon free. Free count in Clare's favour #changed times
— ClarePeople Sport (@claresport) January 3, 2016
Shane O’Donnell scored the all important goal in the second period to hand Clare their first win of the new year and once again haunt Cork, but afterwards the Clare manager felt that his player was being roughly treated by some of the Rebels’ over enthusiastic defending according to the Irish Examiner
“He caught that ball today and he’s a savage ball player. But there is just so much attention on him and he’s being pulled constantly.”
“I thought Shane did very well when he came on, he caught a great ball – I thought he was held up, how it was a free out I don’t know. It should have been a penalty, I thought.
“To me, he finds it very tough to get frees. I think it’s something that seriously has to be looked at, because that’s what happens every time he gets the ball. He’s just getting absolutely killed.”
It’s probably a bit of cuteness on Fitzgerald’s part as we’re sure that any referees will be looking especially at how O’Donnell is treated in his next outing for his county.
However in early January it probably also won’t go down so well in Cork, or other counties, with their players being labelled as being over-the-top in the aggression stakes.
