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Tony Kelly says that an apparent lack of respect led Clare to beat Wexford in the Irish qualifier on Saturday.
At 1-15, the Ballyea man was sensational for the Banner in Portlaoise as they qualified for the quarter-finals in Ireland.
Following their Munster SHC first round loss to Limerick, Clare’s one-point win over Laois at Kilkenny the previous weekend did not inspire much confidence, but Kelly felt the victory was worth it.
“There was a lot of talk that Wexford was going to put the show on the road this week and gain its own momentum. We were probably discharged fairly or unfairly, but we knew there was a performance in us.
“At the beginning of the year, we were moving very well. The firing didn’t help much. Last week, a lot was written about us just beating Laois by one point, but on Tuesday we felt it was a bit disrespectful, first to Laois, second to ourselves; a win is a championship win no matter who you beat.
“Even that little boost from last week helped again this week, especially with the conditions. We knew that if we won the draw we could gain some advantage. It’s hard to get back from that track, no matter what it is. We created that cushion and a goal is a huge score under those conditions. ”
Kelly has now scored 1-45 in three SHC games, but played down his latest heroics.
“Next week I couldn’t knock on a barn door. So are the conditions in the winter. Look, sometimes the easiest job is to put the ball on the bar. The hardest work is winning puckouts, breaks, and putting your shoulder behind the wheel.
“I have to mention Shane O’Donnell every week. He’s criticized for not scoring, but my goodness, he and Conor Whelan are probably the two best forwards in the country in terms of winning their own ball, working pace and setting scores. Same with Cathal Malone, I couldn’t say enough about the pace of his forwards’ work. ”
Kelly said Clare’s players didn’t need to think twice about exchanging courtesies with Davy Fitzgerald after the game.
“We have great respect for Davy and Bugs (the Wexford coach and his former Clare teammate Brendan Bugler), I teach with him at the school for so many years. We have great respect for them.
“We grew up watching him (Fitzgerald) play for Clare and we idolized that team and then as a coach, we won an All-Ireland with him. It was absolutely fantastic and we may never win one again. We didn’t have to think about it. If we found them on the street it would be the same ”.
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