Galway will have the edge over Clare in Semple Stadium, says Ger Loughnane
After last weekend's draw, Clare and Galway are set to go toe-to-toe again on Sunday - the winner getting the chance to play Limerick in the All-Ireland final.
The game was announced for Semple Stadium earlier this week and according to one Clare man, the pitch in Thurles will better suit Galway.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Ger Loughnane felt Clare's style of play is better suited to a pitch like in GAA HQ as opposed to Thurles.
"Clare have a structure and physicality which is ideal for Croke Park. But in Thurles, it's a much more open field. It's a much faster field," Loughnane told RTÉ Sport.
"If you watch the ball in Croke Park - and you saw all the difficulty players had rising the ball the last day - it's not bouncing as high, the field isn't fast, the butt of grass is thicker. It's as simple as that.
"Now, it's a great pitch. It's a brilliant pitch. But the ball doesn't move as fast as in Thurles.
"Thurles suits a creative, fast-moving game. We (Clare) would be afraid of our defence when the pace of the game is very, very fast. That's what happened against Cork in the (Munster final) second half.
"As a result, when they saw the defence was creaking, the rest of the team seemed to lose confidence. We may have learned from that. Hopefully, we have."
After 1-30 draw last weekend the Feakle man clearer feels the current champions will have the edge but didn't right off the Banner completely.
"It's a bigger task for Clare going to Thurles on Sunday than it was going to Croke Park last Saturday. And if they survive against this Galway team there, then they're a real force," concluded Loughnane.
