Clare booked their place in All-Ireland semi-finals in style this afternoon, defeating Dublin on a scoreline of 5-26 to 2-17 at the Gaelic Grounds.
Brian Lohan's men entered the game as strong favourites, with most onlookers expecting them to have few issues in dispatching of their Leinster rivals.
This didn't necessarily look like it would be the case early on, with Clare hitting a huge number of wides to keep their opponents in the game. However, all of that changed just before the interval.
The Munster finalists would score two quick-fire goals just before the halftime break, putting themselves well in control of the game as a result.
Suddenly, there's a big gulf between the teams as Shane O'Donnell takes a pass from Peter Duggan and slips home Clare's fourth goal to push the lead into double digits
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Clare were in cruise control from this point onwards, going on to run out winners on an 18-point margin.
Cummins & Canning disagree on reason for Dublin hammering
This type of result was not unexpected, with Clare possessing a far more talented squad than their opponents. Of course, both counties earned their place at this stage of the competition on the back of the provincials (and Dublin's subsequent preliminary quarter-final win over Carlow).
Speaking on RTÉ after the game, Brendan Cummins said that it is difficult to close the gap between the sides due to the comparative strength of the two provincial competitions. However, Joe Canning felt there were other reasons for the gulf on this occasion.
Cummins: The difference in speed and tempo in the game was clear. Clare hit a lot of wides in the first 15 minutes. Once they found their feet, Dublin were out of their depth completely.
I think it just shows what we have in the Leinster championship. They kind of fell through, did really well to get third place in Leinster. But the gap then coming from what we had in the Munster championship, it's just that intensity.
If Dublin got two or three games like that in a year, it would bring them forward in leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, now they have to wait another six or seven months before they can get back to it again.
Canning: Galway won't be anywhere near the pitch of the game today (laughs). I don't know. I think Dublin were well in the game today and it was only a five minute spell before halftime that was really the difference. That just drew the confidence out of Dublin.
When you're missing Donal Burke, it's like Tony Kelly going off on the other side for Clare. So yeah, it's difficult.
They did lost ten players off of last year's panel, with new management as well. All of these things, maybe it wasn't their day today.
It is true that the Munster championship possesses a greater depth of talent than its Leinster equivalent, although how much of a role that played on this occasion is certainly up for debate.
Clare will now prepare for an All-Ireland semi-final next month, with a date with Kilkenny at Croke Park on the horizon.
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