Clare 2-22 Cork 3-18
At a heaving Cusack Park citadel, free-scoring wing-back Diarmuid Ryan fired Clare back into a Munster final.
The round robin series in Munster over the past few years has allowed the Ennis venue to find its voice in matches of real consequence and this was particularly true here in a one-point victory for the home side, even if the balance of play over the 70-plus minutes suggested that they ought to have been more comfortable having led by eight at one stage.
But, with it all up for grabs in the closing minutes, every little helps and the oxygen from their Clare support in the 18,659 crowd certainly didn’t do any harm.
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“I thought the support was fantastic,” said Clare boss Brian Lohan. “The crowd was brilliant.
“A lot of those people there supporting the team have put an awful lot into all those lads whether they trained them at under-6 or looked after them, driving them here and there. There’s a great appreciation from the lads for what people have done for them and I suppose the supporters are looking at that bunch and getting behind them.
“They appreciate the work they’re putting into it.
“You become a spectator at that stage and leave it to the players and they go and win the game. They’re all smart individuals and really did well, particularly in that last 10 minutes.”
Ultimately, Ryan’s point from distance over on the terraced side of the ground, his fourth of the day from wing-back in the fourth minute of injury time, was the difference.
The win marked the the first time since 1998 that Clare had scored consecutive Championship victories over Cork, which is also the last time that they won the Munster title, when Lohan was in his pomp as a player.
The match started at a breathless pace with nine scores registered before the ninth minute had elapsed.
The first eight were shared evenly before Cork struck for the first goal through Conor Cahalane after Patrick Horgan had played him in after Clare had failed to clear their lines.
The rate of scoring naturally slowed and Cork looked to have greater control when moving 1-6 to 0-5 in front by the 17th minute, but Clare owned the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 1-8 to 0-2 from there to the break.
Tony Kelly started the match brilliantly with two early points and hit his third to bring Clare level, while he nipped in for a poacher’s goal in the 29th minute after Ryan’s long delivery wasn’t dealt with by Cork.
Ryan’s first point in first half injury time saw Clare 1-13 to 1-8 in front at the break and Kelly slotted a penalty in the 38th minute after Ciaran Joyce found Shane O’Donnell too hot to handle to stretch the margin to eight.
Cork won a penalty of their own when Seadna Morey fouled fellow sub Shane Kingston as he bore down on goal and though Horgan’s strike was poor and saved by Eibhear Quilligan, Declan Dalton whipped the rebound to the net.
Clare endured a wasteful period where Kelly and Peter Duggan both missed frees but still maintained a three-point buffer until Horgan brilliantly fielded a Niall O’Leary delivery and burned David McInerney to draw Cork level with six minutes remaining.
Cork could never summon enough momentum, however, to drive past Clare, who pushed ahead twice more and though a long Horgan free restored parity, Ryan had the final say.
“Just needed to get ahead, yeah,” Cork manager Pat Ryan acknowledged afterwards. “Look, I think the three times we got back level they got three quick puckouts off and got three kind of handy scores to put them back up a point.
“Obviously it was just about us getting our shape back and getting through that, we didn’t tune in well enough to that but can’t fault our fellas for effort today.”
Horgan had lost his all-time Championship scoring record to Kilkenny’s TJ Reid the day before but reclaimed it with a haul of 1-9 to go four points clear at the top again but he’ll do well to stay out in front by the conclusion of this Championship, with Cork facing a shootout with All-Ireland champions Limerick next Sunday to keep their summer alive.
They may have gone down swinging here, as Ryan referenced, but the feeling that the much sought All-Ireland will remain elusive for another season at least is difficult to shake.
For Clare, after a poor start to the campaign against Tipperary, they have rediscovered the momentum of 12 months ago, though Lohan wasn’t shying away from the need to add silverware now.
“That’s the name of the game,” he said. “It’s all about trying to win matches and trying to go as far as you can in the competition. We’re in a Munster final now and we’ll see.”
CLARE: Eibhear QUILLIGAN 7; Adam HOGAN 7, Conor CLEARY 6, Rory HAYES 7; Diarmuid RYAN (0-4) 9, John CONLON 8, David McINERNEY (0-2) 7; Ryan TAYLOR (0-2) 7, Cathal MALONE 7; David FITZGERALD (0-2) 7, Tony KELLY (2-4, 1-0 pen) 8, Shane O’DONNELL (0-2) 7; Mark RODGERS (0-1) 5, Peter DUGGAN (0-1) 6, Aidan McCARTHY (0-3, 0-2f) 6.
Subs: Seadna Morey (0-1) for Conor Cleary (35), Ian Galvin for Rodgers (47), Aron Shanagher for McCarthy (54), Shane Meehan for Galvin (68).
CORK: Patrick COLLINS 7; Niall O’LEARY 7, Damien CAHALANE (0-1) 7, Sean O’DONOGHUE 7; Tommy O’CONNELL 6, Ciaran JOYCE 8, Robert DOWNEY 7; Brian ROCHE (0-2) 8, Luke MEADE 6; Declan DALTON (1-1, 0-1f) 6, Darragh FITZGIBBON (0-2) 7, Conor LEHANE 5; Patrick HORGAN (1-9, 0-6f) 7, Seamus HARNEDY (0-2) 7, Conor CAHALANE (1-0) 6.
Subs: Shane Kingston (0-1) for Lehane (43), Shane Barrett for Conor Cahalane (46), Ger Millerick for O’Connell (47), Tim O’Mahony for Meade (62), Brian Hayes for Dalton (68).
REFEREE: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).
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