Clare 3-21
Cork 2-24
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
TWELVE points up at half-time and still eight clear with four minutes of normal time left – surely a point lost?
Down to 14 men and trailing for the first time in the match as the clock shows 77 minutes, with only six supposed to have been added for stoppages – a point gained?
Whether your view is coloured pessimistically or optimistically, Cork left Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg with a point against the All-Ireland champions Clare. It was the first time in the round-robin era that Cork had managed to avoid defeat in Ennis and, while they certainly could have won, a loss that seemed unthinkable at half-time almost materialised before Declan Dalton scored a late equalising free.
Having lost captain Robert Downey to injury and Shane Barrett to a red card in the second half, there is little wonder that Cork manager Pat Ryan came down on the brighter side, especially as the Rebels have to reset and refocus for a game against Tipperary this Sunday.
‘I thought we showed great bottle to get back into the game,’ he said, ‘it looked to be gone away from us.
‘Obviously, we were seven, eight, nine points up – I thought we did well, even after Shane’s sending-off, but these are the All-Ireland champions, at home, I'd have taken a point this morning.
‘This isn't a sprint, the Munster championship, this is a marathon. We've one point after today, we're back to Tipperary next week and that's our focus. We park this game and move on to Tipperary.’
Coming in as Allianz Hurling League champions and having put six goals past Clare at the same venue six weeks previously, Cork came into the game as strong favourites and set about living up to that status in the first half.
A full house of 20,778 witnessed the Rebels move fluently through the gears, with Tim O’Mahony setting the tone from midfield while Brian Hayes was in scintillating form in the full-forward line.
Cork's Darragh Fitzgibbon breaks free from the challenge of Clare's John Conlon.
Scorer of three goals in the league fixtures, he raised the green flag twice in the opening period. The first, engineered by himself after a searching delivery from Fitzgibbon, opened up a 1-5 to 0-3 lead and Cork pushed on from there. It was 1-8 to 0-5 when Ethan Twomey’s delivery to Patrick Horgan saw him move the ball on to Connolly. While he was being fouled, he was still able to get a pass away to the unmarked Hayes, who did the rest.
With Clare wasting opportunities at the other end – they might have had a goal but Patrick Collins saved well from Peter Duggan – Cork eased into a 12-point lead and few expected the 2-15 to 0-9 interval advantage to be eroded too much. Within six second-half minutes, it had been cut to five.
Straight after the resumption, the hosts had a goal as Mark Rodgers set up Aidan McCarthy for Cork’s first concession since the Kilkenny game in the league – unfortunately, they were like buses as, after a Tony Kelly free, Duggan’s good win in the air allowed David Reidy to rattle the net.
Cork did steady matters in the wake of that, Patrick Horgan punishing Clare indiscretions while Connolly had a spectacular effort, and when Roche marked his arrival by making it 2-21 to 2-12, they looked to be in a strong position.
However, Barrett was dismissed in the wake of that move after an incident with Reidy and Clare took advantage of the numerical disparity. Their third goal, scored by the ever-threatening Duggan, had the gap down to four points and, as they seized control around the middle, the scores kept coming.
A famous comeback looked to have been completed when sub Aron Shanagher was fouled for a free that Reidy converted but Cork were given one last chance. While they lost the puckout, they forced a turnover and Ciarán Joyce’s run was ended illegally. Dissent brought the free forward and Dalton did the needful.
It might serve to dampen some of the hype around Cork, but Ryan felt that that was an external, rather than internal, creation in any case.
‘I think most of the people getting carried away are outside Cork, to be honest with you,’ he said.
‘We know exactly where we are. Clare are the All-Ireland champions, you saw the team that Limerick putting out today and that type of thing. Look, we've a huge challenge against Tipperary now next week. We've a point on the board, Clare have a point on the board, and we move on.’
Our Star: At midfield, Tim O’Mahony was excellent for Cork but Brian Hayes’s haul of 2-2 from play deserved to be a match-winning contribution.
Scorers
Clare: Aidan McCarthy 1-7 (6f); Tony Kelly 0-5 (2f); David Reidy 1-2 (2f); Peter Duggan 1-1; Mark Rodgers (2f), Ian Galvin 0-2 each; David Fitzgerald, Cathal Malone 0-1 each.
Cork: Patrick Horgan 0-9 (6f, 1 65); Brian Hayes 2-2; Alan Connolly, Darragh Fitzgibbon 0-3 each; Tim O’Mahony, Shane Barrett 0-2 each; Brian Roche, Séamus Harnedy, Declan Dalton (1f) 0-1 each.
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan; Darragh Lohan, Adam Hogan, Conor Leen; Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, David McInerney; Cathal Malone, Ryan Taylor; Tony Kelly, David Reidy, David Fitzgerald; Aidan McCarthy, Peter Duggan, Mark Rodgers.
Subs: Cian Galvin for Ryan (16, inj), Ian Galvin for McCarthy (59), Aron Shanagher for Rodgers (68).
Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O’Leary, Eoin Downey, Seán O’Donoghue; Ciarán Joyce, Robert Downey, Mark Coleman; Tim O’Mahony, Ethan Twomey; Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Séamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.
Subs: Ger Millerick for R Downey (45, inj), Declan Dalton for Harnedy (48), Brian Roche for Twomey (55), Shane Kingston for Hogan (60), Diarmuid Healy for Connolly (64).
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).
