Banner roar with final flourish to vanquish Cats
Lohan’s men stay the distance in tight clash that culminated in Championship-like intensity
ALEAGUE game that carried a whiff of what is to come in summer. Anyone tuning into the final quarter would think that this much-maligned competition had a new-found status as the only show in town.
After two All-Ireland semi-final defeats at the hands of Kilkenny, Clare were clearly determined to clinch the two points that would all but secure a place in the semi-final and also their Division 1 status for 2025.
That explains why Aidan McCarthy turned to the main stand at Cusack Park and fistpumped after nailing a crucial free to edge Clare ahead by a single point with a minute of normal time to go.
No surprise that TJ Reid was involved in the chaos
Just moments earlier, himself and Kilkenny full-back Huw Lawlor could be found wrestling on the ground, this one carrying enough of an edge to see both booked as sparks began to fly.
Diarmuid Ryan cracked over another quality score as four added minutes went up on the electronic board. Then Peter Duggan bombed over the score of the game from inside his own half to send another jolt of electricity around the ground.
Now Kilkenny have made a lifetime habit out of scoring dramatic late goals. And it was no surprise TJ Reid was involved in the rolling chaos that constituted the endgame.
Back in the team for the first time this season, he was a constant thorn in Clare’s side. Darragh Lohan was put on him in the second half and picked up his second yellow in injury time for one too many personal fouls.
Reid popped up to latch onto Mikey Butler’s pass and shoot for goal only for that effort to be blocked. And he was denied again from a 25-metre free in the dying moments as the sliotar rattled around before being cleared to safety. James Owens’ final whistle blew seconds later to confirm the Clare win. Other things to ponder? Though not named in the match-day 26, Shane O’Donnell was out doing some running tests beforehand in front of the main stand, the All-Star just one key piece of the Clare jigsaw to be slotted back in. Former Hurler of the Year Tony Kelly is another one of those corner pieces that Clare will build a Championship picture around.
The Banner wore a blue jersey, a unique commemorative one to honour the legacy of association founder Michael Cusack, a Clare native. And no doubt to bring in a few extra jersey sales.
A fast start by Clare featured three early wides from frees from Mark Rodgers, all wide on the left, the Scariff player just not factoring in the breeze enough. McCarthy quickly took up the freetaking duties after that. Instead of 0-4 to 0-1, it should have been 0-7 to 0-1 as Clare played with much more energy and spark in the opening quarter. Ryan produced a big catch from a Kilkenny puck-out and David Fitzgerald pulled off another from a Clare puck-out to drive on and split the posts. The latter showed all his athleticism again to go bounding clear to grab his second score and
make it double scores, 0-8 to 0-4.
His third was actually taken down above the crossbar by goalkeeper Eoin Murphy before the umpire flagged it as a score. Television replays proved inconclusive. Derek Lyng’s mood wasn’t improved when a McCarthy free looked like it might have gone outside that same left post but was awarded.
Kilkenny hit four points in a row in the 10 minutes before half-time to change the pattern of the game. One involved a great bit of improvisation from Cian Kenny to chip the sliotar into his hand with his boot and lay it off to Eoin Cody to point Clare needed a response. Peter Duggan did just that, drawing the foul. McCarthy slotted the free and added another before the interval to sneak Clare back ahead 0-11 to 0-9.
The third quarter was all a bit ragged, involving a slew of wides, before McCarthy played in David Fitzgerald who fired a rasping shot at goal that Eoin Murphy did so well to tip over.
Then came a great steal by David Blanchfield on Seadna Morey who was haring through. From that turnover, Kilkenny went up the field and Adrian Mullen was fouled for Reid to level it at 0-15 apiece.
On the hour mark, Reid won his own ball, turned and went for goal. Eamonn Foudy stood up well and made the save look easy enough. The pace in the shot though saw it rebound out where John Donnelly volleyed it.
Again, Foudy made himself big to block it and that was the cue for the rousing finish, Clare producing the big scores when it mattered most. CLARE: E Foudy; P Flanagan (R Hayes 69), C Cleary, A Hogan (R Hayes 39); D Ryan, J Conlon (S Rynne 46), C Leen (S Morey h-t); C Galin, D Lohan; D Fitzgerald, D Reidy, P Duggan; M Rodgers (S Meehan 61), A McCarthy, K Smyth. Scorers: A McCarthy 0-6 (6fs), D Fitzgerald 0-5, P Duggan, K Smyth 0-2 each, M Rodgers (1f), D Reidy, C Leen, D Ryan 0-1 each KILKENNY: E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; D Blanchfield (C Buckley 35-38), R Reid (J Donnelly h-t), S Murphy; D Corcoran, M Carey; A Mullen, TJ Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny (T Clifford 59), E Cody, H Shine (G Dunne 46). Scorers: TJ Reid 0-9 (5fs), J Donnelly 0-3. P Deegan 0-2, E Cody, D Blanchfield 0-1 each. REFEREE: J Owens (Wexford). ATTENDANCE: 6,824.