CLARE ended their season on a high with a hard fought five-point win played during a biblical storm in Cusack Park this afternoon.
Clare got the perfect start thanks to Shane O’Donnell who found the net after just 20 seconds as Cusack Park erupted with delight. Cork fought back thanks to points from Horgan and Cadogan but once The Banner found their groove, they were causing Cork all sorts of problems. Peter Duggan and Tony Kelly were massively influential, and scored 1-7 between them in the first half. The goal coming in the 34th minute when Kelly buried a blistering shot in the top right-hand corner to send Cusack Park wild once more.
Three late points for Cork narrowed the gap slightly but Clare still lead 2-10 to 1-8 after an excellent first half.
Cork flew out of the blocks at the start of the second half with four early points courtesy of Horgan with two, as Alan Cadogan and Daragh Fitzgibbon both raised white flags.
Clare were in no mood to be denied though and Diarmuid Ryan and Duggan led the Banner charge in the second half. Ryan notched two fine points in a good display while Peter Duggan ended with a handsome tally of 11 points.
Colm Galvin also had a fine game, scoring two points from midfield.
It’s hard to stress how bad the weather was with thunder and lightning over Ennis, and driving rain making conditions impossible but this did not halt the Patrick Horgan-led Cork comeback.
Horgan’s second goal came with roughly six minutes remaining and narrowed the gap to just one but again Clare responded when under pressure. Late points from Duggan, Galvin and two from substitute Cathal McInerney ensured that the Banner would prevail.
It was a bittersweet victory as Clare bow out of the championship, but they do so with their heads held high.
Clare: Donal Tuohy; Pat O’Connor, David McInerney, Jason McCarthy; Cathal Malone, Jack Browne, Conor Cleary; Colm Galvin Aidan McCarthy; Peter Duggan, Tony Kelly, Diarmuid Ryan; Shane O’Donnell, John Conlon, Seadna Morey.
Cork: Anthony Nash; Sean O’Donoghue, Eoin Cadogan, Niall O’Leary; Robert Downey, Mark Ellis, Mark Coleman; Bill Cooper, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Daniel Kearney, Seamus Harnedy, Luke Meade; Alan Cadogan, Pat Horgan, Aidan Walsh.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.