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Derrick Lynch U-20 Development Football League Liam O’Connor Cup: Clare 1-13 Offaly 0-6 Clare’s bid for a spot in the O’Connor Cup final remains on course after Michael Neylon’s charges recorded their second win of the campaign. It was an impressive and controlled performance for the most part from the Banner as they powered to a 1-11 to 0-4 half-time lead after playing with the aid of the wind. Clare were fully deserving of that cushion after the opening 30 minutes as they dominated possession while stringing together some brilliant moves. The wastefulness in front of goals that was evident during the Limerick game last weekend was something Neylon and his management team had identified as an area to work on, and it was clear that they did. With 15 minutes played Clare led 1-8 to 0-2 and had a return on the board for each of their attempts on goal. Over the course of the hour, just three shots …

It promises to be a historic afternoon when the all-Clare derby rolls around as the bluebloods from Ennis take on the newcomers from Tulla. It has already been a record setting campaign for the East Clare outfit who somewhat remarkably find themselves in the knockout stages despite having yet to win a game in this year’s competition. Their passage to the last eight came thanks to a dramatic last minute draw in their final group game which saw them finish ahead of Bandon by virtue of a single point on scoring difference. St Flannan’s have yet to put a foot wrong this term with a perfect record of three wins from their three group games. They were put to the pin of their collars in their final outing against North Mon before coming through by the minimum to seal their spot as group winners. The earlier rounds saw them register victories over Waterford opposition in the form of De La …

St Flannan’s will be hoping to take another step on the road back to the top of Munster colleges hurling when they face fellow Clare side St Joseph’s Tulla in next Wednesday’s Harty Cup quarter-final. The roll of honour leaders have been absent from the knockout stages since the start of the decade having accrued 21 titles since the competition began in 1918. Their last final appearance came in 2007, but the last four is now firmly on the horizon as they prepare to face down some familiar faces. Galway native and former Clare U-21 coach Kevin O’Grady is the man leading a management team which also boasts two-time Clare All-Star Brendan Bugler with the Ennis side unbeaten so far in this year’s competition. The Beagh clubman is pleased with the progress made over the last few years. “I am five years in the school and every year there is a lot of work being done but sometimes the results …

St Joseph’s Secondary School Tulla will line out for the first ever Harty Cup quarter-final in the school’s history next Wednesday. The fact that their opponents are St Flannan’s only sweetens the pot, according to coach Tomás Kelly. St Joseph’s booked their place with a last-minute draw with Bandon, progressing by one point in scoring difference, to herald a new dawn for the school. Kelly says that excitement has hit fever pitch in the school and in the locality. “We’re very excited to be there. It is a big thing for the school to reach its first Harty Cup quarter-final in its history. The young lads are all buying into it and getting excited by it and it is a big thing for them, too. “It does that extra little bit to it that we are playing St Flannan’s, with the history of Flannan’s and being another Clare school, and that we have never really been considered a Harty Cup …

Munster Hurling League Clare 1-19 Limerick 1-27 LIMERICK booked their place in the Munster Hurling League final with an eight-point victory over Clare in Sixmilebridge this afternoon. A late Aron Shanagher goal did little to claw back Limerick, and the Treaty county coasted to success in the closing minutes. Limerick flew out of the traps and raced into a 0-9 to 0-1 lead after 16 minutes, thanks mostly to David Reidy of Athlacca and Adrian Breen. Breen was a particular nuisance to Clare’s full-back line in the first quarter. Reidy finished with a monster total of 1-12, being substituted after an hour of play. When Clare did settle, they outscored Limerick 0-8 to 0-4 from the 17th minute until half-time. It was Niall Deasy who did most of Clare’s damage, landing some monster frees to keep the Banner within touching distance. Diarmuid Ryan also landed two points within 30 seconds of each other when he benefitted from a poor Barry …

Derrick Lynch McGrath Cup: Clare 3-14 Waterford 3-7 The 359 hardy souls who filed through the gates of Hennessey Park were treated to a game that had all the hallmarks of the dead rubber that it was. Clare were full value for the win after owning the second period but it was little more than a glorified challenge game with little or no intensity throughout. That was summed in the manner in which Clare conceded two goals in as many minutes midway through the opening half as Waterford punished sloppy turnovers from the home side. It saw Benji Whelan’s side stretch 2-3 to 0-2 ahead after 22 minutes and there were few could argue that it was a lead they did not deserve. The first shot back in anger did arrive with 10 minutes to go to the break, as Cian O’Dea followed up his Oscar Traynor heroics with another goal. It came at the end of a well-worked move …

Liam O’Connor U-20 Development Football League: Clare 2-17 Limerick 0-7 With the start of the Munster championship just weeks away, Clare needed to hit 2020 running and they did that in style with a comprehensive win over their provincial rivals. The margin of the victory was deserved and could have been even greater if Clare had converted two gilt edged goal chances in the second period. It mattered little in the end here but when the dress rehearsals are over, every opportunity needs to be taken. Clare were dominant after the restart, but Limerick will rue three frees that went awry when the game was still in the balance. After the opening period, it looked as if a real battle was on the cards with the home side in Clarecastle holding the lead by 0-8 to 0-6 after weathering a Limerick fightback. As the break approached, Clare were 0-7 to 0-3 in front but a trio unanswered from the Shannonsiders …

CLARE and Limerick will do battle this weekend in the Munster Hurling League, and the Shannonsiders have a very short hop across the border to Sixmilebridge in order to renew one of the biggest rivalries in GAA. While teams will be far from their peak in early January, there will be plenty of bite in this fixture as Clare will look to put the last meeting of the sides, which Limerick won by 18 points, behind them. Colin Ryan has experienced the white heat of the Clare-Limerick rivalry on many occasions and the Newmarket-on-Fergus man says players will be fired up regardless of the competition. “Brian [Lohan] will be aware that Clare have won two Munster leagues recently but that he is going to be judged on championship, no matter what. “Limerick – and all the publicity they have received recently – will want to go out there and win it. It’s early doors and both teams will be trying …