Sports

THERE was no shortage of drama at the Curragh on Sunday where Aidan O’Brien claimed a record 12th Phoenix Stakes with 10/1 outsider Pedro The Great.

Clare 1-16Tipperary 1-14 AS last evening’s Munster U-21 Hurling Championship final went into injury time with Clare trailing by a point, Clare fans in the attendance of 8,379 were bracing themselves for another disappointment.

JOINT manager Gerry O’Connor admitted to being speechless. Standing in the middle of Cusack Park as he watched Conor McGrath accept the Munster cup, the Éire Óg clubman was the recipient of congratulations from fans, who cheered wildly as McGrath raised the trophy aloft.O’Connor had no doubt that it was fantastic to win it. “We knew we were going to get an unbelievable battle from Tipperary. We knew what they were capable of and they didn’t disappoint us.“I am so glad that our lads realised all week that they were going to get a battle like this. It was a savage, tense game of hurling,” he added.He agreed that both sides had experienced similar ups and downs during the course of the final. “We came out in the first half and we had a lot of wides. They had wide after wide in the second half. Their goal was a huge turning point for them,” he said.“I am not really …

TONY Kelly played some magnificent hurling for Clare on Wednesday evening. The Ballyea man, who  is expecting his Leaving Cert results next Wednesday, pointed four sublime scores from play, two critical frees and an equally crucial 65’.

COMMENT HAD former Mastermind host Magnus Magnusson appeared in the Clare dressing-room at half-time, his list of questions would have been lengthy but pointed.  

Clare 4-16 Roscommon 3-12 To use the terminology of the moment, it was another gold for Clare as the U-18s won the county’s second ladies’ football All-Ireland title of the season. The Clare minors bridged a 22-year gap when they produced another last-quarter killer performance to defeat Roscommon in Birr. A hesitant start by the Banner County, who played in the blue of Munster, led to cat-and-mouse football up to the 20th minute as the lead changed sides five times. Roscommon scored from the throw-in through Orla O’Neill but Róisín Howley scored the first of her four points a minute later. However, continued pressure yielded five first-half frees, which Caoilionn Beirne converted for Roscommon. Points from Aisling Torpey and a 30-yarder from Róisín Howley for Clare were cancelled out by another Beirne free and a Gillian Dufficy point as they exploited a loose Banner midfield. Signs of the Clare potential came in the shape of an Ellie O’Gorman run from …

The Clare minor hurlers take on Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final this Sunday. Sports Editor Seamus Hayes reports  

Doonbeg 0-10Lissycasey 0-8 LISSYCASEY’S wait for a senior football championship win over Doonbeg goes on, following the latest clash of the sides. For the second year in succession, Lissycasey had chances to end that wait but the greater experience of Doonbeg again won the day.