Clare 2-21
Waterford 0-16

CLARE recorded a comfortable victory over Waterford in the opening round of the Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship at Semple Stadium in Thurles on Sunday.

 

 

Beaten in the Munster final by Tipperary last season, Clare are anxious to go a step further this time out and throughout Sunday’s contest, they displayed the greater hunger for victory.
It won’t go down as one of the better games but the standard did improve as the game progressed.

The first half was evenly contested but Clare stepped up a gear after the break and from an early stage the outcome was clear. Clare will now face Cork in the provincial semi-final on June 23 in Limerick when the game will again be a curtain raiser to the senior semi-final between the same counties.

Fielding a young side, all but seven of the panel are eligible for U-21 hurling this year, Clare looked likely winners from once full-forward Aidan Lynch struck the game’s first goal in the 15th minute. The score put Clare four points clear and they were always ahead from here on.

That goal separated the teams at the interval, 1-9 to 0-9. Waterford had opened the scoring in the second minute through Stephen Roche but points from Cathal Malone and Michael O’Neill had Clare ahead by the fifth minute. Waterford levelled through midfielder Shane Ryan but like scores from Pa Sheehan and Aidan Lynch gave Clare a lead they would hold to the finish.
Early second half points from Cathal Malone, Niall Arthur and Sheehan saw Clare extend their advantage to six points and this was up to seven by the mid point of the second half.

By now, Clare were in control in most areas and they had stretched their lead to nine points before Gary Guilfoyle crashed home the Banner men’s second goal to kill off any remaining hopes Waterford might have entertained of getting back into contention.

Amongst the substitutes Clare introduced in the second half was Cathal O’Connell who was released from the senior squad on Friday night. He is another of the U-21 panel that will face Waterford in the provincial semi-final in mid-July.
Killian Ryan, Conor Cleary, Cathal Malone, Michael O’Neill and Aidan Lynch were prominent throughout for Clare.

Clare: Keith Hogan (Clooney-Quin); Jack Browne (Ballyea), Darragh Corry (Tulla), Killian Ryan (Ruan); Enda Boyce (Cratloe), Conor Cleary (Miltown), Cathal Chaplin (Broadford); Pa Sheehan (Sixmilebridge), Jarlath Colleran (St Joseph’s); Gary Guilfoyle (Feakle), Michael O’Neill (Kilmaley), Cathal Malone (Ennistymon); David Reidy (Éire Óg), Aidan Lynch (Ruan), Niall Arthur (Inagh-Kilnamona).
Subs: Cathal O’Connell (Clonlara) for Arthur (38 minutes); Kevin Lynch (Sixmilebridge) for Boyce (49 minutes); John Guilfoyle (Wolfe Tones) for Colleran (52 minutes); Gearóid O’Connell (Ballyea) for Sheehan (55 minutes); Ger Arthur for Guilfoyle (57 minutes).
Scorers: Gary Guilfoyle (1-5, 4f); Aidan Lynch (1-4); Cathal Malone (0-5), Pa Sheehan (0-3), Michael O’Neill (0-2); Cathal O’Connell, Niall Arthur (0-1 each).
Frees for: 7; wides: 5.
Bookings: Conor Cleary (45 minutes).

Waterford: Darren Duggan; Colin Walsh, Stephen O’Keeffe, Shane Roche; Jason Roche, Kieran Power, Shane Kearney; Eamonn Murphy, Shane Ryan; Cormac Heffernan, Jack Lyons, Jim Power; Killian Fitzgerald, Stephen Roche, Ryan Donnelly.
Subs: Colm Curran for J Power (22 minutes); Robbie Power for Donnelly (35 minutes); Sean Ryan for Shane Ryan (35 minutes);  Kevin Casey for J Lyons (55 minutes), Tom Curran for J Roche (58 minutes).
Scorers: Killian Fitzgerald (0-8, 7f); Stephen Roche (0-3); Cormac Heffernan (0-2), Jack Lyons, Shane Ryan, Eamonn Murphy (0-1 each).
Frees for: 13; wides: 9.
Bookings: Shane Roche (18 minutes).
Referee: John O’Brien, Tipperary.

 

Victory was ‘easier than expected’ according to Moloney

CLARE joint manager Donal Moloney said Sunday’s first-round intermediate win was a lot easier than expected.
“I saw Waterford with a lot of this team play the Tipperary U-21s in the Davin Tournament in Carrick. They turned in a superb performance on that night without a lot of their major stars. In the first 10 minutes today, there was a real intent about them,” Scariff native Moloney said after Sunday’s win.
“Our guys worked extraordinarily hard. Their work rate was phenomenal. The game died in the second half. Maybe we wanted it a bit more on the day,” Moloney added.
“There is great competition for places in this panel. We have a bubble of players all around the age group of 18 to 21. There is a lot of competition and they are all working very hard trying to lay claim for places.
“While they are competing savagely for places, the team work and the camaraderie is very good.”
Looking ahead to the semi-final with Cork, the Clare mentor noted, “We played Cork in a challenge. They are a different proposition altogether. They are physically way stronger, very good in the air and way more experienced. They may only have a handful of U-21s in their team. Waterford had 11 or 12 on the field today.”
Moloney and his fellow mentors will be hoping to have a stronger squad available for the semi-final. Daire Keane, Ronan Taaffe, Fergus Kennedy and Cillian Fennessy all missed Sunday’s game due to injury. “They were a huge loss,” he said.
Asked if they are likely to get more players from the senior panel, he said, “Trying to balance that is difficult. Cathal O’Connell came back down on Friday. We have been working with a group all along and a guy comes in, well it’s something that has to be carefully managed.”