Cormac fires Clare into history books

Two points from two shots on goal – not a bad return for Clare midfielder Cormac O’Donovan.
Throw in the fact that the second of the Clonara man’s points won Clare’s first ever All-Ireland U-21 hurling title and the significance of his perfect record zooms up the scale.

“I normally get about two points but they normally come with about five wides too,” O’Donovan said.
A minute from full-time Cormac fired over the score that shot Clare team into the hurling history books. Although it seemed to take all day to land, O’Donovan claims that he was certain it was heading over.
“Conor McGrath got the ball in the middle of the pitch and he was under a small bit of pressure. I screamed at him and he hit it straight out to me. The ball kind of came through the shadows so I was a bit jittery for a second and it was hard to control,” he said of the moment before he put Clare ahead when it mattered most.
“I picked it up, stepped inside and hit it as high as possible, which gave a bit of an anxious moment for the crowd but I knew myself it was going over.”
O’ Donovan’s club mate, John Conlon, was a man apart in Croke Park.
“Conlon was unbelievable,” O’Donovan acknowledged. “He was well able to pick off scores when we needed them most. He didn’t feel the pressure when he was dropping those balls over the bar. He knew straight away after he hit those balls that they were going over. He’s a confident guy and he’s a super hurler and I know he’s going to do great things in the future,” he predicted.
Although now off the pitch, Cormac was still in awe of the crowd reaction at the end. He is hoping that it is a scene that will be replicated more often in the seasons ahead.
“It means so much to them and it means so much to me because I’m a fan myself. Hopefully now we’ll push on; win more 21 and minor titles and convert them into senior in a couple of years time,” the shooting star concluded.