Defeat on the double by the Lee

Clare tasted defeat on the double at Pairc Ui Csoimh this afternoon when the minor and senior hurlers both went down to #cork in their opening games in the new format Munster championsbhip.

Making the disappointment all the gre\ter for the clare fans in the official attendance of 24,490 is the fact that both teams had opportunities to win their games.

Their losses make next Sunday’s round 2 games against Waterford in Ennis all the more important as another defeat for either would considerably dent their chances of getting to the play off stages.

Cork 2-23 Clare 1-21

Failure to convert a number of good goal opportunities proved costly for the senior side as Cork put in a storming finish to seal a somewhat flattering five point win

Clare made a great start with three points in the opening four minutes but Cork had levelled by the seventh minutes and from here to half time it was score for score.

Cork were a point ahead at the end of the first quarter and while Clare managed to draw level twice after this, the Leesiders led by the minimum margin, 0-11 to 0-10 when the half time whistle sounded.

Nine minutes into the second half there was a delay of ten minutes as Cork forward Robbie O’Flynn received ttention following a clash involving his team mate #conor Lehane and Clare’s David McInerney.O’Flynn was removed from the pitch on a stretcher and taken to hospital and when play resumed Cork struck a major blow in the form of a Conor Lehane goal after Pat Horgan had kept the ball in play. The referee consulted with his umpires before confirming that the goal stood.

Cork extended their lead to five points but then Clare came storming back and a #tony Kelly goal followed points from David Reidy and John Conlon to level the tie. The sides were level again as the game went into eleven minutes of added time and three unanswered points saw Cork go two clear before they sealed victory with a goal from their captain Seamus Harnady just before the full time whistle

David Fitzgerald suffered a blood injury in the warm up and was off the field while the pre match parade was taking place. Kilmaley’s Michael O’Malley replaced the Inagh-Kilnamona man in the parade.

Clare; Donal Tuohy (Crusheen); Patrick O’Connor (Tubber), Conor Cleary (Miltown, St Josephs), Jack Browne (Ballyea); David Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona), David McInerney (Tulla), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge); Colm Galvin (Clonlara) 0-3, Tony Kelly (Ballyea) 1-3;Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge), John Conlon (Clonlara) 0-5, David Reidy (Éire Óg) 0-3, Conor McGrath (Cratloe) 0-1, Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin), 00-4) Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) 0-2

Subs-: Darragh Corry (Tulla) for Duggan; Michael O’Malley (Kilmaley) for O’Connor; Ian Galvin (Clonlara) for Reidy;Jamie Shanahan (Sixmilebridge) for #cgalvin;

Cork; Anthonhy Nash; Sean O’Donoghue, Damian Cahilane, Colm Spillane; Christopher Joyce, Mark Ellis (0-2), Mark Coleman 0-1; Darragh Fitsgibbon 0-3, Bill Cooper 0-1; Daniel Kearney, Conor Lehane 1-2, Robbie O’Flynn 0-1; Luke Meade, Seamus Harnady 1-2, Pat Horgan 0-10

Subs Shane Kingston for Meade; Dea Tim O’Mahoney for O’ O’Flynn Dean Brosnan (0-1) for Kearney;

Referee; Sean Cleere, Kilkenny

While Cork the got the opening score in the minor game, Clare had the betrer of the early exchanges and goals from Mark Rodgers in the fourth and seventh minutes gave the Banner side the early advantage.

The accuracy of Evan Murphy from frees kept Cork in touch and they had drawn level(2-4 to 0-10) after twenty minutes.

Clare’s third goal from Gearoid O’Grady edged them back in front and helped them to a two point interval advantage (3-7 to 0-14).

The sides continued to trade scores throughout the third quarter but what proved tobe the turning point came ten minutes into this half when Clre were resuded to fourteen men.Wing back Tony Butler picked up a second yellow card in the space of three minutes and from here on the advantage was with Cork who finished with a flourish scoring the final six points of the game

Clare; Cillian O’Brien( Clonlara); Jack Enright (Newmarket), Adam Mungovan(Doora-Barefield), Mike Gough (Smith O’Briens); Tony Butler (Doora-Barefield), Dylan McMahon (Clonlara), Darragh Healy (Clarecastle) 0-1Captain); Jason Griffin (Inagh-Kilnamona), Fionn Slattery (Bodyke)0-1; Aidan Moriarty (Clonlara) 0-2, Gearoid O’Grady (Kilmaley) 1-1, William Halpin (Tulla) 0-2; Mark Rodgers (Scariff) 2-2, Keelan Guyler (Inagh-Kilnamona) 0-4,Shane Meehan (Banner) 0-1;

Subs; Conor Hegarty (Inagh-Kilnamona) for Griffin, Conor Carigg (WolfeTones) for Slattery; Tadhg Dean (Crusheen) fpr Enright (inj), Josh Brack (Clarecastle) for Halpin; Jack Minogue (Bodyke) for O’Grady

Cork; Cian Long; Christian Murphy, Padraic Cullinane Cian O’Donovan; Cormac O’Brien, Luke Horgan 0-1, Cillian O’Donova 0-1; Olan Broderick (0-1), Paul Cooney (0-1); Kevin Moynihan, Shane Barrett (0-5), Danial Hogan (0-1); Padraig Power (0-1), Paddy O’Flynn (0-2), Evan Murphy (0-8);

Subs; Alan Connolly (0-4) for Moynihan; Cathal Hickey (0-1) for Murphy;Darragh Flynn for Broderick

Referee; Kevin Jordan, Tipperary;

By Seamus Hayes