Honan’s 6/1 shot goal

 

A 6/1 shot came good for Clare in Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final in Croke Park.

John Kelly’s photograph captures the moment after Clare’s Darach Honan, as he tumbled, managed to toe-poke the ball past Nickie Quaid into the Limerick net.

It was not the most spectacular goal ever scored by Honan, or indeed any Clare forward, but it was certainly one of the most important. Not only was it a defining moment in the game but for many, who like a flutter, it brought an added bonus of collecting on a 6/1 bet for Honan to score the first goal.

The 12th minute score was the icing on the cake for those who placed their faith in the big Clonlara man’s goal-getting abilities.

The final scoreline read 1-22 to 0-18 but Clare would not have been flattered by a bigger margin. Bar a mini-revival early in the second half, Limerick were always chasing the game.

Once again, Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald got the tactics spot on with his defensive sweeper and the teamwork employed to pick off scores was sublime.

Limerick simply failed to respond and John Allen and his fellow mentors, at times, looked shell-shocked on the sideline. Limerick may look back on missed chances from frees and vital saves by Patrick Kelly but they simply had no answer to Clare’s style and skill.

The Banner are once more within touching distance of the Liam McCarthy Cup, the first time since 2002 when they lost to Kilkenny. The signs are there that the latest crop of Clare lads could well emulate the achievements of the teams of ’95 and ’97.

While the excitement of Clare’s semi-final win is palpable around the county, attention now switches to getting those elusive All-Ireland tickets. Clubs are due to be distributed their allocations on Monday.

In the meantime, there’s the All-Ireland U-21 hurling semi-final against Galway in Thurles on Saturday to look forward to.