Provincial crown in the bag for county minors

Clare 2-9
Waterford 2-8

AN epic encounter befitting of a Munster final saw Clare and Waterford go head-to-head for the second time in two weeks and produce a game of great quality and excitement.
Both sets of players, their mentors and supporters were well and truly exhausted when referee Keith Delahunty sounded the final whistle after two agonising minutes of stoppage time, with Clare clinging to a one-point advantage.
Nobody present could have predicted such a frenetic conclusion as Clare started the game in whirlwind fashion and looked to be well on the way to victory when leading 1-5 to 0-1 after just 15 minutes. Clare were dominant in all areas during the first period, only to find themselves floundering under the pressure of Waterford’s second-half onslaught. Both sides fought to the bitter end but Clare summoned the composure to rescue the game in the final minutes, when their dream of provincial glory was fading rapidly.
Clare’s late revival was led by Chloe Moloney, who deservedly received the player of the match award. She landed a rousing 54th-minute point for Clare’s first score of the second half and prevented Waterford’s revival from going into overdrive. This score regained the lead and lifted the team, who were visibly becoming demoralised under the weight of Déise pressure and possession. Waterford equalised a minute later but Clare had regained their self-belief and were able to seal the game with a late point from substitute Shauna Harvey.
Things had started so differently for Clare, with four points in the first five minutes from Moloney (2), Nollaig Blake and Gráinne Nolan. Dominating affairs at midfield and in their own half-back line, Clare piled on the pressure and were rewarded with a Gráinne Nolan goal on 13 minutes. Nolan followed with a point a minute later.
Waterford’s only score at this stage had come from a Máiréad Power point in the eighth minute.
Clare continued to dominate throughout the field but were finding scores hard to come by. Orla Devitt was unlucky to see a goal-bound shot rebound off the upright before Nolan and Eimear Fennell swapped points. Midfielders Emer Hillary and Aoife Dunne then exchanged points before Clare got a vital and lucky break.
Gaining possession about 40 yards from the Waterford posts, Orla Devitt surged forward but her understruck shot for a point from 30 yards deceived the Waterford ’keeper, Roinín Cahallane, and ended up in the right-hand corner of the net. This was a badly needed score and Clare’s last until Moloney’s point on 54 minutes. Waterford’s Fennell had a late first-half point to leave the interval score at 2-7 to 0-4 in Clare’s favour.
Clare appeared to be in a comfortable position at this stage, even if they did have a slight wind advantage from what was a mainly cross-field at a blustery but sunny Seán Treacy Park in Tipperary Town. The stopwatch had barely reached 20 seconds of the second period when Clare ’keeper Aoife O’Neill had the unenviable task of picking the ball from the net, following a whirlwind move ending with Liz Devine sending an unstoppable shot to rattle Clare. Visibly taken aback, Clare did well to regroup and the next few minutes were scoreless as both teams tried to assert themselves.
Waterford had the next score, a Hannah Landers point from play, in the 35th minute. Now dominating affairs at midfield, Waterford piled on the pressure and were rewarded with another Devine goal 14 minutes into the half to narrow the gap to just two points 2-7 to 2-5. Clare were in deep trouble at this stage and two Moloney efforts were unlucky not to produce scores – one going narrowly wide and the other being pulled down from under the crossbar by the Waterford ’keeper. Substitute Shauna Dunphy then made it a one-point game, before Waterford had an excellent pointed free off the ground from 35 yards from Eimear Fennell to level the game.
With the game slipping from their grasp, Moloney’s intervention with her point was invaluable and a game-changer. Fennell again leveled for Waterford with another free but Clare attacked immediately and after a spell of pressure, were rewarded with a Shauna Harvey point. This proved to be the match winner and Clare defended stoutly from there to the finish. Gráinne Nolan won and held some vital possession during this period to run the clock down.
With the provincial crown now in the bag, Clare can look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final date on July 20.
Clare: Aoife O’Neill; Sinéad Considine, Amy O’Brien, Gráinne Harvey; Joanne Howley, Marie Foran, Orlaith Lynch; Aisling Corbett, Emer Hillary (0-1); Katie Connole, Niki Kaiser, Orla Devitt (1-0); Nollaig Blake (0-1), Chloe Moloney (0-3), Gráinne Nolan (1-3).
Subs: Aoife Keane, Eimear Casey and Shauna Harvey (0 -1).
Waterford: Roisín Cahalane; Aishling Hahesy, Alice Hahesy, Aoife Landers; Caoimhe McGrath, Caroline Murphy, Clodagh Keane; Megan O’Connor, Aoife Dunne; Eimear Fennell, Hannah Landers, Lauren McGregor; Liz Devine, Mairéad Power, Sarah Keoghan.
Referee: Keith Delahunty (Tipperary).