It could have been a much heavier defeat for Clare had Tipperary not taken their foot off the gas and the Banner's Colin Ryan not been in such devastating form.After fifteen minutes, Clare looked to be on their way to a heavy defeat at the hands of a Premier County side that had already seen off the challenge of Cork in the opening round of this year's Munster Senior Hurling Championship. A place in the final awaited the winners in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds yesterday, but it was Tipperary that looked the more determined from the beginning.
In front of a 20,872 strong crowd, Tipperary blasted out of the blocks and Lar Corbett and Seamus Callanan exploited some slack marking to pick off goals. The reigning Munster champions led by 2-11 to 1-08 at half-time, with Kilmaley’s Diarmuid McMahon hitting a late haul of 1-01 and providing a timely boost to Clare.
The Clare defence, marshalled at full back by the inexperienced James McInerney fell asleep again as John O’Brien collected a diagonal ball from Corbett and fired home Tipp’s third goal, moving them nine points ahead. But Clare dug deep and with Ryan, team captain Brian O’Connell and Tony Carmody coming to prominence, Tipp were made to sweat it out at the finish. However, a stunning save from Brendan Cummins from a Colin Ryan free and a sixth point from the impressive Noel McGrath sealed a narrow win for Tipp.
Tipperary will now line out against Waterford in the Munster final in Thurles on 12 July. For Clare, it’s a meeting with Galway in the second phase of the Championship at Cusack Park in Ennis.
Scorers - Clare: C Ryan 0-12 (0-06f, 0-01 sl, 0-02 '65'), D McMahon 1-02, T Griffin, J Clancy, T Carmody 0-02 each, J Conlon, D Barrett 0-01 each. Tipperary: N McGrath 0-07 (0-01 sl, 0-01f), J O'Brien 1-02, L Corbett 1-01, S Callanan 1-00, P Kerwick 0-03, E Kelly (0-03f) 0-03 each, D Fanning, J Woodlock 0-01 each
Clare: P Brennan; P Vaughan, J McInerney, G O'Grady; P Donnellan, B Bugler, A Markham; B O'Connell (capt), T Griffin; T Carmody, D McMahon, C Ryan; N Gilligan, D Barrett, J Clancy.
Subs used: B Nugent for Carmody (60 mins), J Conlon for Barrett (62), G O'Connell for Clancy (66).
Tipperary: B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, C O'Brien; D Fanning, C O'Mahony (capt), P Maher; J Woodlock, S McGrath; P Kerwick, S Callanan, L Corbett; E Kelly, J O'Brien, N McGrath.
Subs used: B Maher for O'Mahony (h/t), W Ryan for Kerwick (54 mins), B Dunne for S McGrath (63), H Maloney for Callanan (64), P Kelly for E Kelly (67).
Referee: James Owens (Wexford).
