Clare 0-23
Cork 6-20
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
WHILE a league victory could never be a panacea for the disappointment of an All-Ireland final defeat, Cork certainly responded in the best way possible.
Travelling to the newly renamed Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg in Ennis to take on Clare, who beat them by a point after extra time in Croke Park last July, the Rebels found the goal touch that had been somewhat elusive so far, firing six past the Banner to stay in the mix for an Allianz HL Division 1A final spot.
Leading by 3-9 to 0-9 at half-time, victory was all but assured and it means that another win, at home to Galway on Saturday week, could send Cork through to the decider. The result had the added effect of all-but-relegating Clare, who had come into the match on the back of an inspiring win over Limerick the previous week.
Though it may not have exorcised the All-Ireland disappointment, Cork’s first win at the venue since the spring of 2009 – when the striking hurlers returned to action – could be of more use for the future. They return to Ennis on Easter Sunday, April 20th, for the opening round of the Munster SHC and another win then would be invaluable.
Manager Pat Ryan was pleased overall, but did point out that there was still room for improvement.
‘I thought the lads were sharp and they took them well and they were very clinical,’ he said.
‘I think we’ve left a good few chances behind us in the first couple of games. We worked very hard on that and we took those opportunities against what is a very mean Clare defence normally.
‘It’s all systems go for six weeks’ time, when we come back up here.’
Nice weather and a large crowd of 11,410 provided a championship feel but, while there was a lot of niggle in the first half – eight yellow cards were shown, five to Clare – Cork were at a far higher pitch in terms of quality.
The first goal, a brilliant Shane Barrett individual effort, put them 1-1 to 0-1 in front and they led by 1-3 to 0-2 when Darragh Fitzgibbon’s lovely pass for Brian Hayes allowed him to hand off to Declan Dalton for a rocket of a finish.
Cork's Darragh Fitzgibbon breaks away from Clare's Darragh Lohan.
Clare were unable to make much of an impact at the other end, though Cork’s point-taking was not at the levels that it had been in earlier games. Even so, a flowing move led to Hayes netting in the 27th minute to make it 3-5 to 0-5. While Aidan McCarthy frees did improve Clare’s tally before half-time, Cork kept pace with them to go in leading by nine points.
A fourth goal arrived early in the second half as the excellent Brian Roche was the provider for Hayes’ second goal and it was Roche who also provided the assist as Dalton netted again to make it 5-13 to 0-14 on 47 minutes.
They still weren’t done as Hayes completed his hat-trick a minute later, touching home a delivery from goalkeeper Brion Saunderson, and things got even worse for Clare as half-time sub Peter Duggan was sent off for a high challenge on the netminder.
From there, the game petered out as the sides emptied the benches. No more goals followed though there were two additional red cards in injury time, Cork’s Cormac O’Brien and Clare’s David Fitzgerald dismissed after the last of many off-the-ball incidents.
It mattered little in the bigger scheme though, with Cork winners by 15 points. And so the league final – and a possible first title since 1998, when Ryan was part of the panel – remains a possibility. Not that it’s at the forefront of the thoughts of the manager or anyone else in the camp.
‘It’s not, really,’ he said, ‘what’s on our mind really is winning the next game.
‘We came up here today and if we lost the last two games, it was mathematically possible that we could be relegated.
‘That was our thing, we’re on seven points so that’s not going to happen. We’ll be taking the Galway game seriously.
‘We’ll have lots of fellas back and you can see we have plenty of competition in our squad. When fellas come back, they have to play well. That’s the opportunities they’re going to get.’
Scorers
Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-12f; Tony Kelly, Seán Rynne 0-2 each; David Fitzgerald, Jack O’Neill, Mark Rodgers, Shane Meehan, Robin Mounsey, Aron Shanagher, Ryan Taylor 0-1 each.
Cork: Declan Dalton 2-6 (2f); Brian Hayes 3-1; Shane Barrett 1-4; Ethan Twomey, Patrick Horgan (3f) 0-3 each; Brian Roche 0-2; Seán O’Donoghue 0-1 each.
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan; Adam Hogan, Conor Leen, Conor Cleary; John Conlon, Cathal Malone, David McInerney; Darragh Lohan, Ryan Taylor; David Fitzgerald, Tony Kelly, Seán Rynne; Jack O’Neill, Aidan McCarthy, Mark Rodgers.
Subs: Rory Hayes for Lohan (23-24), Peter Duggan for McInerney (half-time), Hayes for Cleary (44), Aron Shanagher for Rynne (49), Robin Mounsey for O’Neill (54), Shane Meehan for Rodgers (66).
Cork: Brion Saunderson; Niall O’Leary, Eoin Downey, Seán O’Donoghue; Tommy O’Connell, Robert Downey, Cormac O’Brien; Tim O’Mahony, Ethan Twomey; Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Brian Roche; Brian Hayes, Declan Dalton, Patrick Horgan.
Subs: Luke Meade for Barrett (23-24), Micheál Mullins for O’Connell (half-time), Damien Cahalane for E Downey (47), Patrick Collins for Saunderson (53-57), Jack Cahalane for Barrett, Jack O’Connor for Hayes (both 54), Daniel Hogan for Roche (64).
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).
