*Clare goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
CLARE’s senior hurlers have secured their place in the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals and a date in Croke Park after powering past the challenge of Dublin.
Clare 0-29
Dublin 0-16
Venue: FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles
A fourth semi-final in five seasons is the reward for Clare after dismantling Dublin with thirteen points to spare.
There were twists and turns aplenty, Clare lost an eight point lead and found themselves only a point ahead of Dublin at the beginning of the second half but they moved through the gears with a superior second half showing to send the men from the capital out of the championship.
Most likely, Limerick await Clare in the semi-finals, a fixture which will be confirmed if Cork as expected overcome Offaly in the other quarter-final.
Victory was achieved by Clare but they didn’t come through unscathed, David Reidy suffered a nasty head injury in the closing stages, Brendan Kenny getting a straight red card for his high challenge, five minutes after he was introduced from the bench.
Reidy departed the pitch on a stretcher, nine minutes after the tackle to a standing ovation from the attendance of 13,279. Medics from either side and the Order of Malta responding to assist the Ennis man, Dublin attacker John Hetherton was also quick to lend a helping hand.
Conor Cleary suffered a shoulder injury in the closing stages of the first half while David McInerney was forced off before the final whistle. After a four week break, Clare are now facing a two week window to try clear this injury backlog ahead of a penultimate showdown with either Galway or Limerick.
This thirteen point margin wouldn’t have been forecast when Dublin managed to bring the game back to a single point with thirty nine minutes played. Instead, Clare upped the ante, their attack was sublime throughout while Eibhear Quilligan denied Dublin seven goals over the course of the game with excellent saves. Indeed the Feakle man hasn’t received the credit he deserves for his performances during Brian Lohan’s tenure so his clean sheet was boosted by heading back to East Clare with the man of the match award.
With ten minutes to play in the opening half, Clare were comfortably eight points in front but failed to score from here until the interval with Dublin hitting over an unanswered 0-6 in this spell.
It had been a commanding start from Clare who were meeting little resistance from the Leinster finalists in the first quarter. Mark Rodgers making a welcome return from injury, settled Clare straight from the off, Tony Kelly was fouled at the throw-in with Rodgers calmly slotting the free.
Kelly with a sideline cut directly to Shane O’Donnell doubled Clare’s advantage before Donal Burke with a free registered Dublin’s first score on two minutes.
Seán Rynne landed the first of his three points in the opening half, four minutes in. Eibhear Quilligan’s puckout was won in the air by O’Donnell, he popped to Rodgers and the All-Ireland winning handballer showed why he was so effective in the alley when quickly laying off to the on-rushing Rynne.
Conor Groake, a late addition to the Dublin side responded to reduce the deficit back to one before Clare kicked on with a run of three points on the bounce, Rodgers adding a free with Cathal Malone and Tony Kelly opening their accounts.
Corner forward Conal Ó Riaín controlled the sliotar and split the posts before Clare hit back with another burst of three points, Shane Meehan, Kelly and Peter Duggan on target. This meant that with twelve minutes played, all six of Clare’s starting forwards had scored whereas in the sixteen point defeat to Cork, only Shane O’Donnell from the starting attack registered a score.
O’Donnell landed a sublime score on twenty five minutes, weaving and gliding from five Dublin players before splitting the posts. This would be the last Banner score of the half as the Dubs got their run of five in a row to narrow it back to three points for half-time.
Putting increasing pressure on an exposed Clare backline, the Dubs looked like they were realy going to make a game of it on the restart, particularly so when they narrowed the gap to a point, Ronan Hayes and Donal Burke with the first scores of the new half.
Then four Clare points in a row followed along with a superb Quilligan save from Donal Burke. Only two Clare defenders were inside their own 45m line, the lack of protection leaving them exposed and vulnerable to the concession of the goal, this didn’t become a reality due to the outstanding Eibhear.
Seán Rynne and Peter Duggan both landed a brace of scores, Duggan slotting a sideline cut to power eight clear with fifty two minutes on the clock. Then came a six point burst, Tony Kelly with three, Diarmuid Stritch and David Fitzgerald both marking their introductions to register scores.
Quilligan was the headline act for Clare while Seán Rynne delivered another exceptional display in what has really been a season where he has underlined his worth to the team. Shane O’Donnell was electric when on the ball while Niall O’Farrell also impressed.
Winners by thirteen points marks it as job certainly done but there is a much stiffer challenge lying ahead in a fortnight.
Scorers for Clare: Tony Kelly 0-7 (3f); Seán Rynne, Mark Rodgers (5f) 0-5 each; Peter Duggan 0-3 (1s/l); Cathal Malone, Shane Meehan, Shane O’Donnell 0-2 each; Niall O’Farrell, Diarmuid Stritch, David Fitzgerald 0-1 each.
Scorers for Dublin: Dónal Burke 0-12 (9f); Seán Currie, Ronan Hayes, Conal Ó Riain, Conor Groarke 0-1 each.
All photographs by Ruth Griffin.
Clare:
1: Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle)
2: Adam Hogan (Feakle)
4: Darragh Lohan (Wolfe Tones)
17: Conor Cleary (Kilmaley)
5: Diarmuid Ryan (Cratloe)
6: David McInerney (Tulla)
7: Niall O’Farrell (Broadford)
11: Tony Kelly (Ballyea)
9: Ryan Taylor (Clooney/Quin)
10: Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge)
14: Mark Rodgers (Scariff)
8: Seán Rynne (Inagh/Kilnamona)
13: Shane Meehan (Banner)
12: Peter Duggan (Clooney/Quin)
15: Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg)
Subs:
3: Conor Leen (Corofin) for Cleary (34) (inj)
19: Ian Galvin (Clonlara) for Rodgers (52)
21: Diarmuid Stritch (Clonlara) for Malone (54)
20: Cian Galvin (Clarecastle) for O’Farrell (54)
22: David Reidy (Éire Óg) for Taylor (64)
18: John Conlon (Clonlara) for McInerney (65) (inj)
23: David Fitzgerald (Inagh/Kilnamona) for Reidy (75) (inj)
Dublin:
1: Eddie Gibbons (Kilmacud Crokes)
21: John Bellew (Lucan Sarsfields)
3: Paddy Smyth (Clontarf)
2: Conor McHugh (Na Fianna)
4: Eoghan O’Donnell (Whitehall)
7: Conor Burke (St Vincent’s)
6: Paddy Doyle (St Laurence’s)
19: Conor Groake (Cuala)
8: Brian Hayes (Kilmacud Crokes)
11: Donal Burke (Na Fianna)
5: Chris Crummey (Lucan Sarsfields)
10: Fergal Whitely (Kilmacud Crokes)
13: Ronan Hayes (Kilmacud Crokes)
15: Conal Ó Riain (Kilmacud Crokes)
12: Seán Currie (Na Fianna)
Subs:
14: John Hetherton (St Vincent’s) for E O’Donnell (44)
9: Conor Donohoe (Erins Isle) for Groake (54)
23: Cian O’Sullivan (St Brigids) for Currie (57)
26: Brendan Kenny (Kilmacud Crokes) for Whitely (61)
22: Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing (Commercials) for R Hayes (64)
Referee: James Owens (Wexford)
