*PICTURED: Robyn Mounsey had four points from play. Photo by Gerard O’Neill
Clare’s involvement in this season’s Co-Op Superstores Munster hurling league ended at Pairc Ui Rinn this Sunday afternoon when they went down to Cork by a goal.
Cork 1-24 Clare 0-24
While there will be disappointment at bowing out of the 2024 competition, Clare can be happy at the fact that they got valuable game time into most of the squad in their games against Limerick and Cork last week.
A relatively inexperienced Clare side faced a much more experienced Cork outfit and they matched the Leesiders in many areas in what was a high scoring game.
The game’s only goal came with just a minute played and this was the difference between the sides at the final whistle.
Clare opened the scoring through the impressive Robyn Mounsey and straight from the resulting puck-out, Cork’s Conor Lehane won possession and he broke through the Clare defense, firing to the net to give Cork a lead they held for all but a minute of the tie.
When Aidan McCarthy, Clare’s top scorer on the day, converted a free in the 23rd minute it levelled the contest at 0-10 to 1-7. Lehane, a key payer for the winners in the opening half, responded with a point and the winners went on to lead by five at half time when the score was 1-16 to 0-14.
Both sides rung the changed in the second half and scores weren’t as plentiful. With ten minutes remaining the winners were seven points clear before Clare hit six unanswered points in the next eight minutes to leave the minimum between the sides with time almost up.
Cork managed the last two scores through Darragh O’Flynn and goalkeeper Brian Saunderson from a long-range free to seal a win they just about deserved on a day when Ciaran Joyce, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Robbie Cotter impressed for them. For Clare, Conor Cleary, Cathal Malone, Aidan McCarthy and Robyn Mounsey stood out.
Cork; Brian Saunderson (0-1); Ger Mellerick, Robert Downey, Cathal McCarthy; Ciaran Joyce, Tommy O’Connell, Cormac O’Brien; Eoin Carey (0-1), Brian Roche; Sean Twomey, Conor Lehane (1-3), Shane Kingston (0-8); Jack O’Connor (0-1), Brian Hayes (0-1), Robbie Cotter (0-4);
Subs used; Daire O’Leary, Sam Quirke, Darragh O’Flynn (0-3), Declan Dalton, Robbie O’Flynn, Cormac Beausang (0-1), Eoin Roche
Clare; Cian Broderick (Clarecastle); David Tuohy (Clarecastle), Conor Cleary (Miltown St. Josephs), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge); Oran Cahill (Eire Og), Dylan McMahon(Clonlara), Tadhg Dean (Crusheen); Aidan Moriarty (Clonlara), Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge) 0-1; Stephen Conway (Feakle), Cian Barron (St. Josephs) 0-2, Killian O’Connor (Corofin) 0-1; Gearoid Sheedy (Ogonnelloe), Aidan McCarthy (Inagh-Kilnamona) (0-13, 10 frees), Robin Mounsey (Ruan) (0-4)
Subs used; Ross Hayes (Crusheen), Conn Smyth (Feakle), Paddy Donnellan (Broadford), Keith Smyth (Killanena) 0-2, Eanna Crimmins (Newmarket), Colm O’Meara (Clonlara) 0-1, Diarmuid Cahill (Corofin), Jack Kirwan (Parteen-Meelick), Keelan Hartigan (Scariff)
Referee; Eamonn Stapleton, Limerick.
