Cunningham nicks it for 14-man Banner

There was irony aplenty at O’Connor Park, Tullamore yesterday as Aaron Cunningham, son of Offaly coach Alan, landed the decisive 70th minute winning point as Clare maintained their 100% record in Division 1B of the Allianz NHL.

For 62-plus minutes Davy Fitzgerald’s Clare were at a numerical disadvantage after the dismissal of Fergal Lynch and he hailed the character shown by his players as they progressed to meet Limerick in the divisional final.

However, when Offaly fought back from two points down, 0-14 to 1-13 after 54 minutes, and went two ahead 0-18 to 1-13 with 61 minutes elapsed, they looked poised to fight it out again with the Banner for a semi-final spot.