Clare 1-16 Kilkenny 0-18

What goes around comes around — it’s an adage often used in sport but rarely can it have been as true as it was in Ennis last night for this Munster U21 hurling championship final.

BEFORE I go into the match analysis, I want to comment on the admission price to get into Semple Stadium yesterday — €20.

WHAT a disappointment in Semple Stadium yesterday.

NO matter who wins this game tomorrow a new name will be etched on the Billy O’Neill Cup, one dream still running, another dashed.

EXPERIENCE, that was the major difference between these sides in Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday as Crusheen advanced to the Munster Club SHC final against Limerick champions Na Piarsaigh on Sunday week.

“BRILLIANT, absolutely,” that was the summation of Crusheen manager Michael Browne of two key saves, one in each half, by goalkeeper Donal Touhy in yesterday’s Munster Club SHC semi-final win.

THIS was a day that highlighted the beauty of the club championship.

YOU thought conditions at the Clare senior hurling final were bad on Sunday last?

IT won’t bother Crusheen today, their title retained, but the question has to be asked: should this Clare SHC final have been allowed go ahead?

RARELY does league fare take centre stage in the imagination of hurling folk, especially not outside the top tier, but such was the interest in this crucial Allianz Hurling League Division Two final that Ennis on Saturday evening bore all the hallmarks of a championship encounter.

I HEARD a lot of complaints in recent weeks from Clare and Limerick about being in Division 2; on the basis of what I saw in Ennis on Saturday, both counties were where they deserved to be this year.

DESPITE horrendous weather conditions at floodlit Mourneabbey on Saturday, Cork and Clare still served up a decent game in this senior hurling challenge ahead of the commencement of the league next weekend.

REIGNING Munster and All-Ireland U21 champions Clare stay on course to retain their titles, but only after a hugely entertaining battle against Limerick in this Munster semi-final at the Gaelic Grounds last evening.

HOW in heaven’s name did this end up as a 13-point win for Dublin?

WATERFORD manager Davy Fitzgerald has sprang more than one surprise in naming Waterford’s starting 15 to face Clare in Monday’s Munster senior hurling championship semi-final at Thurles.

Clare 2-15 Kildare 0-11

Tony Considine (TC): “You two have both been involved with Clare teams at various levels over the years, how does this team compare with those?”

AH, friends, after a match such as this – nay, after living, breathing life theatre such as this, pity us poor scribes!