Banner steam into semis
There was a certain amount of gloom about: with Clare and Waterford, there was a sense that defeat at the hands of Wexford and Cork would provoke some career obituaries, some farewells to the Hill. As it panned out, Clare strangled the yellow bellies, 1-20 to 0-12, while Waterford were five adrift of the All-Ireland champions, 1-18 to 1-13, at the final whistle. Half a funeral, then.
Anyone with a Clare epitaph in their pocket yesterday could have been forgiven for being taken in by the elements. The stage seemed set for the end of an era - swirling wind, threatening rain - but weeping skies are a cliché for bad poets. Clare took an early punch or two from Wexford, then shook their heads and began to box. The trouble was Wexford looked out of their weight division.
