Cork defence in mean mood

Cork 1-11 Clare 1-6

Forced to line out without senior players John Gardiner and Fergus Murphy, their replacements Gerry O’Mahony and Ronan McGregor did all that was asked of them in a disappointing contest, which drew a crowd of 2,320.

Cork’s defence was superb, with Martin Coleman in goal always in command. Gardiner’s absence meant Cian O’Connor moved from full-back to centre-back and he played superbly in the pivotal position, while Kevin Goggin and Michael Prout were also very prominent in the Cork defence.

Clare’s attack struggled to make any impression, but there was a bit more penetration after Clive Earlie was introduced, and it begs the question why he wasn’t in from the start.

Their wides tally of 12 in total, seven in the first-half, tells the story of plenty of possession but poor finishing, which cost them dearly. Defensively, too, they were outstanding with Gerry O’Grady and Daragh Clancy magnificent.

Clare settled quickly, Brian O’Connell doing well at centre-back, but with both defences on top, scores were at a premium and seven minutes went by before Thomas O’Donovan opened the scoring with a Clare point.

Considering that both teams had a number of current senior panellists on view that standard of play was surprisingly mediocre. Cork could make no impression in attack despite a plentiful supply of ball and the Sars’ pair Michael Cussen and Kieran Murphy were headed in a vice-like grip by John Coen and Gerry O’Grady.

The Leesiders had to wait 21 minutes for their opening score when Kieran Murphy pointed a 65. Cian O’Connor, Shane Murphy and Kevin Goggin gave nothing away in the Cork defence, although Andrew Quinn was troublesome and he was denied a goal in the 23rd minute by a magnificent save by keeper Martin Coleman.

However, Clare were guilty of some dreadful finishing from good positions which should have seen them at least three points to the good, but as the half wore on, Cork began to get a grip and Michael Cussen brought the best out of Clare keeper Philip Brennan, who denied the full-forward a goal, deflecting a shot over the bar from five metres.

Cussen finally began to make an impact and after he landed a point he had a hand in Cork’s only goal when he linked with club colleague Kieran Murphy to give James Bowles the simplest of chances from the edge of the small square, which helped Cork to a 1-5 to 0-3 half-time lead. Clareresumed the second half with Andrew Quinn out in the half-forward line which was surprising given how dangerous he had been closer to goal but after he cut the deficit with a point, Cork went on something of a scoring spree knocking over four points without reply to lead 1-9 to 0-5 at the three-quarter stage.

Still the game lacked any sparkle as both defences remained on top but Clare’s pressure on the Cork backs finally told when Clive Earlie picked out Cyril Crowe with a great cross-field pass and he billowed the Cork net to give his side and the game a badly needed injection.

Unfortunately, Clare could not build on that goal as the Cork defence and in particular Ronan McGregor and Shane Murphy put up the shutters reducing the Clare attack to just one more point for the last 13 minutes.

Cork for their part, found it that bit easier to score and Cussen finished with two splendid points to give his side victory and a home tie against Waterford in the semi-final on July 7.

Scorers: Cork: K. Murphy (0-2 frees, 0-1 65), M. Cussen 0-4 each, J. Bowles 1-0, M. Naughton, K. Hartnett, B. Barry 0-1 each. Clare: A. Quinn 0-4 (0-1 free), C. Crowe 1-0, T. O’Donovan, P. Collins 0-1 each.

CORK: M. Coleman; J. O’Mahony, S. Murphy, K. Goggin; M. Prout, C. O’Connor, R. McGregor; K. Murphy, K. Hartman; B. Barry, D. O’Riordan, M. Naughton; J. Bowles, M. Cousin, K. Murphy. Subs: J. Crowley for Bowles ; G. McCarthy for Naughton; C. O’Reilly for O’Riordan.

CLARE: P. Brennan; T. Holland, J. Coen, G. O’Grady; D. Clancy, B. O’Connell, E. Burke; P. O’Connell, P. Collins; P. Hickey, T. O’Donovan, G. Ryan; C. Crowe, A. Quinn, T. Kiersk. Subs: B. Shalley for Ryan; C. Earlie for Hickey; J. Clancy for O’Connell; M. Hawes for Kiersk; T. Howard for Crowe.

Referee: S. Roche (Tipperary).