Cork hit rich vein of form to demolish 14-man Clare

Cork 3-15 Clare 1-7

Had Clare been at full strength for the second-half they lost corner back Alan Brigdale just before the break for a second yellow card offence they might have had a chance, but this is a Cork side rich in potential.

Understandably coach Tony Leahy was very pleased with his charges performance.

"It was all too easy in the end. Up to the time they had a man sent off, Clare were well in the game but with wind advantage in the second half, and playing against 14 men, we were never going to lose.

"There is always the fear that after beating Kerry you have the job done. We got the kind of start we wanted but then eased up a bit and let them back into the game. I was always expecting a tough game from Clare and they made us battle very hard against the wind in the first-half.

"The foundation for the win was laid at midfield where Alan O'Connor and Patrick Kelly were always on top. We have some great forwards and if we can get quality ball into them they'll score. Overall it was a very good win and keeps us on track to retain our title, but Limerick, particularly at home in the Gaelic Grounds, will be very difficult to beat in the final."

Despite losing centre-back Colm O'Connell after 30 seconds with a hamstring injury, Cork settled well against the wind and had the ball in the Clare net in the fifth minute after John Hayes' free end up in the hands of Michael Murphy who made no mistake from five metres out.

The Clare tactic of crowding midfield worked well for them. Cork didn't follow their opponents and paid the price when Michael O'Shea was allowed to jump unchallenged to win a kick out. He quickly picked out Richie Kane with an inch perfect pass and the impressive corner forward raced away for a splendid goal which helped to tie the game at 1-2 apiece after 17 minutes.

Cork played the possession game extremely well out of defence and with Clare struggling to cope, the Leesiders kicked over four points in a row to go in at the break 1-6 to 1-2 in front, the Banner county failing to score for the last 13 minutes of the half.

With numerical advantage and the wind to their backs, Cork took complete control and their forwards were given every opportunity to show their undoubted potential.

Fintan Gould, John Hayes, Paul Kerrigan, Daniel Goulding, all landed points before Paul O'Flynn finished a great move to the net on 42 minutes as the Clare defence finally crumbled in the face of the incessant pressure. There will be tougher days ahead for Cork but the potential is there to go a long way in this year's championship. The displays of Eoin Cadogan and David Cunningham in defence, O'Connor and Kelly at midfield, and Gould, Hayes and Goulding in attack, augers well for the campaign.

Scorers for Cork: D. Goulding 1-4 (0-3 frees); J. Hayes 0-4 (0-2 frees); P. O'Flynn 1-2 (0-1 free); M. Murphy 1-0; F. Gould 0-3; P. Kerrigan 0-2.

Clare: R. Kane 1-3; C. Lafferty 0-2 (frees); E. Coughlan, A. Corry 0-1 each.

CORK: Ken O'Halloran; M. Shields, Kevin O'Halloran, A. Tanner; D. Cunningham, C. O'Connell, E. Cadogan; A. O'Connor, P. Kelly; F. Gould, J. Hayes, P. Kerrigan; D. Goulding, P. O'Flynn, M. Murphy.

Subs: D. Limrick for O'Connell; G. Leahy for Hayes; D. O'Connell for Shields; C. O'Neill for Limrick; E. Hodnett for Kerrigan.

CLARE: K. Ryan; A. Brigdale, J. Cusack, M. McMahon; S. Haugh, J. Hynes, O. Murphy; C. Lafferty, P. Finucane; S. Hickey, M. O'Shea, E. Coughlan; P. Donnellan, S. O'Meara, R. Kane.

Subs: A. Corry for O'Shea; A. Nagle for Donnellan.

Referee: B. Tyrell (Tipperary)