Goalscoring forwards key to Clare’s final march

LATE in 2006, when they came together for the first time, the Clare U21 hurling management would have had the obvious ambition of bringing a first ever Munster title to the county.

And, of course, they would have had aspirations of making it all the way to Croke Park, where Banner teams have been seen rarely enough on All-Ireland final day over the years.

Twelve months ago, they suffered the heartbreak of losing the Munster final to Tipperary at Cusack Park in the worst way imaginable. They were denied what would have been a winning point from a 21-yards free by an umpire ‘call’ at the other end which resulted in their goalkeeper being penalised for stepping outside the square when pucking out the ball and a 65 being awarded – from which the winning score came.