Ballyhale Shamrocks forced to dig deep

Ballyhale Shamrocks 0-19 Clara 0-16: A strong start and equally good finish saw Ballyhale Shamrocks reach the Kilkenny senior hurling county final, but they had to work hard to dethrone the defending champions Clara.

The Shamrocks exploded into action from the off. They dominated the early exchanges in Nowlan Park, taking a five-point lead inside the opening 17 minutes. T.J. Reid (0-3) and Henry Shefflin (0-2) did most of the damage for the Shamrocks, who seemed to have the game well under control. Clara found scores hard to come by, relying on free-taker Chris Bolger (0-3) for the bulk of their points but, with just minutes left in the half, they seemed to be in trouble as they trailed Ballyhale by six.

The complexion of the game changed after that, as Clara finally found room to open up. Liam Ryan got them going with a good point from play, while two more Bolger frees saw them close the gap to three by half-time (0-101 to 0-7).