O'Donovan steps up as Banner's late hero

The man who kept Clare in the hunt for a first All-Ireland SHC title since 1997, courageous corner back Domhnall O'Donovan, spoke of his relief at finding out his injury-time shot had gone over in yesterday's drawn final against Cork.

O'Donovan fell over as he sent the ball towards the posts from the left wing during the dying seconds of the all-Munster clash, and relied on the reaction of the Clare fans to tell him it had gone over.

It was a huge moment for a player who had never scored before in a Senior Hurling Championship match.

Pat Horgan's tenth point of the day had Cork ahead for the one and only time at 3-16 to 0-24, but O'Donovan's late heroics rescued a draw for the Banner men and set up a replay on Saturday, September 28.

O'Donovan never felt that the game was beyond Clare's reach despite there only being seconds left on the clock.

He told RTÉ Radio 1's 'The Championship' programme: "I was a bit concerned, especially when Pat Horgan's point went over and then they had a sideline (cut) and it seemed like the clock was just ticking away and nothing was happening.

"It's the same as any other match, you just have to focus on the ball for the 70 minutes or the 72 minutes in this case. The game is never lost until the whistle is blown.

"I'd be given out to quite a bit if I attempted to take shots in matches because I've done it before and it hasn't gone too well. It was a great time to get my first Championship score."

Reliving his levelling score and the build-up to it, the Clonlara clubman explained: "I think there were less than 30 seconds on the clock and Stephen Moylan had just taken the sideline cut that went wide.

"(Our goalkeeper) Patrick Kelly had the ball in his hand and I saw open country in front of me so I thought my job as a defender was done for the day. If Cork scored it was over anyway.

"I wasn't looking for the ball but I just said I'd give him (Kelly) the option – if he chooses to use me he can. I wanted him to hit it a few seconds earlier so I could maybe run on to it and possibly pop it over.

"It came a bit late and myself and Stephen had a bit of a battle for it. Patrick O'Connor got the ball into his hand and somehow found Nicky O'Connell. I think he got doubled-teamed then so he popped it out to me.

"I'd say he was hoping it was going to be Conor McGrath or Darach Honan outside him but I was out there! I think everyone had their head in their hands when I had the ball, and when I was shooting. But it managed to go over, thankfully."

O'Donovan added: "The reason I took the shot instead of passing it was because every pass you hit there's a percentage chance of it being intercepted or taken away.

"I said I'll go for it and I fell over as I was hitting it so it was the crowd that let me know it was over. Then, just in case (the referee) Brian Gavin was playing a bit of extra time I just sprinted back into position."

Praising the scorer of Clare's late equaliser, manager Davy Fitzgerald quipped: "The shooting boots were on (him) today! 'Dunny' was phenomenal today from the word go. He's taken a lot of stick at different times this year, unjustly so in my opinion.

"I was delighted to see him go up (and score) today. He's a man of character, we're absolutely delighted to have him as one of us and to do that at the end."