Elation for Clare in dramatic late point win over Cork

LATE DRAMA: Late point for Clare gives them dramatic win over Cork. Pic: ©INPHO/Natasha Barton

Clare 0-14 Cork 0-13 

Press pause on the obituaries, there’s life in the provincial championships yet.

Cillian Rouine’s 75th minute fisted point mightn't have been half as dramatic as Martin Daly’s game-winning goal at the same venue 26 years earlier, and neither was it accompanied by a never-to-be-forgotten Ger Keane jig of joy, but the outpouring of happiness and jubilation that greeted yesterday’s final whistle in Ennis was every bit equal to Clare’s last Munster championship victory over Cork way back in 1997.

The rain took to pour down at Cusack Park pretty much as soon as referee Fergal Kelly had taken the whistle out of his mouth for the last time. It failed to deter the Clare support in the crowd of 3,661 from washing out onto the field to celebrate with the players that had delivered only the county’s second championship win over Cork since 1941.

The Clare warm down was interrupted by multiple autograph requests. Fathers warmly embraced their sons. No footballer drenched in saffron and blue was in a hurry back to the home dressing-room.

Colm Collins, as can be read elsewhere on these pages, described it as the most important win of his 10 years on the line with Clare. This from a man who kept the county in Division 2 for seven seasons and twice brought them to the last eight of the All-Ireland championship.

Such statements are not thrown around lightly, even when swept up in the intoxicating aroma of a championship win against the head.

The obvious argument that will be made when discussing and dissecting this result is that Clare, relegated from Division 2 and therefore outside the top 16 on League rankings, had to win. Cork, by contrast, did not.

The obvious riposte to such is that Clare rise this Easter Monday morning in full control of their championship fate. Cork, by contrast, do not.

While the Banner begin preparing for a most winnable Munster semi-final against Limerick, thus guaranteeing them Sam Maguire fare and a long overdue provincial final appearance under Collins, Cork’s gaze is fixed anxiously on happenings up the country.

If two counties ranked below them in the League standings weave a path to the Leinster and Ulster finals, their next outing will be a first round Tailteann Cup fixture.

As ever with Cork, the steps forward taken during the league were followed here by a far greater number of steps in the opposite - and wrong - direction.

The injured Brian Hurley was sorely missed. Cork simply had no presence in their inside line to rival what Keelan Sexton offered Clare at the other end.

Outside of Steven Sherlock, the remainder of the starting six forwards had a combined total of two shots on goal. Powter kicked a point and Brian O’Driscoll rattled the crossbar with a first half goal attempt.

O’Driscoll’s was the sole goal attempt, way down on the seven green flag opportunities they had engineered at the same venue five weeks earlier when winning the corresponding League fixture 3-10 to 1-8.

Those three goals were finished by Powter and Mattie Taylor. Add in Colm O’Callaghan and you have Cork’s three outstanding League performers. The trio were superbly marshalled onto the periphery yesterday.

Clare’s homework had been impeccably done.

For all that, the visitors were on the road to victory when a quickfire three-in-a-row from Sherlock (0-2, one free and ‘45) and Powter moved Cleary’s charges 0-9 to 0-5 in front on 41 minutes. The wind and momentum were at their backs.

But neither were they capable of finding another gear nor protecting what they had.

Clare’s bluntness in front of goal had seen them unable to make use of the elements during a grind of a first half they finished 0-6 to 0-4 in arrears. But they were a side transformed from their once one-dimensional setting in the closing half an hour.

They broke at greater speed, their final product was a fraction more clinical, albeit 14 wides overall was still a blot on the copybook.

Eoin Cleary (0-2, one free), Sexton, and Emmet McMahon tied matters at 0-9 apiece on 54 minutes. The last of this sequence perfectly captured Clare’s growing confidence and sharpness.

A pinpoint Stephen Ryan restart sailed over three red shirts and was taken by Ciarán Russell. Possession was moved to Podge Collins who found McMahon with an over-the-top kick pass.

Mention of kick passing, there was practically none of it from Cork in the second period. Strange, considering this was a standout feature of their spring.

The contest rocked back and forth in the final quarter. We were level on four occasions and looked headed for extra-time when Cork corner-back Kevin O’Donovan tied proceedings in the fourth minute of injury-time.

Room for one more play. Clare’s outstanding half-back pair of Russell and Jamie Malone were involved in teeing up corner-back Rouine for the simplest of winning points.

Cork should have horsed Russell out over the sideline when he hared up along the stand. They didn’t. Maybe they thought they didn’t need to. Their summer could yet be defined by decisions poorly executed in Ennis.

Scorers for Clare: E Cleary (0-2 frees), K Sexton (0-4 each); E McMahon (0-2); J Malone, P Collins, G Cooney, C Rouine (0-1 each).

Scorers for Cork: S Sherlock (0-10, 0-7 frees, 0-1 ‘45); R Maguire, S Powter, K O’Donovan (0-1 each).

Clare: S Ryan; M Doherty, C Brennan, C Rouine; C Russell, J Malone, D Walsh; C O’Connor, D Bohannon; P Lillis, E McMahon, D Coughlan; E Cleary, K Sexton, P Collins.

Subs: D O’Neill for O’Connor (HT); G Cooney for Coughlan (50); M McInerney for McMahon (68); A Sweeney for Collins (73).

Cork: MA Martin; K O’Donovan, D O’Mahony, T Walsh; L Fahy, R Maguire, M Taylor; C O’Callaghan, I Maguire; E McSweeney, S Powter, B O’Driscoll; R Deane, S Sherlock, C Óg Jones.

Subs: K O’Hanlon for McSweeney (49); C Corbett for Jones (57); J O’Rourke for O’Driscoll (inj), C Kiely for Fahy (both 68).

Referee: F Kelly (Longford).