CORK 6-20 CLARE 0-23
By Eoin Brennan at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg
Pat Ryan hadn’t beaten Clare in five previous league and championship bouts but he certainly made up for lost time after putting the holders to the sword at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg in Ennis.
Six timely goals sunk the Banner in both this tie and Division 1A itself as a fourth defeat in five matches relegated Clare from the top tier less than twelve months after securing the title.
Add in red cards for Peter Duggan and David Fitzgerald and, all-in-all, it was a thoroughly forgettable afternoon for Brian Lohan’s side and an opportune boon for the Rebels who not only exacted revenge for last summer’s All-Ireland final defeat but also laid down a marker ahead of their Munster Championship rematch at the same venue in six weeks’ time.
Brian Hayes (3), Declan Dalton (2) and Shane Barrett completed the goalfest which metronomically sapped the home sides confidence at regular intervals.
The first stemmed through a penetrative run and finish from Barrett in only the eighth minute, Brian Hayes set up Declan Dalton to fire the second six minutes later while Hayes would bat the third past goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan in the 26th minute to keep the home side at arm’s length.
Aidan McCarthy’s frees ensured that Clare matched the visitors on points but those majors clearly defined the narrative that stood at 3-9 to 0-9 by the break.
An encouraging start with the introduction of Peter Duggan soon turned sour for the Banner on the resumption as a buoyant Cork couldn’t believe their luck as they picked off three further goals through Hayes (2) and Dalton inside 13 minutes of the restart at 6-13 to 0-14.
If that wasn’t harrowing enough for the home side, a straight red card for substitute Duggan at the turn of the final quarter only added to Clare’s misery as it proved the death knell to any faint hopes of a revival.
The tie rather petered out from there, save from an injury-time battle between David Fitzgerald and Cormac O’Brien that saw both dismissed by referee Liam Gordon.
On a day in which the number of cards reached double figures, it tees their rematch up perfectly for an Easter Sunday showdown.
Scorers for Cork: Declan Dalton 2-6 (2f); Shane Barrett 1-4; Brian Hayes 2-1; Ethan Twomey, Patrick Horgan (3f) 0-3 each; Brion Saunderson 1-0 (1-0f); Brian Roche 0-2; Sean O’Donoghue 0-1
Scorers for Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-12 (11f, 1’65); Sean Rynne, Tony Kelly 0-2 each; David Fitzgerald, Jack O’Neill, Ryan Taylor, Mark Rodgers, Aron Shanagher, Robin Mounsey, Shane Meehan 0-1 each
Cork: Brion Saunderson; Niall O’Leary, Eoin Downey, Sean O’Donoghue; Tommy O’Connell, Robert Downey, Cormac O’Brien; Tim O’Mahony, Ethan Twomey; Shane Barrett, Darragh Fitzgibbon, Brian Roche; Declan Dalton, Patrick Horgan, Brian Hayes
Subs: Luke Meade for Barrett (22-23, BS), Micheál Mullins for O’Connell (HT), Damien Cahalane for E. Downey (47), Patrick Collins for Saunderson (52-56, BS), Jack Cahalane for Barrett (53), Jack O’Connor for Hayes (53), Diarmuid Healy for Roche (64)
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan; Conor Cleary, Adam Hogan, Conor Leen; John Conlon, Cathal Malone, David McInerney; Darragh Lohan, Ryan Taylor; David Fitzgerald, Tony Kelly, Sean Rynne; Jack O’Neill, Aidan McCarthy, Mark Rodgers
Subs: Rory Hayes for Lohan (22-23, BS), Peter Duggan for McInerney (HT), Hayes for Cleary (43), Aron Shanagher for Rynne (49), Robin Mounsey for O’Neill (54), Shane Meehan for Rodgers (66)
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway)
