Cork held on for an exciting win over Clare in the Munster under21 hurling semi-final at Thurles last evening. Three goals were scored in a sensational opening seven minutes. Cork's Darren Ronan had the ball in the net inside a minute, but 30 seconds later John Kenirons levelled for Clare. Brian O'Keeffe had Cork's second goal in the seventh minute, and the Leesiders went on to lead 2-7 to 1-8 at the interval.

The second half was equally exciting, with the teams level on two occasions. However, three Cork points in the 24th to the 26th minutes gave them control. Clare rallied strongly, but time was against them as Cork held on for a deserved win. For Cork, Wayne Sherlock, Pat Ryan, Sean Og O hAilpin, Micheal O'Connell and Darren Ronan were best, while the top Clare players on the night were Bobby Frost, Enda Flannery, Martin Conlon, David Ford and Danny Scanlon.