Clare - 1-12 Kilkenny 2-10 Holders Kilkenny just about retained an interest in this season's league with a squeaky win over Clare at Cusack Park yesterday.

The home side blew a succession of chances as the clock ran down and will feel they deserved a draw but on balance the result was fair. For Kilkenny the important thing was the bottom line. They needed a win to maintain the prospect of getting into the top three.

"We needed the two points to stay alive," said manager Brian Cody, "and we got the two points by a point and we were happy. Everyone wonders have we got the hunger. Our lads play hurling because they love it and they want to keep doing it. They're honest players and genuine players. They've no divine right to win and they know that; they're very level-headed."

Although there was some good hurling, there was also a confrontational undercurrent that saw six yellow cards handed out by referee Séamus Roche, who struggled to impose himself on the match. Ollie Baker was lucky his card was yellow after Paddy Mullally was stretched out and had to be replaced.

Cody was pleased by the grim struggle his team had to survive in order to win the match. A good few of the exchanges could be categorised as X-rated and Kilkenny had to be up for this if they were going to win. Clare held nothing back and with a chill wind and intermittent rain whipping around their bodies, any lack of Kilkenny hunger would have been rapidly exposed.

Instead they head into next week's final regulation fixture against Dublin knowing a big win could send them scurrying over the six-point threshold on scoring difference - unless Clare and Waterford draw next week.

There will be some anxiety as Kilkenny wait for news of Henry Shefflin, who was stretchered off towards the end with a neck injury. But initial signs were encouraging.

Shefflin had what his manager accurately described as a "savage" match. Not only was his dead-ball striking precise - it comprised 1-8 of his team's total - but his workrate and enthusiasm around the field were notable in trying conditions.

Clare manager Anthony Daly switched his captain Seán McMahon with rookie Brian O'Connell (playing full back in the absence of the injured Brian Lohan) 10 minutes into proceedings, by which stage Shefflin, who started at full forward, was already giving plenty of trouble.

"Just at the start when they moved Henry Shefflin in full forward maybe the thinking was that Brian O'Connell wasn't strong enough so we moved Seánie back," said Daly afterwards. "You wouldn't have had that worry and you'd have to wonder would they have moved him in if Brian (Lohan) had been playing."

Kilkenny, playing with the wind, had most of the play in the first half, Clare doing well to shake a couple of scores out of their occasional sorties upfield. For most of the opening 35 minutes the home side stayed within three points and just before half-time looked to have made a decisive impact. Frank Lohan, released after a fine solo run by Colin Lynch, was taken down by Pat Tennyson for a penalty. Niall Gilligan struck it and Clare were level, 1-3 to 0-6.

But instead of going in at half-time inadequately protected, Kilkenny hit back ruthlessly with 2-1 before the break. In the 31st minute DJ Carey netted a 20-metre free after McMahon had taken down Martin Comerford. A few minutes later Kilkenny nearly had another goal when Shefflin harassed Clare's jittery goalkeeper Ger O'Connell (replacing the suspended David Fitzgerald), who was trying to shepherd the ball out, to create an open-goal chance for Eddie Brennan but it came to nothing.

Just before the break Shefflin roofed another 20-metre free, given rather harshly against Ger O'Connell for barging his way out.

Trailing by six points, Clare had it all to do, though the wind advantage was to come.

For a long time it looked as if the home side might succeed. The half forwards came into it more prominently, with Lynch his usual energetic self at centre forward and Tony Griffin also causing trouble. But they never managed to bridge the gap. It wasn't for lack of chances but several good opportunities were sprayed wide.

With 10 minutes left Kilkenny had finished scoring and David Forde had reduced the margin to a point. Yet Clare couldn't get the equaliser.

Seán McMahon - whose impeccable long-range frees had been a good source of scores in the second half - unaccountably missed his easiest chance of the afternoon.

"We could have lost above in Galway and won today and we'd probably be happier this evening," said Daly. "But we were delighted last week to win. We're there or thereabouts and we need to work on our hurling and sharpen up. It's all about getting ready for May 16th."

For Cody it's all about beating Dublin and hoping for the best: "We'd be very disappointed not to make the top three. But to be honest after losing the first two games all I wanted was to win the next three to give ourselves a chance."

CLARE: G O'Connell; B Quinn, B O'Connell, G O'Grady; D Hoey, S McMahon (capt, 0-4, three frees, one 65), G Quinn; O Baker, D McMahon; A Markham (0-3, frees), C Lynch (0-1), T Griffin (0-1); N Gilligan (1-2, goal a penalty), F Lohan, D Forde (0-1). Subs: P Tennyson for Mullally (half-time); K Coogan for M Phelan (62 mins); J Coogan for Shefflin (67 mins); J Maher for Hoyne (70 mins).

KILKENNY: J McGarry; M Phelan, N Hickey, M Kavanagh; S Dowling, P Barry, JJ Delaney; D Lyng, P Mullally; C Phelan, J Hoyne, M Comerford (capt); E Brennan (0-1), H Shefflin (1-8, all frees), DJ Carey (1-1, goal a free). Subs: A Quinn for Markham (67 mins); B Culbert for Lohan (69 mins).

Referee: S Roche (Tipperary).