Clare: 0-15
B McMahon 0-4; M Daly 0-3; P McMahon, G Keane, D O'Sullivan 0-2 each; B Keating, J Daly 0-1 each.
Waterford: 1-7
E Doherty 1-3, pointed frees; L Dalton, G Hurney, R Power, C Keane 0-1 each.
Referee: S Prior (Leitrim).
Booked: Waterford - E Doherty, C Whelan. Sent off: None.
It may have gone unpunished against Waterford, but Clare surely can't expect to get away with shooting 20 wides against Tipperary in the semi-final and still advance in the Munster senior football championship.
Clare looked so vulnerable in the second half that it seemed it would take only a second goal by elusive Waterford attacker Emmet Doherty to bring about the first shock of the championship.
Doherty, a forward who could earn a place in most county teams, gave the crowd an explosive start when, after collecting a lineball from John O'Kiely, he careered forward with a defence splitting run before sending a well-placed shot to the net.
Within a minute, Liam Dalton had the underdogs four points up but Waterford's inconsistency was highlighted during the next 15 minutes, before Doherty had Waterford's next score, a pointed free.
Tommy Curtin, the Clare manager, was impressed by Waterford's blistering start. "Our lads did well to recover from that early deficit but it didn't really surprise us, for we know that Waterford can play great football and that's what they did all the way today."
Eleven first-half wides and nine in the second suggests that Curtin has much work to do with his front men. Waterford were less wasteful with seven off-target shots.
Clare's worries began to mount in earnest with 14 minutes remaining when Colin Keane popped up for a point that left only one between the sides, 0-10 to 1-6.
It was little wonder that Donal O'Sullivan earned the biggest applause of the day from the concerned home crowd when he pointed immediately after.
Tommy Curtin told the dejected Waterford players: "It's far too early for a side like yours to be out of the championship. We could not put ye away for a long time, ye played with great heart and understanding. The Munster Council may have to look at a round-robin format now."
