Resolute Waterford stand firm at the finish

Waterford 2-17 Clare 1-18:APART FROM being the tightest-rated match of the weekend, yesterday's Munster hurling semi-final didn't promise a great deal. Clare, by common consent, are on the up and Waterford travelling in the other direction but between them they contrived a contest that pulsed until the end when in a finale of striking drama, Clare had a two-point deficit and a 20-metre free to try and remedy it.

Goalkeeper Patrick Kelly, who had redeemed an early mistake with some good saves and a monster free from his own half, came up and from a slight angle went for goal.

His counterpart Stephen O’Keeffe blocked the shot and as the ball ricocheted into the air, Clare appeared to celebrate the inevitability of batting it into the net but it was Waterford’s defence, which scrambled clear to leave Michael Ryan’s team heading for a fourth successive Munster final.

It was agonising for a Clare team that had put itself in a position to win the match on a couple of occasions.

They will look back on Nicky O’Connell’s dead ball striking going on the blink in the second half when, by his first-half standards, he left behind three scoring chances – two frees and a 65.

They will also think of Darach Honan’s injury-time chance when he twice fumbled a pick-up, which would have given him a clear shot on goal but having been sent on for the final 10 minutes after a long lay-off, his touch lacked the assassin’s calm.

They will believe they had Waterford on the ropes in the last 15 minutes or so but just failed to make it count. They will be pained by the goal conceded in the first half when Eoin Kelly’s tussle with full back Cian Dillon should have been a free out rather than a penalty.

Although the tide looked to be flowing against them, Waterford did enough to survive. They would have been speechless had they lost after managing in rugby parlance to butcher a three-on-one overlap in the 72nd minute albeit that Patrick Donnellan’s hook on O’Neill was high-quality fire brigade service. But a point at that stage would have made them unbeatable.

Instead the match surged up the other end, as Clare made one last play to earn their last shot at salvation.

Arguably the first chance Clare let slip was in the opening quarter when they surrendered an early initiative when leading by 0-4 to 0-1. Waterford’s half backs were struggling to establish a bulwark and the ball was flying into the danger area too frequently for comfort.

Yet for the following 10 minutes it was Waterford who developed momentum and outscored their opponents with an unanswered 1-4. The half backs began to function as a platform with Michael Walsh imposing himself and Kevin Moran, switched to wing back before the start, stepping up the resistance.

The goal came when Kelly drove home a confident penalty after an incident, which had begun with the Waterford forward fouling his marker Cian Dillon but concluded with the Clare full back retaliating.

Worse was to follow. The excellent Stephen Molumphy, whose drive and energy sustained Waterford, dropped the ball in and although Patrick Kelly came to it, he failed to secure possession and Shane Walsh was on hand to bundle home a typical poacher’s goal for a six-point lead, 2-5 to 0-5.

Clare’s response was admirable. Conor McGrath, who was a major threat (but ultimately contained by Waterford who switched Aidan Kearney off and Stephen Daniels on to the Clare forward) produced a dazzling turn and lift in the 22nd minute which led to the first salvo in the comeback. He finished with four points.

John Conlon, another thorn in Waterford’s side – particularly in the first half – erupted onto a ball that had been dug out of a scrum in the corner and finished decisively to cut the margin to two and although the lead expanded once more, Conlon showed a calm nerve to add two more points in injury-time. Waterford’s half-time lead of two, 2-8 to 1-9, looked vulnerable.

Early on in the second half it looked as if Waterford’s experience and steadiness would smooth the way. John Mullane stepped up on an already good performance and Seámus Prendergast underlined his aerial domination and the interval lead was doubled by Mullane and Maurice Shanahan.

But the suspicion that Clare’s younger legs might last longer began to harden, as five unanswered points flipped the lead – the last one shot from goalkeeper Kelly around his own 65.

Two fouls, one harshly judged, on replacement Paul O’Brien allowed Shanahan to restore the lead almost immediately and it became clear that the match was heading for a photo finish.

But Waterford were able to source vital scores – Richie Foley’s free from the half-back line, Mullane popping up with another. Critically O’Connell began to miss his chances and the pressure built on Clare. But they kept coming and closed to within a point before O’Neill notched the last score of the match. It wasn’t a definitive statement, as so much excitement was to follow in the final minutes.

There was a bit of unseemly triumphalism in front of Clare – and former Waterford – manager David Fitzgerald but his day had already been spoiled and he disappointed anyone seeking to provoke an angry outburst.

WATERFORD: 1 S O’Keeffe; 2 A Kearney, 3 L Lawlor, 4 S Daniels; 5 R Foley (0-1, free), 6 M Walsh, 8 K Moran; 7 P Mahony (0-1), 9 Molumphy (0-1); 10 M Shanahan (0-7, 0-5 frees), 11 S Prendergast (0-1), 12 E Kelly (1-0, penalty); 13 J Mullane (0-3), 14 S Walsh (1-1), 15 G O’Brien (0-1). Subs: 20 N Connors for Kearney (half-time), 22 P O’Brien for G O’Brien (49 mins), 26 T Ryan for S Walsh (59 mins), 21 D Twomey for Foley (62 mins), 24 M O’Neill (0-1) for Kelly (68 mins). Yellow cards: Kearney (17 mins), Foley (40 mins), G O’Brien (46 mins), Mullane (49 mins), Connors (73 mins).

CLARE: 1 P Kelly (0-1, free); 2 D O’Donovan, 3 C Dillon, 4 C Cooney; 5 B Bugler, 6 J McInerney, 7 P O’Connor; 9 P Donnellan, 8 N O’Connell (0-5, 0-4 frees); 14 J Conlon (1-2), 12 J Clancy (0-3), 10 E Barrett; 22 P Collins, 13 C Ryan (0-3, frees), 15 C McGrath (0-4). Subs: 18 L Markham for McInerney (45 mins), 20 F Lynch for Barrett (54 mins), 17 S Morey for O’Connor (59 mins), 24 D Honan for P Collins (59 mins), 21 A Cunningham for Ryan (66 mins). Yellow cards: Dillon (12 mins), Donnellan (29 mins).

Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath).