A valiant Clare effort just fell short against Cork in the Munster U20 hurling final.
Ben O’Connor’s Rebels reeled in a four point deficit in the final quarter to take the title on a 1-23 to 1-21 score line.
It took until the last action of the game before the result was settled as Ben Cunningham’s free eventually saw off a brave Clare challenge
Cork led 1-11 to 0-10 at the break having played against a strong wind, with their captain Michael Mullins scoring a brilliant individual goal to give his side breathing space.
Keith Smyth’s free taking kept Clare in touch at half-time with half of Clare’s tally at that point coming from the Killanena man.
A strong third quarter was needed and that’s exactly what Terence Fahy’s side delivered.
Sean Rynne profited from brilliant work by Smyth as he produced a clinical finish to the net to level the sides after 33 minutes.
The turn of the final quarter saw Clare build a 1-19 to 1-15 lead and looked to have turned the tide of the contest.
Led by Cunningham, the Rebels slowly began to get back into their groove, and the sides were level again at 1-23 each with six minutes left to play.
Both sides had chances in the closing stages, but it was Cork who made the most of theirs to win their 22nd title at the grade and a third since 2020.
Clare can be proud of their efforts in this campaign, with Cork being the only side to get the better of them in their six championship games.
