Clare’s fate in this years McGrath Cup is now out of their own hands.
It’s after Kerry edged a tight battle in their showdown under the lights in Clarecastle
The 0-16 to 0-14 score line just about reflects the nature of the contest as Kerry were forced to withhold a late Banner surge for what would have been a levelling two pointer in the closing moments.
In truth, Clare will have regrets about some poor turnovers in the opening half which gifted scores to their visitors, who led by 0-12 to 0-6 at the break thanks in part to a second quarter run of five unanswered scores.
A much more solid defensive effort and greater ball retention saw Clare come out of the traps flying; out scoring the Kingdom 0-4 to 0-1 in the third quarter to reduce the gap to just three points.
Banner net minder Stephen Ryan can be credited with the game going down the home stretch as he twice denied Kerry what would have been game clinching goals with excellent close range saves.
Dermot Coughlans two pointer left two between the sides as the game entered injury time, but despite sustained late pressure, Clare couldn’t engineer the shot that may have earned a share of the spoils.
Kerry now face Waterford in the final group game; where victory for the Kingdom will see them through to the decider.
Clare’s likely next outing will be the first round of their Division 3 National Football League campaign, which begins with a trip to Newry to face Down on Saturday January 24th.
