Munster MFC semi-final: Clare 0-8 Cork 1-13
Clare’s run in this years Munster minor football championship came to an end as a slicker Cork outfit ran out winners in Pairc Naomh Mhuire Quilty
An early Rebel goal coupled with the dismissal of midfielder Aidan Weaver for an off the ball incident saw Cork build a 1-7 to 0-1 interval lead.
On a perfectly calm evening, Cork began brightest and kicked some excellent scores from distance to race 0-3 to 0-0 ahead inside the opening eight minutes.
That lead was extended even further when Danny Miskella found the bottom corner of the Clare net, with Cork lead 1-5 to 0-0 after the first quarter.
Sean Fennell did strike back with a lovely angled point but a straight red card for Weaver was a huge blow to Clare, who were already struggling to retain possession from their restarts.
To Clare’s credit, the effort never waned as the defence stood firm under several waves of attacks from Cork. Conor Burke ploughed a lonely furrow up front, with Cork able to both double mark the Banners danger man while also playing their spare man in front.
Clare’s running game eventually began to pay dividends with Burke clinical on the frees that came his way. He was always unlucky not to find the net as his effort just curled the wrong side of the post from close range.
The introduction of Darragh Townsend and Liam Clune added renewed impetus to the Clare attack and there are plenty positives for Clare to carry into the Tier 2 All Ireland series, which begins on May 25th