Last gasp Clare equaliser sees Tipperary U20 hurlers share spoils in Cusack Park

Munster U20 Hurling Championship - Round 1

Tipperary 0-20

Clare 0-20

An enthralling finish seen this opening round Munster U20 Hurling Championship game between Tipperary and Clare end with a late, late Clare equaliser after Eddie Ryan looked to have won it for Tipp with a late point in the dying stages of injury time.

Despite the four minutes of injury time having elapsed, the referee on the day gave Clare a final roll of the dice as senior panellist Patrick Crotty took full advantage to score under pressure which gave the team’s a share of the spoils.

In all, it was probably the correct result as the side’s both exchange periods of dominance, with Clare the better side in the first half, but Tipp certainly grew into the game and despite trailing by six at one stage in the first half, they finished well despite not playing to their full potential.

Tipperary were very slow to get into their pattern of play in the first quarter of the match despite Stephen Ferncombe giving them the early lead in under a minute thanks to a free won from the throw-in.

Clare equalised quickly through a first from play from Niall O’Farrell at wing forward and even though the sides were tied at 0-2 apiece after five minutes - with Sean Kenneally scoring a nice point along with Patrick Crotty for Clare - it was the Banner who were working hard and that bit sharper with their hurling.

They took over the in the following six or seven odd minutes as they slotted over six points in succession up to the 11th minute as the Tipp puckout was malfunctioning, and with Clare hassling hard it was giving them chances; the scores coming mostly from play from Niall O’Farrell, Sean Rynne, Keith Smyth and Jack O’Neill to give the home side a good early 0-8 to 0-2 lead.

A lot more composure was needed on the ball from Brendan Cummins’ team and they did tidy up the restarts somewhat, along with their gameplan, as Tipp hit the next four on the bounce thanks to a lovely score from play by Stephen Ferncombe, along with two frees from the Clonoulty Rossmore man in the next few minutes, and a brilliant effort from cornerback Luke Shanahan had the game back to two points after 16 minutes.

However, Clare were finding far more room in their scoring flurries than Tipp, with the Limerick referee keeping the scoreboard ticking for the Premier in this period, as Clare re-established a four point gap with scores from Daithi Lohan (Brian Lohan’s nephew), and Conor Whelan from midfield with the home team getting behind their players’ efforts.

In fairness though, Tipp began to find their rhythm in the final ten minutes as they outscored Clare 0-6 to 0-1 in that time with Darragh Stakelum influential, scoring a point from distance and setting up several scores as Ferncombe hit his points (four frees), while Ciaran McCormack found a lovely score to boot.

There were two late goal chances for either team in quick succession before the break, with Ciaran McCormack somehow kicking the ball forward to Jack Leamy in behind the cover on the 21, but the Golden man’s strike was a good height for Shanahan in the Clare goal denying Tipp; while straight from the ball down field Jack O’Neill’s kicked effort in front of goal was blocked by Eoin Horgan in the Tipp square.

Tipp took a lead against the run of play at the break, ahead 0-12 to 0-11 with a big half of hurling to come.

The second half started in similar fashion with a Stephen Ferncombe free getting things underway inside two minutes to give Tipp a two point lead but it wasn’t too long before the game was level with two Clare points in the following few minutes from Keith Smyth (free) and another brilliant score from Niall O’Farrell for his third of the day.

A theme of the game was both sides hitting purple patches of scoring at different stages as Tipp found another such period with another Ferncombe free in the 28th minute along with points from Peter McGarry and an James Morris run which was finished by Eddie Ryan as Tipp led 0-16 to 0-13 with the final quarter to come.

Tipp’s unwillingness to hit the ball into the full forward line meant that there was a lot of physical exchanges as the game got down to its final stages, but Clare hit back up to the 53rd minute with four points along coming from play; Patrick Crotty with two of those in quick succession along with another Niall O’Farrell major and a first for Oisin O’Donnell.

The Tipp subs bench was emptied at this stage and one of those lads affected the game straight away, with Darragh McCarthy levelling the game with a very well taken point on the run after being found in space. This game was going down to the wire.

Keith Smyth gave Clare a one point lead with a long range free just as the clock entered injury time and it looked like it could be the winner, but Tipp managed to claw themselves level thanks to an unreal catch from a long range free from Jack Leamy, in where he managed the find room to send over a class effort; and when Eddie Ryan hit a brilliant score through traffic in the final seconds it looked like Tipp had nicked the win.

However, Limerick referee Eamonn Stapleton gave Clare one more play and with Patrick Crotty’s score with the final puck of the game, it was a share of the spoils for both sides at the final whistle.

Scorers: Tipperary: Stephen Ferncombe (0-10, 0-9f); Eddie Ryan 0-3, Darragh Stakelum, Sean Kenneally, Luke Shanahan, Ciaran McCormack, Jack Leamy, Peter McGarry, Darragh McCarthy all 0-1 each.

Clare: Keith Smyth (0-5, 0-4f), Niall O’Farrell, Patrick Crotty 0-4 each, Conor Whelan 0-2, Sean Rynne, Jack O’Neill, Daithi Lohan, Ja Collins, Oisin O’Donnell all 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Eoin Horgan (Knockavilla Donaskeigh Kickhams); Luke Shanahan (Upperchurch Drombane), Robert Doyle (Clonoulty Rossmore), Danny Slattery (Clonoulty Rossmore); Michael Corcoran (Silvermines), Cathal Quinn (Cashel King Cormacs), James Morris (St Marys); Darragh Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields), Joe Caesar (Holycross Ballycahill); Sean Kenneally (Moneygall) , Stephen Ferncombe (Clonoulty Rossmore), Eddie Ryan (Borris-Ileigh); Ciaran McCormack (Loughmore Castleiney); Jack Leamy (Golden Kilfeacle), Peter McGarry (St Marys).

Subs: Paddy McCormack (Borris-Ileigh) for C McCormack (47); Maidhc Fitzpatrick (Drom & Inch) for Corcoran (50); Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara) for Ferncombe (55); Conor O’Brien (Mullinahone) for Caesar (58); Jock Fogarty (Thurles Sarsfields) for Kenneally (61).

Clare: Aaron Shanahan; Ronan O’Connor, Adam Hogan, Ian McNamara; Oran Cahill, John Conneally, Daithi Lohan; Sean Rynne, Conor Whelan; Oisin O’Donnell, Patrick Crotty, Niall O’Farrell; David Kennedy, Keith Smyth, Jack O’Neill.

Subs: Ja Collins for O’Connor (HT); Keelan Hartigan for Whelan (45); Colm Cleary for O’Donnell.

Referee: Eamonn Stapleton (Limerick)