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08th Sep 2013

Gallery: Cork and Clare couldn’t be separated after an absolutely incredible All-Ireland final

It was a huge occasion in front of a packed Croke Park, and it didn't disappoint as Clare and Cork battled it out for the Liam MacCarthy cup

JOE

It was a huge occasion in front of a packed Croke Park, and it didn’t disappoint as Clare and Cork battled it out for the Liam MacCarthy cup

The game started somewhat nervously from both sides, with a few mistakes here and there, but Clare were the first to take a small lead, as they went ahead by 0-04 to 0-02. Cork pegged them back as they began to look dangerous and get opportunities in Clare’s area, and brought the scores level again.

At that point, Shane O’Neill was extremely lucky not to receive a worse punishment than a yellow card when he hit Clare’s Darach Honan on the top of the head with his hurl after a bit of pushing and shoving in front of the goal, as the match began to swing from end to end.

Clare’s goalkeeper Pa Kelly was in superb form early on, making an incredible double save when Cork broke up the field, and though he picked the ball up off the ground, he was ready again when Nash took the resulting free from 20 yards, absolutely hurling his body in the way of the ball. Not to be outdone, Anthony Nash responded in kind when he made a fantastic and instinctive close range save from Darach Honan who hit a low shot at goal.

Clare began to turn on the style a bit with some great movement and scores, but Patrick Horgan kept the Rebel county in contention with some accurate free taking and a point right before the half, which ensured there was only two points in it at the break, by a score of 0-12 to 0-10.

Clare made the better start to the second half, as they slotted over two early points to increase their lead, which put Cork under a bit of renewed pressure and slowed the momentum which they’d picked up going in to the half time break.

The men from the banner county were defending from the front, putting huge pressure on Cork in midfield and forcing them into errors, but a quick break led to a fantastic goal for Cork, just as it looked as if they were going to fall behind.

Pa Kelly will be disappointed having made a series of impressive saves earlier in the game that he couldn’t get the hurl across to block down Conor Lehane’s shot, but it was a fantastic solo effort from the Corkman, who broke through the defence and finished well.

Davy Fitzgerald’s boys began to turn it on again though, in particular Podge Collins who scored a remarkable point in the 43rd minute, twisting one way and then another, before dropping the sliotar just over the bar. They began to make their dominance count and took the lead 0-21 to 1-13.

Jimmy Barry Murphy and Cork saw their chance to come back when Anthony Nash stepped up to take a free from 20 yards, and he absolutely smashed it into the back of the net to breathe new life in to his side’s challenge. Just minutes later, the unthinkable happened for Clare as they conceded a penalty after Seamus Harnedy was brought to the ground, and it was Nash again who stepped up to take it. This time Pa Kelly made a huge save to return the momentum to his team in what was fast becoming a breathless second half.

Minutes later, Cork scored the most incredible of goals. At one end, Podge Collins missed a golden opportunity when he kicked at a loose ball that had come back off the bar and instead caught fresh air, and from the resulting break, Cork’s Patrick Cronin smashed home a goal to bring the game level at 0-23 to 3-14.

Colin Ryan continued playing at an incredibly high level and slotted over his 12th point of the game and keep Clare ticking over, only for Horgan to level things again moments later.

At that point, the biggest drama of the match came to pass, as Patrick Horgan again slotted over a huge point in added time just as it looked like it would end level, but incredibly, unbelievably and with the very last shot of the game, Domhnall O’Donovan popped up as the hero for Clare as he slotted the final point over and sent the banner fans in Croke Park delirious.

In truth, Cork’s second half resilience was fantastic, but Clare were probably the better team on the day and defeat would have been incredibly harsh on them. There was barely time to take a breath in the second half, and no matter what, this will be remembered as an absolutely fantastic game of hurling, at least until the two sides meet again on September 28th.