Clare 4-24 Antrim 0-8
CLARE MADE SHORT work of Antrim Saturday afternoon as they eased their way into the All-Ireland U21 Hurling Championship Final.
The game, which took place in Semple Stadium, was a one sided affair from the start with Clare taking a two point lead after just four minutes through Seadna Morey and Cathal O’Connell.
The Banner men had doubled their lead within four minutes thanks to a Tony Kelly 65 and Padraig Collins point from play.
It took Antrim until the 12th minute to register their first score when Kevin McKiernan intercepted a Clare puck out to reduce the deficit to three points.
However, Clare soon rattled off seven points in succession before Cathal McInerney buried the games first goal to make the score 1-12 to 0-3 after 25 minutes.
Clare then stretched their lead to 17 points at half-time thanks to a goal from Conor McGrath.
Outclassed
Clare began the second half with much the same intensity as the first and it wasn’t long before McGrath had his second goal of the game. Antrim fans and players appealed to the referee to disallow the goal as it appeared the Clare player had taken far too many steps. However, the score stood and Clare led 3-15 to Antrim’s 0-3.
The Banner men’s fourth goal came in the 56th minute when Niall Arthur flicked the ball over the head of Antrim goalkeeper James O’Mullan.
While Antrim did manage to add four second half points, Clare kept their scoreboard ticking too and the 4-24 to 0-8 scoreline was no more than they deserved.
Scorers for Clare: Cathal O’Connell (0-7, 2 fs), Conor McGrath (2-0), Niall Arthur (1-2), Tony Kelly (0-4, 3 65s), Cathal McInerney (1-0), Padraic Collins (0-2), Aaron Cunningham (0-2), Seadna Morey (o-2), Peter Duggan (0-1), Shane Golden (0-1), Cathal Malone (0-1), Patrick O’Connor (0-1), David O’Halloran (0-1)
Scorers for Antrim: Michael Devlin (0-2, 1 f), Kevin McKiernan (0-2), James Black (0-1), Conor Laverty (0-1), Eoin McAlonan (0-1), Donal McKinley (0-1)
CLARE: Ronan Taaffe; Paul Flanagan, David McInerney, Killian Ryan; Patrick O’Connor, Conor Ryan, Seadna Morey; Colm Galvin, Shane Golden; Tony Kelly, Padraig Collins, Aaron Cunningham; Cathal McInerney, Conor McGrath, Cathal O’Connell.
ANTRIM: James O’Mullan; Ronan McCloskey, Ronan Gillan, Conal Morgan; James Black, Matthew Donnelly, James McCoaig; Aidan McKeown, Stephen McAfee; Michael Devlin, Seamus Dobbin, Kevin McKiernan; Nigel Elliot, Conor McCann, Daniel McCloskey.
