Clare v Cork: Six of the best for Rebels as Banner lowered

Clare 0-23 

Cork 6-20 

Cork found their goal touch as they stayed in the hunt for an Allianz HL Division 1A final spot – and relegated Clare in the process – with victory at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg on Sunday.

Three green flags from Brian Hayes, two by Declan Dalton and another from Shane Barrett put daylight between the sides in this repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final, with the home side unable to get going at all after last week’s win over Limerick.

They are left on the verge of relegation along with Wexford, who were not in action this weekend.

For Cork, things are not fully in their own hands ahead of their last match, at home to Galway in a fortnight, but they are firmly in the mix.

A near-capacity crowd of 11,410 and fine weather served to give a preview for what lies six weeks hence and the championship feeling was amplified by a series of flashpoints in a niggly first half.

Clare led the half-time yellow cards tally by five to three but the more important statistic was on the scoreboard, which showed Cork retiring with a 3-9 to 0-9 advantage.

The first of those came after the opening two points had been shared. While a Patrick Horgan scoring chance looked to have gone, Clare failed to clear properly and Shane Barrett was able to latch on to the loose ball and sear through the defence to finish well.

Despite some sloppy wides, Cork were able to move 1-3 to 0-2 in front before the second goal arrived. While Darragh Fitzgibbon was operating at centre-forward, his ability to drop deep for possession allowed him to take a pass from Robert Downey and pick out Brian Hayes. He in turn handed off to Declan Dalton – wearing 10 but playing inside – and he was never going to miss.

With the game so stop-start for much of the first half, Clare struggled to get any kind of fluency to suggest that the might shake Cork’s supremacy. An indication of the overall torpor was when, after an Aidan McCarthy wide, Tony Kelly intercepted the resultant puckout but he too failed to find the target.

Though Cork were leaving scores behind them, they were defensively solid and Brian Roche was back to his 2023 form in the half-forward line. They led by 2-5 to 0-5 by the 27th minute, when the third goal arrived – a lovely team move as Ethan Twomey, Seán O’Donoghue, Fitzgibbon and Tim O’Mahony combined to find Hayes, who turned Conor Cleary before producing a smart batted finish.

Clare reshuffled after that, with Darragh Lohan moving to the full-back line, but they were only able to keep pace with Cork from there to the break, the visitors retiring with a double-score advantage.

While Clare did have two of the first three points of the second half, Cork’s fourth goal – Roche setting up Hayes for his second – ensured that talk of a comeback never got near to gaining currency.

A superb Dalton catch from a Saunderson puckout gave him a tally of 1-3 as Cork led by 4-13 to 0-14 in the 46th minute and then Roche’s searching ball from the middle allowed the Fr O’Neills man to find the net again.

Incredibly, things were to get better a minute after that as a free from Saunderson was touched by Hayes to the Clare net for his third and Cork's sixth goal. Then, a free from Dalton on the Cork 65 left it 6-14 to 0-14.

A bad day for Clare got worse as half-time sub Peter Duggan was sent off for a heavy-duty challenge on Saunderson which saw the goalkeeper have to be temporarily replaced.

Eighteen points was the biggest that the lead swelled to. Frees from Aidan McCarthy reduced the gap slightly – one after they had advantage following a good Saunderson save from Rory Hayes – but Cork continued to enjoy themselves, Dalton finishing with 2-6.

One sour note was a late red card for Cormac O’Brien, along with the dismissal of Clare’s David Fitzgerald, but overall a positive day for the Rebels.

Scorers for Clare: A McCarthy 0-12 f, T Kelly, S Rynne 0-2 each, D Fitzgerald, J O’Neill, M Rodgers, S Meehan, R Mounsey, A Shanagher, R Taylor 0-1 each.

Cork: D Dalton 2-6 (0-2 f), B Hayes 3-1, S Barrett 1-4, E Twomey, P Horgan (f) 0-3 each, B Roche 0-2, S O’Donoghue 0-1 each.

CLARE: E Quilligan; A Hogan, C Leen, C Cleary; J Conlon, C Malone, D McInerney; D Lohan, R Taylor; D Fitzgerald, T Kelly, S Rynne; J O’Neill, A McCarthy, M Rodgers.

Subs: R Hayes for Lohan (23-24), P Duggan for McInerney (half-time), Hayes for Cleary (44), A Shanagher for Rynne (49), R Mounsey for O’Neill (54), S Meehan for Rodgers (66).

CORK: B Saunderson; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue; T O’Connell, R Downey, C O’Brien; T O’Mahony, E Twomey; S Barrett, D Fitzgibbon, B Roche; B Hayes, D Dalton, P Horgan.

Subs: L Meade for Barrett (23-24), M Mullins for O’Connell (half-time), D Cahalane for E Downey (47), P Collins for Saunderson (53-57), J Cahalane for Barrett, J O’Connor for Hayes (both 54), D Hogan for Roche (64).

Referee: L Gordon (Galway).