NHL DIVISIO0N ONE B FINAL Clare 0-21 Limerick 1-16:HAVING LOST Division Two finals in 2010 and 2011, Clare finally gained promotion to hurling's top tier with a victory over Limerick in Saturday's memorable Allianz NHL Division One B final at the Gaelic Grounds.
The Banner County came from eight points down in the second half to claim the silverware and set up a Division One semi-final with All-Ireland champions Kilkenny at Semple Stadium on April 22nd.
Sparks flew on and off the pitch as rival managers Davy Fitzgerald and John Allen squared up to each other on the touchline 10 minutes before half-time. And shortly after Limerick midfielder James Ryan was lucky to escape with just a yellow card as he charged into Fitzgerald on the sideline.
Fitzgerald, however, didn’t seem to mind too much and he said afterwards those incidents were motivation for his players.
He explained: “What actually happened with your man (James Ryan) was that it took his focus off the game. He was actually cleaning us at the time but after that, we got more on top at midfield. I’ll take a small little tip like that – I’ve got a lot worse than that in my time. If it takes his focus off the game, delighted, that’s no harm.”
Clare may not yet quite have the overall class to go toe-to-toe with formidable Kilkenny but that Thurles joust will provide Fitzgerald with clear evidence of how far his team has come in this, his first season in charge.
They certainly won’t lack character as a strong second half performance helped to overturn a 0-9 to 1-14 deficit, with Nicky O’Connell and Conor McGrath, scorer of 12 points, hitting the injury-time points to seal victory over Limerick in front of 9,897 spectators.
Limerick led by 0-11 to 0-8 at half-time but it should have been more as Tommy Quaid spurned two superb goal chances.
Ultimately, Clare would claim victory over Limerick for the third time this year – following a Waterford Crystal Cup success and a 14-point thumping at the Gaelic Grounds in February.
Disappointed Limerick manager Allen reflected: “They just got on top of us eventually and maintained their dominance; they finished very strong, but they’ve been doing that all year. They have a very high level of fitness for this stage of the year.
“Overall a very good game, we were very pleased with our level of intensity and our work-rate – we just fell short at the end, they finished stronger.”
LIMERICK: N Quaid; S Walsh, R McCarthy, T Condon; W McNamara, D O'Grady, G O'Mahoney; P Browne, J Ryan (0-1); S Dowling (1-7, 1-0 pen, 0-4 frees, 0-1 65), D Breen, C Allis; G Mulcahy (0-3), N Moran (0-1), T Quaid (0-1). Subs: S O'Brien (0-2) for Breen (35+3 mins), K Downes (0-1) for Moran (half-time), S Tobin for T Quaid (41 mins), M Ryan for Allis (61 mins).
CLARE: P Kelly; D O'Donovan, C Dillon, C Cooney; B Bugler, J McInerney, P O'Connor; N O'Connell (0-3, 0-2 65s, 0-1 free), P Donnellan (0-1); C Morey, S Collins, E Barrett; C Ryan (0-3), C McGrath (0-12, 0-10 frees), J Conlon (0-1). Sub: A Cunningham (0-1) for Morey (51 mins).
Referee: B Gavin(Offaly).
