There was nobody in the Kilkenny dressing-room willing to complain about the result, least of all DJ Carey. His view was that Kilkenny were still in the match with a few minutes to go, but the tight marking of the Clare defenders was a crucial factor in holding the fort for them. "They deserve everything they have achieved. We had our chances but they held us out," he said.

He was quite willing to discuss two of the chances which were not taken. The first, a missed free in the opening minutes which seemed well within his compass, was explained thus: "I didn't get the pick-up right and that was that." In regard to his penalty shot midway through the match which would have brought Kilkenny within a point of Clare had it hit the net, he said: "I hit it perfectly. No excuses. (Clare goalkeeper David) Fitzgerald got his hurl to it to knock it away and before we knew what happened they had got a 65 at the other end. Hurling is like that."

He admitted that the withdrawal of Liam Simpson and Michael Phelan on Saturday morning was a blow to the team. "Naturally, we missed them, but the lads who came in didn't let us down. You can't let things like that get inside your head. The morale in the side is very high. We showed that by coming back against Galway and again today.

"Clare are a good side and they haven't won anything that they haven't earned. I wish them the best of luck," he said. The Kilkenny manager, Nicky Brennan was more than usually philosophical about the outcome. "Let me be clear about this. Nobody worked harder than we did this year," he said. "I am very proud of the way the players responded to the challenges that we have had this year.

"It seems to me that new standards are being set all the time and we have to keep up with them. Look at what Clare and Wexford have achieved. They didn't do that without a lot of application and hard work by all concerned. We can do that too. "I'm a little tired about this `back door' business. We have come in the front door so many times we have forgotten how many - 55 times, I believe. Let us give the system a try. It certainly hasn't done any damage to hurling so far."

The final looks promising: "It will take a very good team to beat Clare."

"We were within four points at the end and that is nothing in hurling. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Kilkenny will always be there when good hurling is needed," he said. Kilkenny players were trying to console themselves with statistics. Admitting his disappointment, Eddie O'Connor pointed out that Kilkenny were within striking distance at the very end. "Look, there were only two scores in it at the finish. It is hard to take after so much hard work, but it would have been the same for them.

"We were as fit as they were at the end. The only difference was that they got scores when they mattered and we missed a few. If DJ's penalty had gone in it might have been a much different story, but that is why the game is so exciting. We wish them well. We know only too well how much hard work has gone into it for them, and they deserve everything they have got so far."