All-Ireland SH Qualifier Clare 3-16 Offaly 2-10 Speak it softly and don't dare speak it front of Anthony Daly, but Clare are back. And yeah, this time it's personal.
Next Sunday they'll play Kilkenny in the All-Ireland quarter-final as a team bent back into shape after the mangling against Waterford nine weeks ago. It will be the game that could yet define their season.
Certainly gone is all the complacency that slapped them in the face at the dawn of this year's championship.
They came to the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening intent on winning this third-round qualifier and winning well. And that they did, even if that task was reduced by the tired and listless challenge laid down by Offaly. Losing that Leinster final a fortnight ago clearly took a heavy toll.
Clare had spirit and power in reserve, all that old work ethic was back. They rolled with the best punches Offaly could land in the opening quarter and then wrestled them aside in front of the 12,886 in attendance.
Much of the damage was inflicted by the old guard. Seán McMahon lorded a dominant half-back line. Niall Gilligan, on a rampage, scored 2-7. Colin Lynch worked tirelessly at midfield. Others like Tony Griffin, Andrew Quinn and David Forde epitomised the healthy scoring spread and the attitude throughout the team was unflinching.
They know they've another mountain to climb if they're going to beat Kilkenny. Daly himself compared it to Everest. And they'll almost certainly be without full back Brian Lohan, who lasted 32 minutes on Saturday before his weak hamstring went again.
Wing back Alan Markham also came away with an ankle injury, and he too could miss out next Sunday. Defensively Clare did everything asked of them - except conceding a late consolation goal to Rory Hanniffy - but again their task was nothing near what lies in store next Sunday.
For Daly the overriding sensation in the aftermath was relief. Only the Clare manager truly knows the hurt endured after the Waterford defeat. This victory alone will do little to dull that pain. But it is at least a start.
"Everyone was asking me all week how we were going," he said. "But sure after that first round you'd never know. We were happy the training had gone good, but still you could never know until we hit the field. So I'd be happy with the win.
"And we didn't to ourselves any justice at all that day in Thurles. A lot of people had written us off, and you know there were no television cameras here. But I know those guys have great pride in themselves. They went out to play with their hearts and eventually the hurling came good.
"Still you're just hoping for the best. I know we're going up next Sunday with an Everest to climb. But it's good to be going up anyway, and sure we'll take them on."
There was some emotion in the dressing-room after the game when Offaly manager Mike McNamara offered his best wishes. The former Clare trainer was embraced by several members of his old panel, whose respect for McNamara remains monumental. It seemed to mean an awful lot.
It had been an uneasy evening for McNamara. The team that had performed so bravely against Wexford in the Leinster final were flattened.
Brian Whelahan was standing around in street clothes, the hamstring injury that denied him the chance to play now almost certain to end his Offaly career. Corner forward Brian Carroll was hobbling around on crutches, a run-in with a forklift on Thursday denying the team his services.
McNamara had also endured a family bereavement during the week. It left him in philosophical mood when questioned about his future with the county.
"I don't know," he said. "I'll go away and mull over it, but I learnt this week that other things are more important."
Offaly's game had started promisingly but then went rapidly downhill. The teams were level four times in the opening 20 minutes - leaving it at 1-3 each. The goals from Damien Murray, a thundering 20-metre free, and from Gilligan, a more crafted effort, were the defining scores. Then Offaly didn't score for the rest of the half, and Clare stretched away to lead by 2-7 to 1-3 at the half-time break.
"Maybe we didn't realise the damage that losing the Leinster final did to the morale," added McNamara. "But I think we saw out there that they weren't half the team of just two weeks ago. And maybe we put too much into the Leinster final, where Kilkenny was arguably the target.
"But Offaly have come on this season, and now have the backbone of a team. But I've said all along that we have to find five or six more hurlers. You could see it out today. Two major injuries and the whole squad was depleted. We gave it our best shot, but we just weren't good enough. And today more than ever we needed Brian Whelahan. But new leaders will need to emerge now."
So Clare roll on, devoid of any complacency, and confidence on the rise. A dangerous combination.
CLARE: 1 D Fitzgerald; 18 B Quinn, 3 B Lohan, 4 G O'Grady; 5 D Hoey, 6 S McMahon, 7 A Markham; 8 D McMahon, 9 C Lynch (0-1); 22 D Forde (0-2), 29 A Quinn (0-2), 10 F Lohan; 13 N Gilligan (2-7, four frees), 14 T Griffin (1-2), 25 T Carmody (0-1). Subs: 15 D O'Connell (0-1) for B Lohan (32 mins), 21 O Baker for D McMahon (61 mins), 12 J O'Connor for Carmody, B O'Connell for Griffin, C Harrison for Markham (all 70 minutes).
OFFALY: 1 B Mullins; 2 B Teehan, 3 G Oakley, 4 D Franks; 18 K Brady, 6 N Claffey, 7 C Cassidy; 8 M Cordial (0-1), 9 Barry Whelahan (0-1); 10 R Hanniffy (1-2), 11 G Hanniffy (0-1), 12 J Brady; 14 B Murphy (0-1), 17 N Coughlan, 15 D Murray (1-3, all frees). Subs: 21 D Hayden (0-1) for Brady (43 mins), 22 S Brown for Brady (64 mins), 19 N Mannion for Coughlan, 20 R McRedmond for Murray (65 mins).
Referee: P O'Connor (Limerick).
