Ger Loughnane had a grin as wide as the Shannon. Reluctant to let the moment pass, the Clare manager loped around the dressing-room grabbing a hand there, slapping a back there. It was, he suggested, a most satisfactory match. Then, realising that there was still a job to be done, he suggested: "We will have to take a very close look at the things that went wrong out there today. There were a few faults out there. "There was a lot of nail biting going on near the end. Anything can happen in a hurling match and when D J (Carey) got that goal everything was up for grabs. We knew what he had done to Galway and we had to close him down," Loughnane said.
"What we had to do was to try to stop a supply of the ball to him. We owe a lot to Dave Fitzgerald for that great save from DJ's penalty in the first half. That would have given Kilkenny a big boost and taken them within a point of us. We were lucky enough after that to have a five-point (1-8 to 0-6) lead at the break.
"We haven't won yet. Naturally we will have to keep a very close eye on next Sunday's match. We know very well that Tipperary are a very strong side and that they will probably have improved since the Munster final. Then there is Wexford. They are not going to give up their title without a huge fight.
"There is no doubt, there's a lot of hurling to be done before all this is over," he said.
The team captain, Anthony Daly, whose swashbuckling performance, particularly in the first half, played an enormous part in Clare's fine performance, seemed more relaxed than his team manager. Clearly enjoying the fruits of victory, he suggested that it was all part of a plan made at the start of the year. "Everything we did was geared to get us this far. Now we have to wait before we know who we are going to meet. We'll just enjoy this for the present, but we know that it doesn't matter whether it is Wexford or Tipperary in the final. It will he a really tough challenge. I am confident that we will be ready for it.
"It was a great out there to hear our supporters getting so much behind us. We owe a lot to them," he said. He also singled out the save by Fitzgerald from the penalty as crucial.
"It was a great save and very important for us at that stage of the match. A goal for them would have given them a huge boost, but as things turned out we went straight up the field and won a 65. Even though we didn't get a score from that it still took the pressure off us and we were able to hold on to our lead up until half-time," he said.
The chairman of the Clare county board, Brendan Vaughan, who has seen many disappointing days for Clare in the past, was beaming upon all and sundry, looking like a candidate for the presidency as he stood outside Croke Park. "It is a really great feeling after years of disappointment to see Clare teams earning respect from the best in the country and from the country as a whole. The only thing I regret is that it will now be five weeks before the final. "It is going to be a very long wait. But we have next Sunday to look forward to when our opponents will be decided.
"Wexford or Tipperary? I'm not sure. I don't mind really. It doesn't really matter, because there is nothing easy in this game. It was very tense near the end today, because we know only too well what Kilkenny can do in these situations.
"I'm glad it's over. The lads played well. We are very proud of them," he said. One man who had watched the game with some detachment from the Hogan Stand was Liam Griffin, who was in charge of Wexford when they made the exciting breakthrough last year.
"I took a lot of pleasure in watching that match," he said. "When you are not directly involved it can be more enjoyable. The teams gave us a fine game of hurling, great excitement and a close finish. Four points is nothing in hurling and everybody knows how dangerous Kilkenny can be when they smell the chance of victory.
"I am delighted for Clare. Naturally, I would like to see Wexford in the final, but they will have to be good to beat Tipperary. We will leave that until next Sunday," he said.
