Another minor win to savour – Waterford 1-20 Clare 3-13

On an almost annual basis the underage championships produce exciting clashes like this that take on a life of their own. Last year Waterford emerged on the right side against Limerick at Walsh Park after extra time and once again on Wednesday night they were in the middle of a pulsating clash at Cusack Park.

After almost a hundred minutes of hurling it took Cathal Curran’s injury time in extra time strike from a tight angle on the stand side to separate the teams. Momentum swung to and fro throughout the contest but in the end Waterford could count on more leaders to keep their heads under pressure. They were dead and buried entering injury time in normal time when Shane O’Donnell cracked home a stunning goal after expertly controlling a sideline ball. Heads could have dropped even further when Stephen Bennett saw his 21 metre free blocked on the line and then he was subsequently booked. Bennett recovered his composure however to find the two points required to force extra time. Despite leading by three after the first period, Clare pegged it back and, with the home crowd behind them, looked most likely to land the killer blow. Tadhg Burke and Shane Bennett stood up and repelled further attacks to keep their side in the hunt. Bennett made a great catch as the seconds ticked down in extra time before he received a heavy knock which resulted in the stretcher being called. Thankfully the news emanating from the Waterford camp post match suggested that Shane’s neck injury wasn’t as serious as first feared. From the resultant free, Curran split the posts and justified his reintroduction after he was substituted in the second half. Other elements like Waterford’s aerial ability, strength and fitness levels also stood to them when the chips were down.

Clare depended on Shane O’Donnell and Bobby Duggan for scores and they caused plenty of problems all evening. O’Donnell’s power and pace almost resulted in a goal only seconds into the game before he found the top corner after three minutes. In the other corner Duggan consistently punished Waterford indiscretions especially in the first half. Apart from O’Donnell and Duggan, Clare blew hot and cold up front. At the start of second half both teams squandered straightforward chances but over the course of the game the home side finished with 15 wides compared to 12 for the visitors.

John ‘Doxer’ Burns could look to a greater spread of scores on the night and that also made a difference in a close call. By half time all six starting forwards were on the board from play. By the final whistle they had hit 1-17 from play with nine different players on target. Stephen Bennett will take most of the plaudits for his seven point haul and from the first ball he looked ready to live up to his billing. Whenever Waterford badly needed a point, Bennett was on a hand but he wasn’t alone. Michael Harney always looked threatening and hit two vital points from full forward in the first period of extra time. Darren Foran offered a good puck out target throughout while Darragh Flynn tucked away his goal well in an overall contribution of 1-2.

A great one to win and it should send confidence levels soaring ahead of the semi final against Tipperary at the end of June. The injured trio of Colin Dunford, Barry O’Sullivan and David O’Brien also come back into the picture ahead of that game. Another difficult away assignment but on last night’s evidence they won’t fear the challenge.