Championship Rewind 2002 - Clare 1-16 Waterford 1-13

After hitting cloud nine in the Munster final at the end of June, Waterford came crashing back down the earth against a resurgent Clare side at Croke Park. Boosted by a late win against Galway and the return to form of Brian Lohan, the Banner recovered from a sluggish start to take control just before the interval and book their place in the All Ireland final.

This was the day when Eoin Kelly rubberstamped his first All Star but his immaculate shooting offered one of the few highlights from a Waterford perspective. They burst from the traps to lead 1-7 to 0-5 after 22 minutes as Paul Flynn blasted home a trademark free and Kelly reeled off a hat trick of early points. Instead of pushing on however, Clare bounced back. A defensive slip down at the Canal End, a minute before the half time, allowed David Forde to pick out Alan Markham who buried a low shot to the corner of the net. Cyril Lyons’ side led 1-10 to 1-9 at the break and never looked back.

The game petered out as a spectacle in the second half but it suited a battle hardened Clare outfit down to the ground. Waterford tried in vain to break down the defensive wall but all too often found the man in the red helmet back to his best. They also racked up a total of 17 wides on the day. Gerry Quinn suffered a serious hand injury late on but remarkably he lined out in the All Ireland final against Kilkenny. The six week lay off didn’t help matters but in the year that Waterford made the breakthrough in Munster they found a steely Clare side stand in their way at the last four stage and they exited with a whimper in the end.

Scorers - Clare: A Markham 1-1, J O'Connor (1f) and S McMahon (3 '65') 0-3 each, N Gilligan (2f), T Carmody and D Forde 0-2 each, T Griffin, C Lynch and O Baker 0-1 each.
Waterford: P Flynn 1-4 (1-3f), E Kelly 0-4, E McGrath, J Mullane, K McGrath, A Moloney and T Browne (s-l) 0-1 each.

Clare: D Fitzgerald; B Quinn, B Lohan, F Lohan; D Hoey, S McMahon, G Quinn; J Reddan, C Lynch; T Griffin, J O'Connor, N Gilligan; D Forde, T Carmody, A Markham.
Subs: O Baker for Reddan (50), A Quinn for G Quinn (72).

Waterford: S Brenner; B Greene, T Feeney, B Flannery; P Queally, F Hartley, E Murphy; T Browne, A Moloney; E Kelly, K McGrath, P Flynn; J Mullane, S Prendergast, E McGrath.
Subs: D Shanahan for S Prendergast (55), D Bennett for E McGrath (55), J Murray for Browne (66), M White for Mullane (70).

Referee: P O’Connor (Limerick).