Championship Rewind 2004 – Waterford 3-21 Clare 1-8

A small band of loyal Waterford followers made up the 24,646 that witnessed a surprise demolition job of Clare on Anthony Daly’s championship bow as bainsteoir. Their faith had been shaken by a flat league final display against Galway the previous Sunday which featured Eoin McGrath operating as a corner back.

John Mullane’s point after only 15 seconds set the tone for the rest to follow. Ken McGrath lorded matters on his first championship outing at centre back and gave a taste of what he could offer in that position for the summers ahead. Despite these noteworthy contributions, nobody enjoyed the sunshine more than Dan Shanahan. He opened his goal account with a fine catch and finish in a tight space while he took the sliotar off Seamus Prendergast to lash home his second. For the third, Michael Walsh’s effort for a point just lagged a little and came down off the post for Shanahan to whip past Davy Fitzgerald. Even the white flag he raised among the three green ones drew gasps on a day that he reignited his inter county career.

It was a strange day for their bewildered opponents. It took 27 minutes to get off the mark and even when Tony Griffin rattled the net before half time, it couldn’t provoke a credible response. The old guard suffered most as Ollie Baker was taken off twenty minutes in, Seanie McMahon struggled with his radar and Jamesie O’Connor retired with an injury only a matter of minutes after his introduction. Renowned corner back Frank Lohan lined out at full forward for this one and came out of it with three points to his name. A strange one alright but Daly eventually got their house in order and they took Kilkenny to a replay in the All Ireland quarter final later in the year. For Waterford this game would also spark something of an adventure.

Scorers - Waterford: D Shanahan 3-1, E Kelly 0-8 (4f), D Bennett 0-5 (3f, 1 '65') J Mullane 0-4, P Flynn, S Prendergast, M Walsh 0-1 each.
Clare: N Gilligan 0-4 (1f), F Lohan 0-3, T Griffin 1-0, C Lynch 0-1.

Waterford: S Brenner; E Murphy, T Feeney, J Murray; T Browne, K McGrath, B Phelan; E Kelly, D Bennett; D Shanahan, M Walsh, P Flynn; J Mullane, S Prendergast, E McGrath.
Subs: P O'Brien for Flynn (58), S Ryan for E McGrath (65), A Moloney for Prendergast (68).

Clare: D Fitzgerald; B Quinn, B Lohan, B O'Connell; G Quinn, S McMahon, C Plunkett; O Baker, D McMahon; T Griffin, C Lynch, A Markham; N Gilligan, F Lohan, D Forde.
Subs: T Carmody for Baker (21), D Hoey for O'Connell (26), J O'Connor for Markham (42), D O'Connell for O'Connor (47), C Forde for G Quinn (60).

Referee: G. Harrington (Cork)