Cork 6-20; Clare 0-23
Watch out hurling world, Cork are playing the grand old game with a verve and speed we haven’t seen before.
More lethal than Kilkenny at their best when it comes to scoring goals, more all-consuming that Limerick in the way they are suffocating opponents out the field, the red famine may be about to end.
Believe it or not, the southern capital hasn’t hosted a league title since 1998 nor a Liam McCarthy welcome home evening since 2005 - something that is a lifetime in the history of the county where titles of one sort or other came around every couple of years.
Yes, the current league and All-Ireland title holders Clare aren’t going well but to go into their own backyard in Ennis and plunder their vaunted defense for six goals tell you the huge improvement in the Rebel attack.
Of course it wasn’t revenge for last year’s All Ireland defeat at the hands of the same opposition but it planted hope that this could be their year.
There was a point between the sides after extra time in the All Ireland final, but here there was a chasm between the sides as the visitors won by a whopping 15-point.
A day of stark contrasts in Ennis as a rampant Cork hit hosts Clare for six to exact a measure of revenge for last July's All-Ireland.
Goals win matches and six certainly make a margin emphatic as the men in Red went on the green flag route early and often with the excellently fast and powerful, Brian Hayes and Declan Dalton with a brace apiece, and Shane Barrett and an OG, all but ensuring that Clare would be relegated this season.
It didn’t help Brian Lohan’s men that they saw red twice for head high tackles with Peter Duggan and David Fitzgerald having early showers as Cork’s Cormac O’Brien also sent off.
Now here’s the thing. These sides meet again in the same Cusack Park in venue in mid-April in the opening round of the Munster Hurling Championship. Expect cork won’t have it so easy or won’t score six goals and also we can predict that Clare will be a different Clare but without Shane O’Donnell, who is out for the year with shoulder problems, it will take something of a miracle for the home side to stop this red juggernaut.
Cork: B Saunderson; N O’Leary, E Downey, S O’Donoghue (0-1); T O’Connell, R Downey, C O’Brien; T O’Mahony, E Twomey (0-3); S Barrett (1-4), D Fitzgibbon, B Roche (0-2); D Dalton (2-6, 0-2f), P Horgan (0-3f), B Hayes (3-1) Subs: L Meade for Barrett (22-23, BS), M Mullins for O’Connell (HT), D Cahalane for E. Downey (47), P Collins for Saunderson (52-56, BS), J Cahalane for Barrett (53), J O’Connor for Hayes (53), D Healy for Roche (64)
Clare: E Quilligan; C Cleary, A Hogan, C Leen; J Conlon, C Malone, D McInerney; D Lohan, R Taylor (0-1); D Fitzgerald (0-1), T Kelly (0-2), S Rynne (0-2); J O’Neill (0-1), A McCarthy (0-12, 0-11f, 0-1’65), M Rodgers (0-1) Subs: R Hayes for Lohan (22-23, BS), P Duggan for McInerney (HT), H for Cleary (43), A Shanagher (0-1) for Rynne (49), R Mounsey (0-1) for O’Neill (54), S Meehan (0-1) for Rodgers (66)
Ref: L Gordon (Galway).
