Clare 3-13 Dublin 2-13 Dublin came close to causing an upset at Cusack Park, Ennis, yesterday when they lost out by a goal to an experimental Clare outfit in round two of the hurling league.
A late Shane Martin goal brought them within two points of the home side in a second half that saw Clare held scoreless for 22 minutes.
The home side opened their account when full forward Frank Lohan's ground pull found the back of the Dublin net after just three-and-a-half minutes.
A second Clare goal by Alan Markham on 16 minutes left Dublin trailing 2-6 to 0-4 at a stage in the game where Clare threatened to run riot.
An over-reliance by the visitors on wing forward David Curtin for scores did not help Dublin's cause, but Martin's first goal in the 29th minute gave his side renewed hope.
When corner-forward Tommy Moore produced a point with five minutes remaining to the break, Dublin's quest looked less daunting.
Clare finished the half with a point apiece from David Forde and a Markham free to give them a 2-8 to 1-6 lead at the end of a sluggish opening 35 minutes.
Humphrey Kelleher's men restarted well and a point inside a minute by Kevin Flynn narrowed the gap.
But Clare produced a third goal two minutes later when Niall Gilligan's pace beat Dublin corner-back Carl Meehan to fire home from the edge of the square.
By the 45th minute the home side were full value for their 3-11 to 1-8 lead and looked to be in complete control.
Yet they then failed to score for 22 minutes to allow their opponents to come back in to the game.
Four Dublin points kept them in touch, and when Martin got a goal in the 65th, an upset seemed possible. The St Vincent's man's strike from close range reduced the deficit to just two points, but a re-awakened Clare relied on two late Alan Markham points to be assured of victory.
Dublin did have a fine point from Liam Ryan before the end, and they forced a '65 in injury-time, only for Curtin's dropping ball to be cleared by a Clare defender on the stroke of full time.
CLARE: D Fitzgerald; D Clancy, B O'Connell, G O'Grady; C Forde, J Reddan, P Vaughan; T Griffin, C Lynch (0-2); A Markham (1-5, 3fs, 165), C Plunkett (0-1), D O'Connell (0-1); N Gilligan (1-0), F Lohan (1-1), D Forde (0-3). Subs: A Quinn for Gilligan, T Holland for Vaughan, B Murphy for D Forde, C Harrison for C Forde.
DUBLIN: B McLaughlin; D Spain, S Perkins, C Meehan; S Hiney, K Ryan, A de Paor; D Sweeney, R Fallon (0-1); D Curtin (0-8, 6fs), S Martin (2-1), L Ryan (0-1); K Flynn (0-1), M Breathach, T Moore (0-1). Subs: A Glennon for Moore, C O'Brian for Meehan, J McGuirk for Glennon.
Referee: G Harrington (Cork)
