Galway 1-15 Clare 2-11 The abiding feeling on Saturday in Ennis had to be sympathy for Clare. Manager Cyril Lyons described the lead-up to the Guinness All-Ireland hurling qualifier as the "toughest six days of the players' careers".
Whereas Lyons added he had never doubted his players would fight back after the wipe-out against Cork, Clare also had to go into the match short two of their most influential players, captain Seán McMahon and Colin Lynch, both suspended.
The match was engaging, always tough, sometimes skilful, had scrappy passages, exhilarating interludes, great scores, poor shooting and excitement all the way. Clare's summer is over but they went down with honour.
On a bright, sunny afternoon there was a crackling atmosphere in Ennis. The home support seemed to sense this was the ultimate hour of need and a big crowd filled the town to try to will the result that circumstance deemed unlikely.
Although that result hung tantalisingly in the balance when Niall Gilligan addressed an injury-time free from about halfway, his shot drifted wide, leaving Galway a point ahead. And when sentiment is left aside that was a fair result.
In his first season in charge Conor Hayes brought Galway down to Clare and as he said afterwards, winning by a point - in precise revenge for last year's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat - was sweet, "all the sweeter to settle it here today".
The saffron and blue hordes made up the majority of the officially reported attendance of 18,000 and their urgent support must have inspired Clare.
From the start Lyons's team were going for the quick knockout. Tony Griffin, who would have an excellent afternoon, and Barry Murphy, who started particularly well, struck for a point and a goal within the first four minutes. Murphy's pace was torturing Liam Hodgins and debutant Tony Regan was struggling at centre back.
Their central defences in disarray, Galway were under intense pressure throughout the first quarter. It wasn't just the defence. There was a listless air about the team going forward and that was thrown into relief by the hustle of Clare's fired-up hurling.
With a new centrefield of Gearóid Considine and Diarmuid McMahon the home side shuffled the deck and moved Conor Plunkett to centre back, where he played well, taking a massive catch in injury time to help set up Gilligan's last-chance free.
Yet it was the failure of the home team to cope with their opponents' sporadic attacks that helped define the match. Constant fouling as a response to the pace of Damien Hayes and Kevin Broderick gave Rory Gantley a Galway lifeline and his frees kept the team in touch.
Hayes also earned his spurs on the line. His switch of Regan and Hodgins had a radical effect with both adapting far better to full back and centre back respectively. Cathal Moore was replaced by Ollie Fahy, whose scores helped make the day, and Alan Kerins was introduced to produce some of his best summer hurling in three years. The match was a perfect illustration of the advantages of match practice. Learning on the run, Hayes ended up with a significantly better team than had started.
The Galway defence found its bearings, centrefield steadied and the forwards began to do their stuff. David Tierney hit two fine points, Broderick two exceptional ones and by half-time, for all Clare's fire and fury, they trailed by a point, 1-6 to 0-10.
Galway had assured goalkeeper Liam Donoghue too thank for this lead, as he saved spectacularly from Gilligan and fielded the resulting 65 for good measure.
To Clare's credit, with the momentum running against them they clung to Galway during the second half. Breaking point seemed to arrive in the 57th minute with the teams level.
A remarkable move started in the goalmouth, with Donoghue who hand-passed to Declan O'Brien. His clearance was energetically fielded by Tierney, who passed to John Conroy, and he played a deliberate low ball into the danger zone.
Fahy's run behind the defensive cover brought him in one-on-one with David Fitzgerald. The goal looked to have settled the match.
But immediately Clare were on the attack and Murphy drew another fine save from Donoghue only for Griffin to return the rebound into the net. It was nip and tuck all the way from there. Gantley's 69th-minute free was the winner, if that's not too functional a way of describing the denouement.
On an emblematic note James O'Connor was replaced in the 49th minute - surely one of the few occasions on which this has happened. After 11 hard championship seasons, he is one of a few who will think long and hard about the future. It's been a glorious trip but all journeys end.
GALWAY: 1 L Donoghue; 2 D Joyce (0-1), 3 L Hodgins, 4 O Canning; 5 F Healy, 6 T Regan, 7 D O'Brien; 8 J Conroy, 9 R Murray; 10 R Gantley (0-6, all fs), 11 C Moore, 12 D Tierney (0-2); 13 D Hayes, 14 M Kerins (0-1), 15 K Broderick (0-2). Subs: 18 O Fahy (1-1) for Moore (23 mins), 21 A Kerins (0-2) for Murray (50 mins), 19 A Cullinane for Conroy (68 mins).
CLARE: 1 D Fitzgerald; 2 B Quinn, 3 B Lohan, 4 F Lohan (capt); 18 C Harrison, 5 C Plunkett, 7 G Quinn; 6 D McMahon, 24 G Considine; 10 A Markham, 12 T Griffin (1-3), 13 T Carmody; 11 N Gilligan (0-6, 1 65, 4fs), 21 B Murphy (1-1), 15 J O'Connor. Subs: 20 J Reddan (0-1) for Considine (half time), 22 D O'Connell for O'Connor (48 mins), 14 A Quinn for Carmody (67 mins). Referee: A Mac Suibhne (Dublin).
