Back door champions they may be, but Clare were happy to earn the distinction and become the first beaten Munster finalists to win the All-Ireland minor hurling championship at Croke Park yesterday. The record book will show that the talented Clare youths were the first ever side to win the title having been already beaten in the championship but, in truth, justice was seen to be done.
Their defeat by Tipperary in the Munster final was rightly regarded as the fluke of the century.
"Cherish it," Galway manager John Fahey told the Clare boys. "You have got to lose before you can win. Had Tipperary been beaten in the Munster final they would probably be here today." But Clare made it a lot more difficult for themselves from the moment early in the second half when they seemed to be coasting, with a nine-point advantage.
"The resilience of this side has never been in doubt and they proved this aspect of their makeup today," said their coach, former All-Star Colm Honan.
But the Galway recovery, sparked off by the roving Cathal Coen and compounded when sure striker Stephen Morgan stepped up to crash a close-in free to the net 20 minutes into the second half, was a worrying aspect of the afternoon for Clare.
That Morgan goal left only three points between the sides.
Within two minutes Morgan was awarded another free at the edge of the penalty semi-circle but could not repeat the feat, driving the ball low along the ground, and seeing it cleared.
Clare manager Kevin Kennedy, whose son Ken played a leading role at full back, said of the moment when Morgan addressed this free: "It could have gone anywhere. It was really worrying for us."
Remembering Galway's stunning recovery against Tipperary in the semi-final, there were realistic hopes of a similar effort. But this time the big difference was that Galway were not half as accurate and were denied a rub of the green.
The statistics tended to show Clare in a bad light during the second half. They managed only two further points to their 1-9 interval tally and began to look truly vulnerable.
Galway were benefiting from numerous changes, both positional and in personnel. Cornerback Eamonn Donoghue moved to midfield, Coen caused problems by his roving methods, Clare began to struggle, the Galway half back line took control and Niall Lawlor continued to impress in midfield.
Even more ominous for Clare was the withdrawal of their top scorer, Mark Lennon and already their attack leader, Conor Earlie was on his way to hospital after sustaining a nasty injury just after the interval. The great Brian McMahon double act of minor hurling (the right wing back and left corner forward) that produced a first half goal was just about holding Clare in good stead. But the waves of attacks by Galway were becoming increasingly more threatening.
It was sheer relief for Clare when wing back Brian McMahon of Newmarket-on-Fergus, as opposed to his Kilmaley namesake, struck a huge point off a 55-yard free into the wind with six minutes remaining. It proved to be the last score of the match. Galway, it must be said, should have had the privilege of scoring last, but they became very individualistic and Morgan as well as Lawlor were untypically wide with good chances. A late Morgan free was blocked and cleared. The tension mounted as one of the Galway stars, Keith Hayes, faced up to a sideline cut in injury time, but the effort went to a Clare defender as the referee's final whistle rang out. The unrelated Brian McMahons played notable roles in this Clare victory.
The first half goal by Kilmaley's Brian was something of a replica of the one they contrived in the Munster final.
Brian from Newmarket-on-Fergus singled out Brian from Kilmaley with a 60-metre clearance 14 minutes into the first half. It was a scramble but, as Kilmaley's Brian explained: "The ball dropped to me but I was on my way to the ground. Players crashed down on top of me. I got my stick to the ball and the momentum gained by the players falling on me sent the ball over the line."
In the end, Clare certainly needed that score, as it grew increasingly difficult to beat a brilliant Galway full back line of Eoin McDonagh, Diarmuid Cloonan and Stephen Morgan.
Clare: G O'Connell; W Kennedy, K Kennedy, D Duggan; B McMahon (Newmarket-on- Fergus) (0-2, frees), J Reddan, G Malone; S Fitzpatrick, G Considine (0-2); P Moroney, C Earlie, C Mullen (0-1); M Lennon (0-5, three frees), D Madden (0-1), B McMahon (Kilmaley) (1-0). Subs: Joe O'Meara for Earlie, 33 mins; John Meara for Lennon 46 mins.
Galway: C O'Callaghan; E McDonagh, D Cloonan, E Donoghue; J Cannon, S Morgan (1- 1, frees), A Walsh; N Lawlor (0-1), J Hession; D Donoghue (0-2, one free), D Tierney, G Hurney; O Deeley (0-1), K Hayes (0-3), C Coen (0-1). Subs: E Hyland for Hession, 39 mins; K Daniels for Tierney, 42 mins; G Keary for Hurney, 54 mins.
Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).
