Absolute heartbreak for Déise hurlers in Ennis
Dessie Hutchinson of Waterford taking on Clare's Darragh Lohan during their Munster SHC cracker in Cusack Park in Ennis. Photo: Inpho/James Crombie.
There was absolute heartbreak for Waterford in Cusack Park in Ennis this afternoon when the Déise’s unbeaten run was ended by a Mark Rodgers winning point from a very controversial ’65 in the 76th minute.
Clare looked to have done enough to win the game when they led by a goal (4-20 to 1-26) in the 73rd minute but when Patrick Fitzgerald was brought down for a penalty, up stepped Shane Bennett to rifle the ball to the Clare net to level the game once again on a scoreline of 2-26 to 4-20 before Davy Fitzgerald’s men were denied a share of the spoils with that last gasp ’65.
There was little to choose between the teams in the opening period and the sides were level at 0-2 each after eight minutes.
But Clare hit six of the next seven points to lead by 0-8 to 0-3 after 16 minutes.
Two points from Jack Prendergast and one from Kevin Mahony narrowed the gap to two before Darragh Lohan got in for the game’s opening goal in the 20th minute. Clare struck for their second goal on 26 minutes when David Fitzgerald arrived in unmarked to rattle the net and send Clare eight points clear on a score of 2-10 to 0-8.
Waterford kept battling however and four points in a row kept them in it and at the half-time whistle it was the home side, in front of 19,893, that led by 2-13 to 0-14.
Early second-half points from Tadhg de Burca and Stephen Bennett cut the gap to two before Mark Rodgers struck for Clare’s third goal. Two points from Kevin Mahony and one from a Dessie Hutchinson free reduced the Déise deficit to three before a David Fitzgerald point was followed by a superb Stephen Bennett goal and a free from Dessie Hutchinson to ensure that the sides were level at 1-20 to 3-14 with 55 minutes played.
Tony Kelly got Clare’s fourth goal of the game in the 59th minute before a first touch point from Patrick Fitzgerald and a unbelievable point after a monster run from Ian Kan Kenny saw just two between them with five minutes to play.
David Fitzgerald stretched it to three before Calum Lyons and two from Kilrossanty’s Padraig Fitzgerald made it a draw game again (1-26 to 4-17) with three to play.
Ian Galvin (2) and Peter Duggan points had Clare three up in injury-time before Shane Bennett’s penalty and the late late ’65 drama left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Déise players, management and fans after a cracker in a sweltering Cusack Park.
