Clare U21 v Kilkenny U21: The game at a glance
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Man of the match
John Conlon (Clare)
A colossal physical force for Clare at centre-forward, he dominated the first half and when the big scores were needed in the second half Conlon had the composure to deliver them.
Turning point
Either of Conlon's second-half points were hugely significant but when Clare reflect on why they are U-21 champions for the first time, Donal Tuohy's save from Richie Hogan at 0-11 to 0-10 in the 49th minute surely instilled most belief.
Talking point
Clare build so much of their game on passion, commitment and energy drawn from the crowd but they have a number of hurlers here who will provide a backbone for the next decade. As a hurling county they are now most definitely back in the running.
Ref watch
Cathal McAllister didn't have a very busy afternoon as the game was played in a fine spirit. Noticably he booked Paul Murphy for much the same challenge that Jackie Tyrrell wasn't punished for the previous week. Doctors differ!
They said
"It means a huge amount. You can see that from the emotion on the field. We haven't had good days since 1997 so it's a good victory for a new generation. There are a lot of young kids who didn't see Clare winning in 1995 or '97. "
John Minogue (Clare manager)
"I never thought we had it won because we were never far enough ahead to have it won. We couldn't push out to three or four points. Our lads
played fantastic in the second half, I couldn't be prouder of them."
Michael Walsh (Kilkenny manager)
Match statistics
Wides: Clare 4 (1), Kilkenny 12 (7)
Frees: Clare 13 (10), Kilkenny 5 (1).
Yellow Cards: Clare 0, Kilkenny 2 (Martin Walsh 20, Paul Murphy 32)
Attendance: 25,924.
