Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald hailed the battling qualities of his Clare side in defeating Waterford in the Allianz Divsion 1 final replay but admitted he was relieved by Tony Kelly’s composure at the end of a gripping encounter.
The Banner claimed league honours for the first time since 1978 with a dramatic finish at Semple Stadium as the Déise looked set to make it back-to-back National League titles in Thurles.
However two stoppage-time points from Tony Kelly, including a free from within his own half to level proceedings, swung the balance in Clare’s favour.
The Banner had difficulties from deadballs throughout the 70 minutes, with Conor McGrath and Colin Ryan sharing duties before Fitzgerald instructed the 2013 Hurler of the Year to take the crucial stoppage time free.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, the Banner boss admitted it was a big call to make but had little hesitation in handing responsibility to Ballyea man.
“At the very end, when the game is in the melting pot, there’s only one man you’d like to actually get the ball,” he said.
“When Tony Kelly gets it, you know you have a fair chance of it going over the bar.
“I’d say I’d have been killed if he didn’t score it because I changed Colin Ryan off the free for the last one. I just felt Tony was on his game. That’s why I decided to make that call.
“He’s a good man to have in a pressure situation.”
Derek McGrath’s side led for the majority of a contest and Fitzgerald hailed the resilience of his team to hang in and take their opportunities when they arose.
“I think both teams deserve tremendous credit for the way they performed out there.
“We’re not under any illusions, we could have lost that just as easily as we won it. We have massive respect for the way Waterford play.
“They ground that out, we were behind all the time. We were down six points a number of times and we never gave up, we stayed with it.”
Fitzgerald admitted he wasn’t happy to conceded two “soft goals”, including one from Patrick Curran after just 16 seconds, and says it adds more spice to the 5 June Munster championship encounter.
“They are going to come out for revenge and we’ll relish that challenge.”
