Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald felt his team were hard done by after a late umpire call went Clare's way, with a last-gasp ’65 giving the Banner men victory in their Munster SHC clash.
Despite the concession of four goals at Cusack Park and trailing by five points at the interval, the Déise upped the ante considerably in the second half.
A Stephen Bennett injury-time penalty brought the sides level in the summer sunshine in Ennis, but there was still time for further drama in the round four clash.
A long-range Tony Kelly free drifted to the right, with the sliotar coming off Tadhg de Burca’s helmet. The defender scrambled to keep the ball in play, and in contesting for possession alongside Clare’s Peter Duggan and team-mate Mark Fitzgerald, appeared to get the final touch off his hurley before the ball rolled over the endline.
FT: Clare 4-21 Waterford 2-26
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 19, 2024
Clare win it as a contested 65 is awarded on the final play, Mark Rodgers converting to the edge Brian Lohan's side home by a point
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The umpire eventually indicated to referee Liam Gordon that it was a ’65, much to the annoyance of Waterford.
Mark Rodgers slotted over the placed ball in the final act of the game.
An irate Fitzgerald made a beeline for Gordon after the match, and with tensions running high, a member of the Clare backroom team got involved with the Waterford manager.
Tensions run high at the finish in Ennis - Clare squeeze home courtesy of a late contested 65
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 19, 2024
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"It’s hard, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that," Fitzgerald told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"I think anyone that’s watching that knows the story today."
Asked specifically on the late decision to award Clare a ’65, he said: "I don’t think they knew. I think it was a guess at the end of it, that’s what it looked like.
"All the boys were saying to me they hadn’t a clue. It’s just hard. We probably deserved a puckout."
Waterford take on All-Ireland champions Limerick in their final group outing, and Fitzgerald admits that some of the problems against Clare were self-inflicted.
"Three of the four goals we wouldn’t be happy about," he said.
"Two of them came from passes that went astray from us, but the big thing we learned today was that the character is unreal.
"We came to Ennis and put up some display.
"I’m so proud of the boys. We’re absolutely devastated. We felt we were going to win today. I think we’re very unlucky not to get something out of that."
