It came down to Shane Meehan's goal with the last puck to finally cement the points of a pulsating Munster Senior Hurling Championship opener for Clare in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg.
Despite leading by as much as eight points in the final quarter, Brian Lohan’s side just found it difficult to shake off an obstinate Waterford side led supremely by the talismanic Stephen Bennett who would end the day with a whopping 3-12.
The home side, playing in front of 18,338, possessed the superior balance, with ten different scorers combining to get them over the line for a first opening round win in the provincial round-robin era.
National League Division 1B top scorer Mark Rodgers was unerring from placed balls with eleven points, Sean Rynne in only his second ever start grabbed five points while home favourites Tony Kelly and Shane O’Donnell, who crucially missed the corresponding fixture in Waterford twelve months previously were to the fore throughout with four points apiece.
Contrasting efficiency in front of goal kept the first half inch-tight as the Banner set the pace, only to be floored twice by Bennett goals in the first quarter alone.
Sean Rynne had just edged Clare in front when Stephen Bennett snatched a goal at the second attempt after home goalkeeper Eibhear Quilligan had repelled his initial shot at 1-03 to 0-04.
Tony Kelly, Mark Rodgers and a long range effort from Diarmuid Ryan repaired the damage, only to be pegged back by a second major, this time through a bullet penalty after Sean Walsh was fouled on his path to goal at 2-03 to 0-07.
Down the other end, goalkeeper Billy Nolan was in inspirational form, producing a string of top class saves to deny Ryan Taylor and Mark Rodgers. However, they did have more luck over Nolan’s crossbar with Mark Rodgers arrowing over a brace of monster frees to nudge the hosts 0-15 to 2-08 in front by the break.
The Banner would make full amends on the resumption though as Mark Rodgers offloaded to Peter Duggan to finish from an acute angle in only the second minute at 1-17 to 2-09. While Stephen Bennett remarkably completed a hat-trick of goals only five minutes later after being perfectly placed to pick up a partial clearance, Clare would manage to keep their noses in front as Adam Hogan spectacularly blocked a Sean Walsh goalbound effort.
Shane O’Donnell also found Billy Nolan difficult to bypass but as the tie reached the three-quarters mark, Clare found another gear as Rodgers (2), Sean Rynne, Darragh Lohan, Shane O’Donnell and impressive debutante substitute Diarmuid Sritch hit six unanswered points to stretch the gap to eight by the 55th minute at 1-27 to 3-12.
Game over? Not even close as Waterford kept chipping away at the deficit mainly through Stephen Bennett’s frees while the introduction of Austin Gleeson also provided a timely spark for the remainder. Calum Lyons played in Sean Walsh for a pivotal fourth goal for the visitors in the 63rd minute to slash the arrears to just four and it made for a tense finale as Bennett’s placed balls kept the home side at bay until a last gasp combination from Clare’s bench finally sealed victory.
Conor Leen intercepted a potential goal sighting to deliver to Ian Galvin who took on Waterford’s last line before offloading to Shane Meehan to billow the net to relievedly complete a fourth successive home win over the Deise.
Clare: Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle); Rory Hayes (Wolfe Tones), Conor Cleary (St. Joseph’s Miltown), Adam Hogan (Feakle); Diarmuid Ryan (Cratloe) (0-02), Niall O’Farrell (Broadford), Cathal Malone (Sixmilebridge); Darragh Lohan (Wolfe Tones) (0-02), Ryan Taylor (Clooney-Quin) (0-01); Tony Kelly (Ballyea) (0-04), David Reidy (Éire Óg), Sean Rynne (Inagh-Kilnamona) (0-05); Mark Rodgers (Scariff) (0-11, 10f, 1’65), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) (0-04), Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin) (1-01)
Subs: Conor Leen (Corofin) for Hogan (22-28, BS), Diarmuid Stritch (Clonlara) (0-03) for Reidy (50), Leen for Hayes (57), Shane Meehan (Banner) (1-00) for O’Donnell (62), Ian Galvin (Clonlara) for Rynne (66), Ronan Kilroy (Banner) for Hogan (68, inj)
Waterford: Billy Nolan (Roanmore); Aaron O’Neill (Ballygunner), Mark Fitzgerald (Passage), Ian Kenny (Ballygunner); Jack Fagan (De La Salle), Paddy Leavey (Ballygunner), Shane Bennett (Ballysaggart); Calum Lyons (Ballyduff Lower), Darragh Lyons (Dungarvan); Michael Kiely (Abbeyside-Ballinacourty), Jamie Barron (Fourmilewater) (0-02), Jack Prendergast (Lismore); Stephen Bennett (Ballysaggart) (3-12, 1-00 Pen, 12f), Sean Walsh (Fourmilewater) (1-00), Dessie Hutchinson (Ballygunner) (0-03)
Subs: Peter Hogan (Ballygunner) (0-01) for S. Bennett (40), Austin Gleeson (Mount Sion) (0-02) for Kiely (46), Kevin Mahony (Ballygunner) for for D. Lyons (54), Patrick Curran (Dungarvan) for Barron (67)
Referee: Shane Hynes (Galway)
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