Limerick captain, Jack Cosgrave, left, and Tipperary captain, Cathal O'Reilly, pictured before their Electric Ireland Munster Minor Hurling Championship clash.
Electric Ireland Munster MHC round 5
Clare 2-22 Cork 0-19
Tipperary 0-13 Limerick 0-12
Clare and Tipperary will meet in the Munster minor hurling final on Monday week after both counties secured final-round victories over Cork and Limerick respectively.
Liam Murphy was again the Banner goalscoring hero to make it four wins from four. Having netted a hat-trick against Tipp last week, he took the Rebels for 2-3 to secure a nine-point success at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
They kept a fourth successive clean sheet in the process but Matthew Crotty had to work hard for it, making five top-drawer saves from the Cork attackers. The Leesiders finish third and will join fourth-placed Waterford in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals.
The sides played out an even first half, tied 1-9 to 0-12 at the break.
The omens were good for an open game of hurling with three points inside the opening 60 seconds; Clare’s Paul Rodgers and Jerry O’Connor, who replaced the injured Conor Ralph before the throw-in, bookending Mark O’Brien’s effort.
Cork had the next four on the spin. After teeing up wing-back Kevin Beechinor to split the posts, O’Brien slotted three placed balls.
Clare snatched the lead in the 13th minute. Crotty threaded a precise puck-out to Patrick Finneran and he forwarded it on to Rodgers. The Scariff clubman’s shot was saved by Josh Goulding but Murphy followed in to volley home.
He added a lovely point off his left to make it 1-4 to 0-5.
Michael Brosnan almost found a goal in response but his bullet ricocheted off Crotty’s leg and onto the post. O’Brien converted the 65. The focal point of their attack, he ended with 0-11.
Luke Murphy, who had also tested Crotty’s reflexes, produced a towering catch and score from a puck-out. They edged back ahead through O’Brien but Finneran sent the sides in level.
Crotty saved twice more in the four minutes after half-time, denying Adam Lee and Joe Twohig.
Clare forged clear with three in a row, two from Finneran. After O’Brien hit back with a pair, Murphy and Harry Doherty replied with impressive scores.
Crotty prevented Brosnan from finding a route back into this contest and Clare killed it off with the next 1-1. James Cullinan’s sublime solo run and point off the hurley was followed by Murphy’s second goal, created by his own clever control.
They finished with three in a row from Rodgers, Doherty, and Ryan Hayes.
At Rathkeale, Tipperary held on for a 0-13 to 0-12 victory in a low-scoring encounter against already-eliminated Limerick.
They opened with the first five points inside eight minutes, including three from Eoghan Doughan. Darragh O’Hora landed a pair on his first start but Limerick had five from Patrick Kearney to go in 0-8 to 0-6 behind at half-time.
It was level for the first time in the 39th minute with two lengthy frees from Jack Cosgrave. Doughan pushed Tipp two in front but Limerick pegged them back with a pair from Malachy McKenna and a Kearney free.
The final 10 minutes plus stoppages featured three more points. Cillian Minogue’s brace gave Tipp the cushion, while Limerick substitute Adam Frewan was sent off for two yellow cards. Although Kearney’s seventh pulled one back, Limerick ran out of time.