oneills.com Munster U20 Hurling Championship

Clare 2-26 Waterford 0-18

By Tomás McCarthy at Fraher Field

Keith Smyth and Senan Dunford scored 2-12 between them as Clare knocked Waterford out of the Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship in Dungarvan. 

After drawing with Tipperary and Limerick, Terence Fahy's team made no mistake this time around as they blitzed the Déise 1-15 to 0-7 in a lop sided second half. Free taker Smyth finished the night with 1-9 while target man Dunford got 1-3 from play. Midfield pair Jack O'Neill (0-4) and Sean Rynne (0-3) also caught the eye as the Banner moved onto four points in the provincial standings. Tom O'Connell was Waterford's top performer with four points from play. 

Oisin O'Donnell opened the scoring for the visitors after just 44 seconds with a long range effort. Senan Dunford then had a Clare goal disallowed for a square ball. The Tubber man was a nuisance in the air all night. Waterford senior Patrick Fitzgerald levelled from a free. The home side started with Conor Keane as a seventh defender. 

Dunford and Joe Booth then traded points. Dunford used his strength to send over his second of the match. Sean Rynne and Keith Smyth (free) left the away side 0-5 to 0-2 ahead after eight minutes. 

Fitzgerald flashed over two in response for the hosts and missed a free. Oran Cahill and Smyth restored Clare's three point advantage by the quarter hour mark. 

Four white flags in a row via Michael Mullaney, Tom O'Connell, Conor Keane and Charlie Treen gave Waterford the lead for the first time after 23 minutes (0-9 to 0-8). Smyth levelled with his fourth dead ball. 

Against the run of play, the Banner struck for a green flag on 26 minutes. Clare half back Oran Cahill grabbed a Waterford puckout and fired the ball into Gearoid Sheedy. He crossed for Dunford who got his goal on his occasion. Smyth added another free. Fitzgerald (free) and O'Connell pointed in injury time for the Déise before Jack O'Neill kicked the sliotar over the bar with the last play of the half (1-11 to 0-11). 

Clare moved seven up on the restart as their running game tore the Déise defence apart. The nippy O'Neill added two to his tally with Smyth (free), Dunford and Kennedy also on target. 1-16 to 0-12 seven minutes into the second period. 

The home team rallied briefly as Fitzgerald, Conor Keane and O'Connell closed the gap to four. That was as near as Gary O'Keeffe's side got. With 40 minutes on the clock, Waterford defender Michael Mullaney forced a save from Clare number one Aaron Shanahan and Ian McNamara got back on the line to stop the rebound from Kevin Cullinane.

At the other end, Smyth was denied a spectacular solo goal by Cian Troy. Terence Fahy's men pulled away again as Rynne, Keelan Hartigan, O'Neill, Daithi Lohan and Patrick Crotty all worked the umpires. It was one way traffic towards the road goal. With nine minutes left, Smyth batted to the roof of the Waterford net to clinch Clare's first win of the provincial series. The Déise will complete their campaign away to Tipperary on April 28. 

Scorers for Clare: K Smyth 1-9 (8fs), S Dunford 1-3, J O'Neill 0-4, S Rynne 0-3, O O'Donnell 0-2, O Cahill, D Lohan, P Crotty, D Kennedy, K Hartigan 0-1 each. 

Scorers for Waterford: P Fitzgerald 0-7 (6fs), T O'Connell 0-4, C Keane, C Treen 0-2 each, M Mullaney, J Booth, E Foley 0-1 each.

Clare: A Shanahan; J Conneally, A Hogan, I McNamara; J Collins, D Lohan, O Cahill; J O'Neill, S Rynne; O O'Donnell, P Crotty, K Smyth; D Kennedy, G Sheedy, S Dunford. 

Subs: C Cleary for Kennedy (41), K Hartigan for Sheedy (45), C Whelan for Dunford (54), O Clune for Cahill (55), R O'Connor for Rynne (61). 

Waterford: C Troy; J Power, C Cantwell, R Dobbyn; M Mullaney, M Fitzgerald, O Walsh; W Beresford, K Cullinane; J Booth, C Keane, T O'Connell; C Treen, P Fitzgerald, F Roche. 

Subs: L O Siothchain for Roche (HT), F Hallinan for Beresford (41), L Horgan for Keane (48), E Foley for Cullinane (54).

Referee: K Jordan (Tipperary).