Clare hold on for victory over Fermanagh

Only the width of the crossbar separated Clare and Fermanagh in what was a pivotal Division 3 promotion clash in front of just 1,113 in Cusack Park, Ennis.

With both sides coming off the back of a first victory a fortnight ago, a second win was almost a prerequisite to keep on Division 3 tabletoppers Kildare and Offaly's coat-tails.

Leading for two-thirds of the contest, the hosts arguably merited victory, especially thanks to a ten point haul from Emmet McMahon that repeatedly kept the Ulster side at arm’s length.

Indeed, It was McMahon’s final point in the 70th minute that looked to have clinched victory but true to form, Fermanagh were not about to accept their fate without a fight and following a Sean Cassidy point, up stepped Declan McCusker to unleash what initially seemed a spectacular last gasp two-point equaliser.

However, a combination of post and crossbar agonisingly denied the Fermanagh captain as the ball fell perfectly for Ikem Ugwueru to clear the danger and finally cement all the points.

Clare’s biggest advantage was carved out after only six minutes of the throw-in when Alan Sweeney’s second successive home goal was flanked by a brace of Emmet McMahon points to soar 1-02 to 0-00 clear.

While Declan McCusker came closest to answering with a deflected shot for a goal, it took Fermanagh a full eleven minutes to finally open their account as a fisted Josh Largo Elis point was quickly followed by scores for Fionan O’Brien and Garvan Jones.

It wasn’t until the second quarter that Kieran Donnelly’s side fully reeled in their hosts though, with some excellent work from Ronan McCaffrey keeping the ball in at the back post for Joe McDade to find the net from close range at 1-03 apiece.

Backed by a strong breeze, Clare