Clare's All-Ireland winners bask in 'greatest day' at Croke Park

Clare captain Tony Kelly has said that his All-Ireland final wonder goal may never have happened, only for moment of improvisation before he hit it into the net.

In the 51st minute of an epic Croke Park showpiece against Cork, Kelly weaved his way through the Rebel defence before firing home to put the Banner 3-15 to 1-18 ahead.

In a contest that ebbed and flowed throughout, Cork eventually came back to force extra-time, before Clare saw it through by a score of 3-29 to 1-24 to claim their fifth All-Ireland title.

"You just play the situation in front of you," Kelly told RTÉ Sport after the game. "I was probably going to tap it over the bar only for a Cork defender came and I had to improvise. Luckily enough it went in."

After playing a key role on the turf, Kelly had the privilege of lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup as captain, following in the footsteps of Banner legends Anthony Daly and Patrick Donnellan.

"From a personal or maybe a selfish point of view, that's the greatest thing I’ll ever do as a GAA player," Kelly said after raising the trophy aloft. "I’m just lucky and privileged to be asked to be captain."

Captain Tony Kelly with some superb individual play to score Clare's third goal

They take a grip on the game