Clare to face Limerick in Munster Hurling Championship final after epic 0-24 to 1-21 draw

Appetites have certainly been whetted for a Munster final rematch between Clare and Limerick after the neighbours shared the spoils in a cauldron-like Cusack Park.

Level on 14 occasions, a draw was the fairest outcome of a compelling wrestle for supremacy in front of a capacity crowd of 18,129 that saw the lead change hands ten times before Diarmaid Byrnes preserved both sides' unbeaten starts with an injury-time free.

Diarmaid Byrnes levels the game in injury-time and a frantic finishes follow. The match ends in a draw and the teams will meet in the Munster final again We'll look back on this and much more on the #sundaygame from 9.30pm pic.twitter.com/nDiYa7zNCd

Indeed, Byrnes' unerring accuracy was only surpassed by an outstanding display from Clare talisman Tony Kelly who racked up 16 points including five from play to torment the back-to-back All-Ireland champions.

A hat-trick of Kelly points without reply edged the hosts 0-06 to 0-05 in front by the 14th minute, only to concede a goal from the resulting puck-out as Conor Boylan raced through before offloading to Kyle Hayes to find the net from close range.

Kyle Hayes finds the net for Limerick. Very close game in this Munster encounter with Clare stepping up today Live now on @rte2 and @rteplayer, highlights on #sundaygame from 9.30pm pic.twitter.com/2Us2pPJByY

Clare’s response was impressive as they answered with the next four points, two from Kelly, while David Fitzgerald and Diarmuid Ryan also chipped in with inspirational scores to soar 0-10 to 1-05 clear.

David Reidy and Byrnes duly regained full parity by the 23rd minute and with never more than a puck of the ball between the sides at any stage, a half-time stalemate were perhaps inevitable at 0-15 to 1-12.

By the