Limerick hold off Clare to secure Munster five-in-a-row

Limerick held off Clare by the skin of their teeth to claim a first ever Munster SHC five in a row. The Banner had led by a Mark Rodgers goal at the interval – 1-11 to 0-11 – in a slow-burning contest but the All-Ireland champions roared into the game after half-time thanks to a green flag from the unmarkable Aaron Gillane, who finished with 1-11 (8fs). Clare captain Tony Kelly (0-06, 2fs) levelled but Limerick, cheered on by the locals at a Gaelic Grounds split in colour, scored the next five points in a ten-minute period to take control.

The challengers came again though and only trailed by a point in the last of four minutes of injury-time, the crowd pre-empting the final whistle with a premature pitch invasion before Liam Gordon finally called an end to another epic battle between these two teams.

Clare had legitimate claims for a free to equalise at the death but their wait for a provincial crown will extend to 26 years at least. Limerick become only the second county other than Cork to win five successive Munsters and record the first since 1986.

More to follow…