Fenway Classic semi-final

CORK 42 CLARE 37

By John Fallon at Fenway Park

Patrick Horgan fired home a last minute penalty to dethrone reigning champions Clare and qualify for the final of the Aer Lingus Fenway Hurling Classic.

Cork led 21-12 at half-time in the opening semi-final after racing into a 10-0 lead after nine minutes thanks to five-pointers — scores from outside the 20-metre defensive zone — from Daniel Kearney and Patrick Horgan.

Both sides settled quickly into the format and Clare recovered with scores from Tony Kelly and Podge Collins to cut the gap to 10-6 at the end of the opening quarter.

Horgan got Cork’s third five-pointer of the opening half but Clare cut the gap to 21-12 with efforts from Peter Duggan and Shane O’Donnell.

Anthony Nash produced a string of excellent saves but Clare came back into contention with efforts from Collins, O’Donnell and Kelly but Cork prevailed in the end when Horgan blasted home his late penalty.

Scorers for Cork: P Horgan 20, D Kearney 10, B Cooper 6, T O’Mahony 6.

Scorers for Clare: T Kelly 13, P Duggan 9, S O’Donnell 6, D Conroy 6, P Collins 3.

CORK: A Nash, S O’Donoghue, D Cahalane, C Spillane, C Joyce, E Cadogan, M Coleman, B Cooper, D Kearney, C Lehane, S Kingston, L Meade, T O’Mahony, P Horgan, J O’Connor, E Murphy, R O’Flynn, W Kearney, D Griffin, D Browne, J Coughlan, M Collins, C Twomey, S Murphy.

CLARE: D Tuohy, C Malone, R Hayes, C Dillon, D Fitzgerald, D McInerney, J McCarthy, P O’Connor, J Shanahan, D Ryan, S O’Donnell, D Reidy, S Golden, C Galvin, M O’Malley, A Fahey, R Taylor, P Duggan, I Galvin, M O’Neill, P Collins, G Cooney, D Corry, A Shanagher, T Kelly, N Deasy, J Browne, S Morey, C McInerney, D Conroy, K Hogan.

Referee: J Murphy (Limerick).