Clare cruelly denied by late Kildare comeback

Clare 0-12 Kildare 0-13: Clare looked to be on the way to a famous victory when they thundered into a six-point early in the second half of a pulsating All-Ireland Qualifier - they led by 0-12 to 0-6 and had Kildare on the ropes.

But in a remarkable turnaround the Lilywhites finally out-pointed the distraught Bannermen as they reeled off the final seven points of the game to edge home to a dramatic victory.

Clare had given themselves a great platform when leading by 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time against a listless Kildare side. The teams were level at 0-2 apiece after seven minutes, but points by Rory Donnelly, corner-back Martin McMahon and David Tubridy helped the Bannermen forge 0-5 to 0-2 clear by the 30th minute.

Alan Smith did land a couple of good scores for Kildare in the final minutes of the half to bring his tally to 0-3 but two booming efforts from Shane McGrath ensured that Clare retired to dressing room with a standing ovation from their supporters.

Those supporters were celebrating further within ten minutes of the restart as they bounced back from the concession of a couple of early scores to Smith and took control, hitting a purple patch that yielded four points inside five minutes.

The game seemed Clare’s for the taking, but they failed to score in the final 25 minutes as Kildare staged a remarkable recovery.

Eoin O’Flaherty proved himself the hero when coming off the bench to hit three points, his final effort in the 64th minute proving the winner.

Clare: J Hayes, S Hickey, Kevin Harnett, M McMahon (0-1), J Malone, G Kelly, C Russell, G Brennan (0-2), S McGrath (0-2), S Collins, E Coughlan (0-1), S Brennan, P Collins (0-1), D Tubridy (0-4, 0-3f, one 45), R Donnelly (0-1). Subs: D Ryan for S Collins, E Cleary for Donnelly, M O'Leary for Coughlan, S McNelis for Hickey, Paudge McMahon for S Brennan, L Healy for Russell.

Kildare: M Donnellan, C Fitzpatrick, M O'Grady, O Lyons, E Bolton F Conway K Cribben T Mollick G White, C McNally, N Kelly, P O'Neill (0-1), E Callaghan (0-2), P Fogarty, A Smith (0-6, 0-1 free). Subs: T O'Connor for Fogarty, E O'Flaherty (0-3) for White, P Brophy (0-1) for Kelly, E Doyle for O'Grady, S Hurley for Mollick, D Hyland for Conway

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Armagh)