From www.gaa.ie
ALLIANZ HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION IB: WEXFORD 1-11 CLARE 0-18
Clare came good in the end to defeat Wexford in an entertaining encounter at Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday afternoon.
Despite having the benefit of a strong wind in the first half, Wexford struggled for much of it and only led at the break thanks to a fine penalty a few minutes before half-time from goalkeeper Mark Fanning. That left it 1-6 to 0-7 going in.
The lead swelled to four points in the third quarter but Clare gradually chipped away at Wexford and took firm control of the game in the final quarter, hitting nine of the final 10 points, including five without reply in the last few minutes, to take a valuable victory away from the south-east.
Wexford, backed by the strong breeze, led 0-4 to 0-1 after 10 minutes but six in a row from Clare, including a series of placed balls from Colin Ryan and scores from Conor McGrath and John Conlon, had them 0-7 to 0-4 ahead by the 28th minute.
Fanning’s powerfully struck penalty in the 33rd minute followed Wexford points from Eoin Moore and David Dunne, and that burst of 1-2 helped Liam Dunne’s side into a much needed 1-6 to 0-7 interval lead.
After some early sparring in the second half, Wexford moved four clear, leading 1-10 to 0-9 after 50 minutes, thanks to two frees in a row from Harry Kehoe. However, that was the beginning of the end of their challenge, as Clare took control shortly afterwards.
Now backed by the wind, Clare drew level following points from Ryan (free), David Reidy and Bobby Duggan. A Kehoe free briefly put Wexford back in the lead in the 64th minute, but Clare were dominant by now and made it count in the closing minutes.
Points from Jack Browne, Bobby Duggan and three from the ruthlessly efficient Colin Ryan in the last five minutes saw Clare level and then move clear of Wexford to take the win.
Clare now have two wins from two in Division IB and are firmly in the promotion hunt. Wexford have lost two on the bounce, but will be expected to do well in their remaining fixtures, against Laois, Kerry and Offaly.
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