A GRITTY and determined Tipperary outfit ground out a 2-5 to 0-9 victory over Clare in the semi-final of the Munster under-21 football championship at Cooraclare on Saturday afternoon.
Despite trailing 0-7 to 1-1 at the break, the visitors dominated the second period to reach the provincial decider.
In the 17th minute of the first half, Seán Carey collected a pass from Brian Quinn and waltzed through the Clare defence for an easy goal. And Carey grabbed Tipp’s second in the 43rd minute, setting his side up for a deserved victory.
TIPPERARY: M O’Donnell; D Buckley, C McDonald, S Mullins; C Aylward, J Coghlan, B Fox; B Jones, A Moloney (0-2, one free); S Carey (2-1), J Cagney, P Acheson; T Dalton (0-2, one free), D Burns, B Quinn. Subs: D Lynch for Mullins (28 mins), T Dunne for Coghlan (42), D Keogh for Acheson (51), D Foley for Burns (59).
CLARE: P O’Dwyer; D Ryan, D Hickey, N White; K Hartnett, L Markham, K Whelan (0-1); G Brennan, C O’Connor; D Cusack (0-1), S Collins, D Gallery; E Lyons (0-2, one free), S Crotty, M McCarthy (0-5, three frees) . Subs: P McMahon for Hartnett (half-time), M Moloney for Cusack (43 mins), S Ryan for OConnor (53), C McInerney for Lyons (58).
Réiteoir - Pádraig O’Sullivan (Ciarraí)