Limerick strike late to deny Clare in a thriller

Limerick strike late to deny Clare in a thrillerTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Highlights: Clare 1-19 Limerick 1-21ByDavid MohanBBC Sport NI journalist at Croke ParkPublished40 minutes agoLimerick are back in the All-Ireland hurling final for the first time since 2023 as they edged out Clare 1-21 to 1-19 in a thriller at Croke Park.John Kiely's side saw their five-in-a-row dream dashed at the same stage two years ago, and lost at the quarter-final stage last year, but there was no mistake this time around as they found the answers when Tony Kelly's goal from a 55th-minute penalty left them six back.Perhaps Clare felt there could have been a greater punishment for Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, whose last-man challenge on Peter Duggan may have earned black instead of yellow, but Clare failed to add to their tally for the rest of the game.Faced with adversity, Limerick held their nerve as they have done so in the past, with Aidan O'Connor's 70th minute goal proving the key moment of an absorbing contest.With league and Munster titles already banked in 2026, the Treaty treble remains on course as they put the Banner to the sword, turning the tables from the counties' last meeting at this stage in 2013 when Clare prevailed on their way to that year's title.That year, Shane O'Donnell announced himself with a hat-trick of goals in the final replay, but there was to be no fairytale ending for the Eire Og clubman this year who declared it would be his last in the saffron and blue.Instead, it's Limerick who go on to face Galway in a repeat of the 2018 final which was was to spark a period of dominance for the Munster county.Clare gain the upper hand in the opening halfImage source, InphoImage caption, Aidan O'Connor's 70th minute goal proved decisive as Limerick reach their first final since 2023It was a rip-roaring affair from the off as both si...