Darach Honan was delighted to be back in the Clare team after almost a year's absence last Sunday.

The big Clonlara man put his injury problems behind him to line out at full forward in the Banner's extra-time victory over Cork, which preserved their Allianz Hurling League Division 1A status.

"It was tough and I was nervous today as I hadn't started for Clare in a long time. It's brilliant to be back. The result was brilliant as well. We really had to grind it out," he told the Clare Champion.

"There was a really tough wind there, swirling every which way. It was hard to know which way to shoot and it was tough. We played very well in the second half. The two goals kept them in it. We had too many wides, which is something we have to work on."

The 2009 All-Ireland U21 winner expects the relegation playoff to stand Clare in good stead for the championship.

"That's as good a championship preparation as one can get and hopefully that will stand to us come June. We were looking forward to Division 1 in the league this year to get games of that standard." Tweet

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