Relief was the overriding emotion for Cork manager Kieran Kingston after his side escaped to victory over Clare in yesterday's All-Ireland SHC qualifier at the LIT Gaelic Grounds.

The Rebels won out 3-19 to 1-23 to secure a place in the quarter-finals, but were left hanging on for dear life at the end.

Goalkeeper Patrick Collins came to the rescue, denying Tony Kelly a last-gasp goal that would have snatched the spoils for the Banner County.

“The most overriding emotion is relief because that game ebbed and flowed,” said Kingston.

“We weren’t sure coming into it how our guys were going to react.

“We had had three weeks off, was that going to be a good thing, with the rest would be fresh? Clare had momentum after a very good league campaign and three huge games with two fantastic wins, so we didn’t know if that was going to be too much to deal with.

“There was a lot of uncertainty coming into it from our point of view and we were apprehensive as to how that would work out.

"I’m fierce proud of the way the lads reacted and the character that they showed, from basically a very young team."

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