Clare 1-11 Sligo 0-11 Clare became the inaugural winners of the Tommy Murphy Cup when they recorded a deserved victory over a disappointing Sligo side at rain-soaked Croke Park. Proving that last June's All-Ireland qualifier win over the Yeats County was no fluke, Clare laid the foundations for their success in the opening half when a rather fortuitous goal from Ordan O'Dwyer helped them to a 1-7 to 0-4 lead at the interval. Sligo rallied in the second half and had reduced the deficit to two points on a couple of occasions, but a hungrier and more determined Clare side never looked like to be in any danger. The Banner County can now look forward to a trip to Boston in October, while Sligo will have to be content with a holiday to New York which was their prize for winning the Connacht FBD League earlier this year. Playing a direct brand of football, Clare were quickly into their stride with midfielder Ger Quinlan opening their account after just 45 seconds. Stephen Hickey was unlucky to see his shot come back off the upright before Denis Russell made it 0-2 to 0-0 after seven minutes. Sligo eventually got off the mark in the 13th minute when Paul Taylor pointed a free but John Kennedy's charges hit back three minutes later when Quinlan landed his second point after Dessie Sloyan should have had a score at the opposite end for the Connacht side. Clare corner forward Rory Donnelly then took centre stage with two virtually identical points in the 19th and 21st minutes to put four between the teams. Taylor replied with a free before disaster struck an already struggling Sligo when goalkeeper Brian Curran's attempted fist pass to a colleague was easily intercepted by Clare full forward O'Dwyer who finished to an empty net in the 26th minute. Sligo responded with their first point from play from John McPartland and should have had a goal moments later when Adrian Marron crashed a powerful shot against the crossbar after a good movement involving McPartland and Sean Davey. The busy Michael O'Shea extended the Banner County's lead before Taylor pointed another free in the 32nd minute. Four minutes of stoppage-time were allotted at the end of the half due to an early injury to Clare defender Dara Blake (he was replaced by Darragh Kelly) and during this time, O'Dwyer curled over a delightful point from the left to give the Bannermen a six-point lead. Sligo almost hit back with a goal from Sean Davey, but his ground shot was blocked and cleared to safety. The play deteriorated in the second half as both sides struggled to come to terms with the increasingly difficult underfoot conditions. The impressive O'Shea made it 1-8 to 0-4 before Sligo finally came to life with Dessie Sloyan slotting over three frees in as many minutes. Further points from substitute David Colleary and the hard-working McParland left just two points between the teams with 15 minutes remaining. Crucially, though, Clare hit back with two points from O'Shea (one free) to regain a four-point lead. Sligo kept plugging away and two more frees from Sloyan brought the deficit down to two points again after 65 minutes. However, the Bannermen were not to be denied and it was left to midfielder Denis Russell to put the seal on their victory with a huge kick in injury-time. Clare - D O'Brien, P Gallagher, C Whelan, D Blake, A Clohessy, N Griffin, R Slattery, David Russell, G Quinlan 0-2, Denis Russell 0-2, S Hickey, M O'Shea 0-4, E Coughlan, O O'Dwyer 1-1, R Donnelly 0-2. Subs: D Kelly, S O'Meara, David Russell, D O'Sullivan, E Talty Sligo - J Curran, C Neary, N Clancy, N Carew, R Keane, N McGuire, K O'Neill, G Maye, S Davy, B Curran, P Taylor 0-3, K Quinn, J McPartland 0-2, D Sloyan 0-5, A Marron. Subs: K Gallagher, T Taylor, D Colleary 0-1, M Munds, B McDonagh Referee - D Coldrick (Meath) Tweet

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