Clare 0-10
Kilkenny 1-08
They made hard work of it, but Kilkenny have maintained their 100% record in this year’s Littlewoods Ireland Division 1 League after getting the better of a spirited Clare side in Cusack Park on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides could not be separated early on with Caoimhe Carmody, Lorna McNamara and Eimear Kelly getting scores from Clare while Katie Power and her namesake Nolan both pointed for Kilkenny.
The crucial score of the game came midway through the first half as Tullaroan’s Miriam Walsh made no mistake with a fine effort to score the only goal of the game.
Laura Norris and Denise Gaule added further points for the league champions before Aine O’Loughlin closed out the half with a superb point to make it Clare 0-04 to 1-04 Kilkenny.
Carmody, Kelly and McNamara, Clare’s only three scorers, continued to lead the charge for the home side but their efforts would amount to nothing more than defeat.
Power, Steffi Fitzgerald and a last minute Kellyann Doyle point secured the victory for Brian Dowling’s team.
Next up for Kilkenny is a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against old foes Cork.