Monaghan came good in the second-half to down Clare by 1-25 to 1-16 in Clones and secure a place in the knock-out stages of the All-Ireland SFC with a round still remaining in the Group 3.

While the result might suggest that the home side kept it all to script in this one, it was far from the case by the end of the first-half as the Banner men came with a powerful second quarter display to lead by seven points at half-time.

Mark McInerney’s point saw Peter Keane’s side move 0-5 to 0-4 ahead in the 18th minute and they’d add two pointers from Eoin Cleary, McInerney and Conor Meaney to move towards a surprise 0-14 to 0-7 lead at half-time.

The #SamMaguireCup Group 3 Table after Round 2.

Down 0-25 v 0-24 Louth Monaghan 1-25 v 1-16 Clare#GAA #SFC #GAALeagueTables pic.twitter.com/YSQaQUZfg2

— GAA League Tables (@GAALeagueTables) June 1, 2025

Monaghan grabbed a Jack McCarron two-pointer early in the resumption and eventually got motoring with another from beyond the arc by the ace attacker before Conor McCarthy hammered the ball to the Clare net in the 52nd minute.

From there, Gabriel Bannigan’s side ran up a six-point lead on their Munster counterparts before a McInerney free ended a mini scoring drought for his team.

McCarron’s third two-pointer was backed up by a Rory Beggan ‘45’ and, while Clare netted a late goal through Aaron Griffin, the host were able to comfortably see out the win with back-to-back two-point frees from Beggan in the run up to the final whistle.

Successive defeats for Clare in the All-Ireland SFC. Peter Keane's side led by seven points at half-time but lose by nine to Monaghan.

It all comes down to two weeks time vs Leinster champions Louth for Clare.

FT: Monaghan 1-25 Clare 1-16#GAA

— Páraic McMahon (@thepmanofficial) June 1, 2025

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