Cork hurling boss Pat Ryan declared himself satisfied with his side’s draw against Clare, despite them surrendering a 12-point lead.

The much-hyped Rebels led a titanic Munster SHC Round 1 tussle in Ennis by 12 points at half-time and, despite losing Shane Barrett to a red card, were still seven up before a late rally by the All-Ireland champions edged them in front, only for Declan Dalton’s last-gasp free to rescue a share of the spoils for the visitors.

“I thought we showed a great battle to get back into the game. The game looked to be gone away from us. Obviously, we were seven, eight, nine points up. I thought we did well, even after Shane's sending off, we held it,” Ryan told the assembled media.

“But look, these are the All-Ireland champions at home. I'd have taken a point this morning. This isn't a sprint Munster championship, this is a marathon.”

Ryan gave no indication if Cork would be appealing Barrett’s 57th minute red card for an altercation with David Reidy, which is set to rule him out of next Sunday’s clash with Tipperary.

“Obviously, Shane is by no means a dirty player so I don't know why we're down there. But from our point of view, it's a disappointment that we got involved in any situation like that. You have to keep your discipline above here,” he added.

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