First-time winners last year, Crusheen became the first club since St. Joseph's, Doora-Barefield in 1998 and '99 to put Clare SHC titles back-to-back following a mud-splashed final win over Sixmilebridge at Cusack Park yesterday.

Crusheen 0-10
Sixmilebridge 0-4

Traditional giants Sixmilebridge, who held new Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald in reserve after first-choice goalkeeper Derek Fahy was passed fit to play, proved no match for the champions on a day when many questioned whether the game should have been played at all. Former county star and Sixmilebridge captain Niall Gilligan reckoned the conditions were the worst he ever played in.

Crusheen were never headed after James Fitzgibbon gave them a fourth-minute lead. They held a 0-4 to 0-3 lead at the break, though Sixmilebridge would have been ahead had Gilligan found the net from a 25th minute penalty. He had to be content with a point instead.

Crusheen stamped their authority on proceedings between the 10th and 13th minutes of the second half when they shot four points to open up a five-point lead. Wing forward Gearoid O'Donnell hit three great points from play over the hour, while Cian Dillon produced a man of the match display from centre back.

As Sixmilebridge became more desperate, they made a number of changes but they failed to break down a resolute winning defence which conceded just one point in the second half. That came from Gilligan with just a minute left to play.

Scorers - Crusheen: G O'Donnell 0-3, J Fitzgibbon, P Vaughan (2f), P Meaney 0-2 each, F Kennedy 0-1. Sixmilebridge: N Gilligan 0-3 (1f, 1 pen), Danny Morey 0-1.

Crusheen - D Touhy; J Brigdale, Cronan Dillon, A Brigdale; C O'Doherty, Cian Dillon, Cathal Dillon; P Vaughan, J Meaney; G O'Donnell, J Fitzgibbon, D Forde; P Meaney, G O'Grady, F Kennedy.

Sixmilebridge - D Fahy; T Keogh, A Quilligan, S Morey; J Fennessy, P Fitzpatrick, R Conlon; S Golden, T Carmody; J Shanahan, R Shanahan, Declan Morey; Danny Morey, N Gilligan, C Morey. Subs: T Purcell for Conlon (45), B Culbert for Declan Morey (45), D O'Connor for Carmody (55).

Ref - R Hickey. Tweet

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