Kilkenny 1-20 Clare 0-14THE OLD order refused to budge, with all the stubbornness of a mule.

If such intractability was one trait exhibited by Kilkenny in gently reminding Clare’s fresh-faced side of their place in the scheme of things, other characteristics – such as speed of thought and deed and the propensity to kill off a game – were even more in evident as the All-Ireland champions ran out comfortable nine points winners to claim a place in the Allianz National Hurling League final.

Easy? Perhaps. Too easy? No.

Indeed, Clare remained very much in the game until Kilkenny’s sole goal, from Matthew Ruth in the 40th minute, seemed to suck all the spirit out of the underdogs.

The ease with which a Clare team, still a work in progress, seemed to accept their fate thereafter was probably the more worrying aspect as they contemplate a pending championship date with Waterford.

For Kilkenny, though, it was a job efficiently executed with the minimum of fuss.

Some players seemed to have an off day – Eoin Larkin, the captain, would likely be one of the first to raise his hand on that score – but the general work ethic throughout the team, from typical no-nonsense defending in which corner-back Paul Murphy excelled to wonderful touches in attack from corner-forward Colin Fennelly, was one which determined only one outcome.

On a miserable old day at Semple Stadium, with a couple of heavy showers of rain and hail leading to slippery underfoot conditions and a stiff wind accentuating the difficulties, Kilkenny did what they had to do.

On occasion, especially in the first half when hitting into the wind, shooting was untypically wayward (even Richie Power seemed human!) but Clare’s wasn’t much better.

The teams reached half-time with just one point separating them, Kilkenny edging a 0-8 to 0-7 lead into the break.

It could have been more. In the 20th minute Larkin took a sublime pass from the impressive Colin Fennelly and was poised to burst the back of the net until Clare defender Brendan Bugler dumped him to the ground.

Larkin still managed to swing a hurley to get the ball over the line, but referee Alan Kelly had already brought the whistle to his lips for a penalty. Power, though, saw his penalty strike saved by centre-fielder Patrick Donnellan who’d moved back to guard goalkeeper Patrick Kelly’s right side.

That penalty miss, or save from Donnellan, was one of a number of lapses that might have been more problematic if Clare weren’t also so profligate themselves.

Each side notched up six wides apiece in that first-half and, although Colin Ryan opened the second-half scoring for Clare with a convoluted seven-man move, the game swung relentlessly in Kilkenny’s direction with a three-minute spell that yielded 1-2 and slammed the door shut on the Clare men.

The goal had more than an element of controversy to it, with Colin Fennelly involved in the build-up before he passed in to Larkin who twisted and turned and also juggled the sliotar for good measure. Eventually, he got a shot in which was initially saved by goalkeeper Patrick Kelly only for Ruth to show quick feet of his own to kick the ball to the net.

Clare – on and off the pitch – were wondering if what had just transpired had really happened, when they were assured it was no dream. From the puck out, Ruth returned the ball back between the uprights for a point and Michael Fennelly, who along with Cillian Buckley had dominated midfield for the Kilkenny, landed a long-range point to put the Cats five points clear.

Although there were officially 27 minutes left on the clock, nobody expected any other outcome than a comfortable Kilkenny win. So it proved to be.

When Kilkenny felt any level of threat, they simply put the foot back on the pedal. Clare didn’t help themselves on occasions, overplaying the ball out of defence and often losing it.

The result was invariably the same: Kilkenny, with less of the waywardness with the wind on their backs, punished them. Time and time again. Power. Reid. Power. Power. The sequence of scores from the 50th to the 55th minutes was all one-way traffic.

Clare, in fairness, kept going. But this was one game that had been out of their reach for a long, long time until referee Kelly’s final whistle brought matters to an end. A work-in-progress. And, sometimes, you learn more from defeat than any number of wins. This was one such occasion. Put it down as part of a learning curve. There’ll be other days for the Banner.

This one belonged to Kilkenny.

KILKENNY: D Herity; P Murphy, JJ Delaney, J Tyrrell; T Walsh, B Hogan, R Doyle; M Fennelly (0-2), C Buckley; TJ Reid (0-1), R Power (0-9, six frees), J Mulhall (0-1); C Fennelly (0-2 ), E Larkin (0-1), M Ruth (1-3). Subs: M Bergin for Larkin (63 mins), K Joyce (0-1) for Walsh (63), C Fogarty for Doyle (64.

CLARE: P Kelly; D O'Donovan, C Dillon, C Cooney; B Bugler, P O'Connor, L Markham (0-1); N O'Connell (0-2, frees), P Donnellan (0-1); F Lynch, S Collins (0-1), E Barrett; C Ryan (0-3, two frees), C McGrath (0-6, five frees), J Conlon. Subs: J Clancy for Lynch (61 mins), A Cunningham for Barrett (61 mins), S Moreny for Collins (67 mins).

Referee: A Kelly (Galway).