A late David Reidy goal put the gloss on a hard-fought win for Clare against Tipperary this afternoon.
Maintaining a marginal grasp on the tie throughout, a possible draw became a certain loss for Tipperary as concentration slipped and they conceded silly frees at the death.
Extending their one-point lead to two as the three minutes of injury-time slipped away from Tipp, it was Reidy who had gotten what had appeared to be a match-winning point.
Yet, the man who had scored 1-02 for LIT in their surprising Fitzgibbon Cup defeat to DCU earlier in the week capitalised on some sloppy Tipperary defending to put the tie well beyond last year's beaten All-Ireland semi-finalists.
Tearing across the open space left in the Tipperary full-back line, Reidy finished off his chance expertly.
Clare seal victory in Ennis with this David Reidy goal pic.twitter.com/BQ7Ga78ZBk
— The GAA (@officialgaa) January 28, 2018
The first and only shot on goal throughout the entire game, Reidy's total of 1-08 ensured Clare now travel to face Kilkenny next Sunday with points on the board.
Despite their closeness in score, Tipperary never really found the kind of flow that Clare managed to locate from early on. They will welcome Derek McGrath's Waterford to Thurles next Saturday.
Highlights of a game that threw up plenty of impressive points can be viewed below.
Clare take the points in Ennis v Tipperary in the opening round of the Allianz League. See the full-time highlights here on GAANOW! pic.twitter.com/802onVGI67
— The GAA (@officialgaa) January 28, 2018
