UL secured their fourth consecutive appearance in the Fitzgibbon Cup final with a dominant 21-point victory over MTU Cork. Two red cards for MTU Cork within the first 20 minutes proved decisive, allowing UL to exert control and ultimately secure their place in the final against DCU Dóchas Éireann.
Two red cards inside 20 minutes ended MTU Cork’s Fitzgibbon Cup dreams as they ultimately fell to a 21-point defeat to UL. Alan Connolly and Mikey Finn received the red cards in the 16th and 20th minutes from referee Thomas Walsh for high tackles. Connolly’s rising tackle, which saw Michael Corcoran leave the field injured, was the more clearcut of the sendings off.
Finn had more of a case for clemency as he collided with Aaron Morgan, who was ducking away to clear the sliotar, but the referee deemed the contact too high. The sides were tied at 0-3 apiece when Connolly was dismissed and UL had edged one ahead by the time Finn followed him off. MTU showed commendable spirit to level at 0-8 apiece within two minutes of the second-half restart but UL outgunned them from there by 1-20 to 0-2. The Limerick university sealed their return for a fourth straight Fitzgibbon final; the first team to achieve that distinction since UCC in 1999. They will meet DCU Dóchas Éireann in Saturday’s final. Appearing in their first semi-final for 10 years, MTU Cork had the first three shots at the posts but each missed the target. By half-time, UL had more than caught up with 10 wides to MTU’s four by that juncture. Aidan O’Connor feinted into space for UL’s opening point in the fourth minute before Ronan Walsh emerged from a ruck with the sliotar to equalise. Connolly located Alan Walsh for an over-the-shoulder score which sent MTU into their first lead. UL almost broke through for a goal chance but Jack Leahy was knocked off the ball by a shot from Darragh O’Sullivan. Adam English levelled from an acute angle but a Connollly 65 nudged MTU back ahead for the final time. Gearóid O’Connor won a puck-out to launch the leveller and then Connolly, perhaps frustrated by a missed free moments earlier, was given the line for his hit on Corcoran. A Gearóid O’Connor free had UL one up when Finn received his marching orders, while Brian O’Sullivan got a yellow for his retaliation. That left UL with two spare men, employing Mark Fitzgerald as a free defender, while O’Sullivan and English rotated as the extra body around the middle. They pressed on with the next three points from Leahy, Aidan O’Connor, and Gearóid O’Connor for five in a row and a 0-7 to 0-3 lead. MTU were in cantankerous form as Alan Walsh slotted a point before complaining to the linesman about the lack of a free in the build-up. He was awarded the next one, which Jack Cahalane converted. Gearóid O’Connor landed a 100-metre free but Seán Walsh smuggled away a shot in a phone booth’s worth of space to cut the difference to two, 0-8 to 0-6, at the break. MTU were cheered back onto the field and levelled through a Cahalane free and a Diarmuid Healy point. They would only score twice more from there from two more Cahalane frees. UL reeled off the next 1-7, with the first two points from Colin Coughlan and Aidan O’Connor teeing up Colm O’Meara for the tap-in goal. O’Meara’s 1-2 saw him finish as joint top-scorer alongside Gearóid O’Connor. Captain Coughlan launched four second-half points, while Cork natives Leahy and Brian O’Sullivan contributed 0-4 and 0-3 respectively. After Cahalane’s frees, UL finished with a 12-point charge, including five points from substitutes Seán Rynne, Seán O’Hanlon (0-2 each) and Diarmuid Hannify
Fitzgibbon Cup UL MTU Cork Red Cards College Hurling
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