McGrath Cup Senior Football Semi Final – Cork 6-16 UL 0-7

Cork defeated UL by 6-16 to 0-7 in the McGrath Cup Football Semi-Final on Sunday January 12th at Mallow.

Cork hit UL for six to set up Kerry showdown

Report by Michael Moynihan for the Irish Examiner newspaper

CORK 6-16 UL 0-7

The Cork footballers were far too strong for the University of Limerick on a sodden Mallow pitch yesterday, running out easy winners in a one-sided McGrath Cup semi-final, to set up a decider against Kerry. Cork got the proverbial dream start attacking the clubhouse end in front of 344 spectators, Colm O’Driscoll goaling from close range in the first minute. Two Donncha O’Connor frees and an Andrew O’Sullivan effort from play made it 1-3 to 0-0 on six minutes. The heavy pitch tested the players early on, with plenty of misjudged hops and pick-ups, and Cork’s greater determination restricted UL, limiting the students’ ability to find dangerman James O’Donoghue of Kerry up front.

It took UL 14 minutes to register a shot, which went wide. Cork went downfield from the kick-out and Donncha O’Connor and Tomas Clancy combined to place Micheal Ó Laoghaire for another goal: 2-5 to no 0-0. UL responded: John O’Rourke hit a point and then O’Donoghue showed his class with a fine shot which rattled the post. The same player added a free soon afterwards and then chipped in with a good point from play: 2-5 to 0-3 on 18 minutes. The game fell in intensity then, though UL managed four wides on the bounce before Cork had points from Kevin O’Driscoll and Andrew O’Sullivan. The students managed late points from Paul White and Brian O’Shea but there was still time for Cork to string a last move together, Paul Kerrigan flicking the ball to the net from the edge of the square: 3-8 to 0-5 at the break.

O’Donoghue pointed a free on the resumption but Cork’s response was instantaneous and emphatic. Mark Sugrue found Donncha O’Connor, who freed Daniel Goulding to slam home Cork’s fourth goal. With the intercounty side 14 points to the good, 4-9 to 0-7, the second-half petered out rather than progressed. Cork added a Barry O’Driscoll goal and another green flag from Goulding, finishing the day 27 points ahead of their opponents. It was even more of a rout than last week’s hammering of Limerick Institute of Technology, but Cork manager Brian Cuthbert sifted some positives out of the game.

“Conditions were a lot more difficult this week,” said Cuthbert. “But to score what we did was pleasing. One or two of our goals were a bit fortuitous. When a college team plays an intercounty team and goes 2-5 to 0-0 down early on they’ll find it very hard to pull it back and that puts a different gloss on the game. Getting a goal from our first attack and tacking on few points, that put the game to a bed. There were a lot of things we’d like to work on, some of them we did, some of them we didn’t. But I can’t question the endeavour, or the attitude from the players. “I think there were 10 minutes in the first-half where they hit five points in a row that we’d be very disappointed with, but in the second-half we completely controlled the game.”

Next week Cork take on Kerry in the competition decider. Cuthbert said Cork had achieved their aim of three outings in the McGrath Cup, which isn’t the same as saying next weekend doesn’t matter to either team . “The aim was to get three games in this, and that’ll be three games,” said Cuthbert. “We’d like to win Sunday but if we don’t it won’t be the end of the world. I read somewhere that Kerry haven’t lost a McGrath Cup game in seven years, and I presume they’ll go all-out to make that eight years. We’ll be at home, whether here (in Mallow) or elsewhere and we’ll want to win, too. “After that we have a two-week lead-in to the national league, and the game against Westmeath. We’ll have all our student players back for that two weeks and once the league starts, the whole thing takes off.”

Scorers for Cork: D. Goulding 2-4 (three frees); P. Kerrigan 1-2; M. O Laoghaire 1-1; C. O’Driscoll, B. O’Driscoll 1-0 each; D. O’Connor 0-3 (two frees); A. O’Sullivan, F. Goold 0-2 each; M. Collins, K. O’Driscoll 0-1 each.

Scorers for UL: J. O’Donoghue 0-4 (three frees); B. O’Shea, P. White and J. O’Rourke 0-1 each.

CORK: K. O’Halloran, J. McLoughlin, N. Galvin, T. Clancy, K. O’Driscoll, F. Goold, J. Loughrey, M. O Laoghaire, A. O’Sullivan, P. Kerrigan, M. Sugrue, C. O’Driscoll, D. Goulding, D. O’Connor, J. Hayes.

Subs: B. O’Driscoll and M. Collins for D. O’Connor and J. Hayes, both 42; K. Crowley for McLoughlin, 47; C. Lyons for Sugrue, 55; S. Murphy for C. O’Driscoll, 60; C. O’Connor for Kerrigan, 66.

UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK: R. Byrne (Mayo), E. Kiley, (Kerry), M. Tierney (Kerry), C. Lowry (Offaly), D. Dolan (Mayo), T. Clancy (Cork), L. Mulligan (Kerry), P. McHugh (Leitrim), E. Hogan (Galway), P. White (Waterford), D. Daly (Kerry), J. Spillane (Kerry), B.O’Shea (Kerry), J. O’Donoghue (Kerry), J. O’Rourke (Cork).

Subs: J. O’Meara (Limerick) for Mulligan (black card), 5; M. Galvin (Kerry) for Tierney, 15; C. O’Brien (Clare) for Lowry, 41; TJ Ryan (Tipperary) for O’Shea, 55; A. Barry (Kerry) for Spillane, 60; B. Sheehan (Cork) for Dolan, 65.

Referee: R. Hickey (Clare)

McGrath Cup Semi-Final

Cork 6-16 UL 0-7

Report from the Cork GAA web site

It was again all to easy for Cork as they coasted to victory over University of Limerick in the McGrath Cup Semi-Final in Mallow on January 12th. Colm O’Driscoll’s first-minute goal set the tone for the game, which Cork dominated from start to finish. After fifteen minutes, the Rebels led by 2-5 to 0-1, the second goal coming from the boot of Micheál Ó Laoire. Just before half time, Cork raised a third green flag, the goal eventually credited to Paul Kerrigan, with Donncha O’Connor also getting a touch, and with the scoreline at 3-8 to 0-5, the game was effectively over as a contest.

It was more of the same after the break, Daniel Goulding quickly getting on the list of goal-scorers and Cork powering on into a 4-10 to 0-7 lead after forty-seven minutes. UL did not score for the remainder of the game, while goals for Barry O’Driscoll and another for Goulding sealed the victory for Cork, who will now meet Kerry in the McGrath Cup Final next Sunday after the latter defeated CIT in their semi-final. The venue for the game will be confirmed on Monday.

Cork: Ken O’Halloran, John McLoughlin, Tomás Clancy, Noel Galvin, James Loughrey, Fintan Goold (0-2), Kevin O’Driscoll (0-1), Michael Ó Laoire (1-1), Andrew O’Sullivan (0-2), Paul Kerrigan (1-2), Mark Sugrue, Colm O’Driscoll (1-0), Daniel Goulding (2-5, 0-4f), Donncha O’Connor (0-2, 0-1f), John Hayes.

Subs used: Mark Collins (0-1) for O’Connor, Barry O’Driscoll (1-0) for John Hayes (both 41′), Kevin Crowley for McLoughlin (47′), Colin Lyons for Sugrue (54′), Sean Murphy for C. O’Driscoll (62′), Killian O’Connor for Kerrigan (66′)

When – Sunday January 12^th at 2:00pm

Where – Mallow

Referee – Rory Hickey (Clare)

Extra time – (2 periods x 10 minutes only) to be played if sides finish level at the end of 70 minutes

Contact Munster GAA PRO Ed Donnelly at pro.munster@gaa.ie for more information

Team News

The Cork team for Sunday’s McGrath Cup Semi-Final v UL at 2pm in Mallow will line out as follows:

1. Ken O’Halloran Bishopstown

2. John McLoughlin Kanturk

3. Tomás Clancy Fermoy

4. Noel Galvin Ballincollig

5. James Loughrey Mallow

6. Fintan Goold Macroom

7. Kevin O’Driscoll Tadhg MacCárthaigh

8. Micheál Ó Laoire Naomh Abán

9. Andrew O’Sullivan Castletownbere

10. Paul Kerrigan Nemo Rangers

11. Mark Sugrue Bandon

12. Colm O’Driscoll Tadhg MacCárthaigh

13. Daniel Goulding Éire Óg

14. Donncha O’Connor Ballydesmond

15. John Hayes Carbery Rangers

Subs:

16. Ryan Price O’Donovan Rossa

17. Colin Lyons St. Finbarr’s

18. Sean Murphy Ballydesmond

19. Barry O’Driscoll Nemo Rangers

20. Kevin Crowley Millstreet

21. Killian O’Connor Mallow

Brian Cuthbert has made four changes to the team that defeated LIT last Sunday. Ken O’Halloran starts in goal, while Tomás Clancy comes in for Eoin Cadogan, who is on study leave. Aidan Walsh is on holidays, and Micheál Ó Laoire starts at midfield, along with Andrew O’Sullivan, while Paul Kerrigan comes into the side at wing forward. Alan Sheehan has not fully recovered from a dead leg sustained in last Sunday’s game, and Fintan Goold moves into the centre back position.

For the Record

Fixtures and Results

Quarter-Finals

Sunday January 5^th

@ John Mitchels Tralee                  Kerry 0-17 IT Tralee 0-8

@ CIT GAA Grounds                       CIT 5-17 Mary I 2-6

@ Mallow                                          Cork 3-22 LIT 0-7

@ Gaelic Grounds Limerick           UL 5-18 UCC 4-16

Semi-Finals (Extra time)

Sunday January 12^th

@ John Mitchels Tralee                  Kerry v CIT                                                                @ 2:00pm

@ Mallow                                          Cork v UL                                                                  @ 2:00pm

Final (Extra time)

Sunday January 19^th

McGrath Cup Senior Football – Odds and Ends

Since 2000, Kerry’s McGrath Cup success rate is 89% (best of any county) winning 16 of their 18 matches (an 88% success rate). In the same period, Cork have won 86% of their matches in the competition with 18 wins out of 21.

There was an average of 2.5 goals per match in the 2013 McGrath Cup Competition (25 goals scored in total). This compares with an average of 2.4 goals per game in 2012 and 1.4 goals per game in 2011.

The record of the Third Level Colleges in the McGrath Cup since entering in 2005 is Won 23, Lost 53 (30% success rate). None of the third level colleges have a winning record in the competition during that period. CIT have the best record, winning 7 of their 16 matches (44% success rate). UL have won 6 of their 14 matches (43% success rate) followed by UCC who have won 7 of their 17 matches (41% success rate. Meanwhile IT Tralee, LIT, WIT and Mary I Limerick have won 3 out of 29 matches between them.

Kerry have not lost a match in the McGrath Cup since the 2006 final where the Kingdom lost to Cork by 1-9 to 0-6 at Pairc Ui Rinn.

McGrath Cup Senior Football Roll Of Honour

Clare (12) – 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2008

Cork (6) – 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Limerick (5) – 1985, 1987, 2001, 2004, 2005

Kerry (4) – 1996, 2010, 2012

Tipperary (3) – 1989, 1993, 2003

Waterford (1) – 1981

London (1) – 1988

Visit the Munster GAA web site History section to view the complete Roll of Honour since the competition began in 1981 – https://munster.gaa.ie/history/mcgrath-cup-football/

McGrath Cup

Presented by Joe McGrath on June 21st, 1981 for the promotion of Senior Football in Munster

University of Limerick Panel

The University of Limerick Football Panel for the McGrath Cup includes the following players –

Rory Byrne                 Mayo

Eamon Kiely               Kerry

Martin Tierney             Kerry

Conor Lowrey             Offaly

David Dolan                Mayo

Dessie Moone             Monaghan

Darragh Corbett          Offaly

Conor McNamee        Offaly

Phelim McHugh          Leitrim

Eoin Carroll                 Offaly

Denis Daly                  Kerry

Shane O Callaghan    Kerry

TJ Ryan                      Tipperary

James O Donoghue   Kerry

John O Rourke           Cork

Michael Boyle                         Donegal

Ian Bourke                  Galway

Darragh McDonagh    Clare

Brendan Morrison       Mayo

Paul Whyte                 Waterford

Tom Clancy                Cork

James O’Meara          Limerick

Danny Neville             Limerick

Bryan O Shea             Kerry

Gavin Farrell               Kildare

Peter Witherow           Donegal