Waterford IT ... 1-17 University of Limerick ... 1-13Waterford IT turned the tables on defending champions UL in the semi-final of the Fitzgibbon Cup at Ardfinnan yesterday to atone in the best possible way for last year's final defeat at the hands of the Limerick side.
In a game that never really sparkled, Waterford led from the off, and while they lost a six-point lead early in the second half, they always had the facility to step up a couple of gears.
Aided by the strong wind in the opening half, Waterford stamped their authority early with Ollie Moran the dominant figure at midfield.
They served notice of their intent early when Setanta Ó hAilpín struck home a goal in the fourth minute, and when UL lost the services of fullback John Devane a few minutes later, the defending champions looked in real trouble.
UL were almost totally dependent on the excellent free-taking of Brian Carroll for most of their first half scores. He struck four of his side's five points as Waterford turned over with a two goal cushion, 1-8 to 0-5.
There was a lot more urgency in UL on the change over and when Conor Fitzgerald found the net with a long range effort in the 37th minute, they were back in business. As Waterford began to struggle, the defending champions drew level with a succession of points, three of them from Carroll.
However, Waterford made a master move by bringing on Rory Jacob and he nipped the UL recovery in the bud with three excellent points to book his side's place in next Saturday's final.
WATERFORD IT: D Young; B Lynch, P Curran, JJ Delaney; M Fitzgerald, J Brady, H Moloney; O Moran (0-1), F Flynn (0-1); B Dowling (0-2), M Jacob (0-2), MJ Furlong (0-1); C Phelan, S Ó hAilpín (1-1), D Murray (0-6). Subs: S Hennessy for Flynn; R Jacob (0-3) for Furlong; K Coonan for Moloney.
UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK: T Houlihan; M O'Hara, J Devane, A Franks; M Maher (0-1), B Geary, C McGann; N Moran (0-1), R Murray; C Fitzgerald (1-1), D Gleeson (0-1), J Gantley (0-1); B Carroll (0-8), D Forde, K Burke. Sub: B O'Mahony for Devane.
Referee: W Barrett (Tipperary).
