Waterford 0-7 Kerry 1-18
Kerry progressed with ease to a Munster under-21 final showdown against Cork, seeing off a spirited Waterford by 14 points at a damp Fraher Field on Wednesday night.
Shorn of their Dr Crokes contingent, Kerry took command from the off and led by 1-12 to 0-1 at half-time, with the excellent Killian Spillane palming home the night’s only goal in the 24th minute following a fine upfield surge by Seán O’Shea.
To Waterford’s credit, in a grade where they’ve not won a match since 2006, their second-half effort was commendable, featuring fine points from senior hurler Conor Gleeson and some well directed placed balls by David Looby.
Cathal Curran’s night ended early when sent off a 43rd minute strike on Kerry’s Andrew Barry, preceded moments earlier by a second yellow card for Kerry’s Cormac Coffey.
WATERFORD: K Dwane; C McCarthy, S Ryan, M Cronin; D O'Cathasaigh, S Kelly, M Cronin, E O'Halloran (0-1); D Guiry, C Gleeson (0-1); C Murray (0-1), M Sweeney, D Looby (0-3; two frees, one 45); C Curran, J Allen (0-1, free), C Browne.
Subs: C O'Neill for Ryan (BC, 19 mins), D Fitzgerald for Sweeney (39 mins), J Mulcahy for Browne (54 mins).
KERRY: S Ryan; Tom Leo O'Sullivan, J Foley, B Sugrue; J Morgan, Tom O'Sullivan (0-2), C Coffey; B O'Sullivan, A Barry (0-1); B Ó Seanacháin, S O'Shea (0-3, one free), M Flaherty (0-1); L O'Donoghue, K Spillane (1-6, three frees) C Bambury (0-5).
Subs: I Parker for O'Shea (41 mins), B Ó Beaglaoích for A Barry (44 mins), R Ó Sé for Tom O'Sullivan (44 mins), D O'Brien for Sugrue (48 mins), B Barrett for Flaherty (48 mins), G O'Sullivan for Foley (54 mins).
Referee: S Lonergan (Tipperary).
Cork 2-10 Limerick 0-10
Cork reached their seventh successive Munster under-21 football final with a flattering win over Limerick at Páirc Uí Rinn .
Limerick led by 0-9 to 1-4 at the interval and should have been further in front. AJ O’Connor had a 25th-minute penalty saved by goalkeeper Ross Donovan, who dived smartly to his right.
Cork’s goal came after only three minutes, when a surging run from Seán Powter led to Michael Dineen slipping the ball home from close range.
Cork outscored their opponents 1-6 to 0-1 on the resumption, Michael Hurley scoring a late goal.
CORK: R Donovan; S Daly, J Mullins (capt), S Wilson; J O'Riordan, A Browne, C Kiely; E Lavers, S O'Leary; B Coakley (0-4, two frees), S Powter, D Meaney; G Murphy (0-1), M Dineen (1-0), S Sherlock (0-2 one free).
Subs: M Hurley (1-3) for Meaney (21 mins), S O'Donoghue for O'Leary (27 mins), L O'Donovan for Dineen (half-time), S O'Donovan for Sherlock (55 mins), M Buckley for Coakley (59 mins).
LIMERICK: R Hayes (0-1, free); D Connolly, J Liston, E Sheehy; R Childs, M Donovan, C Flanagan; B Fanning, T Childs; S Murphy (capt), AJ O'Connor (0-1), P de Brun; K Daly (0-1), B Donovan (0-2), H Bourke (0-5, all frees).
Subs: S Stack for De Brun (45 mins), M Connolly for O'Connor (50 mins), S Brosnan for Flanagan (55 mins), M White for R Childs (57 mins).
Referee: R Hickey (Clare).
