Munster MFC: Cork too strong for Tipperary at Semple Stadium

Defending All-Ireland champions Kerry see off Clare; Calvin Moran goal sees Limerick home

Cork’s Mark Cronin scores a goal despite the attempted challenge of Tipperary’s Jack Dolan during the Electric Ireland Munster MFC quarter-final at Semple Stadium in Thurles. Photograph:  Tommy Dickson/Inpho
Cork’s Mark Cronin scores a goal despite the attempted challenge of Tipperary’s Jack Dolan during the Electric Ireland Munster MFC quarter-final at Semple Stadium in Thurles. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho

Tipperary 1-8 Cork 3-21

Cork hammered Tipperary by 19 points at Semple Stadium to progress to the semi-finals of the Electric Ireland Munster minor football championship.

The Rebels had five of their six starting forwards on target en route to a facile victory in front of 1,158 spectators in Thurles.

The inside trio of Mark Cronin, Cathal O'Mahony and Damien Gore accounted for 3-13 – Cronin bagging 2-4 and Gore 1-5.

READ SOME MORE

Cork were 1-9 to 0-4 clear at half-time before opening up impressively after the break.

Tipp scored a late consolation goal from sub Adam McGrath but finished with 14 players when Shane Ryan was black-carded in stoppage time, with six subs used.

CORK: K McMahon; L Finn, W Ronan, D Ward (0-1); J Harrington, P O'Driscoll, J McCarthy (0-1); R Walsh, M Keane; J Murphy, E Murphy (0-1), C O'Callaghan (0-3); M Cronin (2-4, two frees), C O'Mahony (0-4, two frees), D Gore (1-5, two frees).

Subs: S Meehan for Harrington (temp, 16-24 mins), C Barrett (0-1) for J Murphy (39 mins), C Myers-Murray (0-1) for O'Mahony (42 mins), S Meehan for Harrington (43 mins), D O'Mahony for Ronan (45 mins), J Corcoran for Finn (46 mins), D Moynihan for E Murphy (50 mins).

TIPPERARY: J Dolan; J Harney, S Grogan, J Ryan; R Quigley (0-1), P Devlin, E McBride; C Kennedy (0-1), J Flannery; D Mulcahy, S Ryan (0-2, frees), C Boland; M Stokes (0-1), R Lambe (0-3), D Tynan.

Subs: D Bolger for Boland (h/t), C O'Sullivan for McBride (39 mins), A McGrath (1-0) for Tynan (39 mins), D O'Leary for Devlin (47 mins), C McKenna for Ryan (49 mins), L Cleary for Harney (51 mins).

Referee: R Moloney (Limerick).

Kerry 2-16 Clare 1-6

Despite matching their opponents for six points in the second period, Clare simply could not live with the scoring prowess of the reigning All-Ireland minor champions in the first period as the hosts had a comfortable 13-point victory at Austin Stack Park.

Donal O’Sullivan led the line for the victors with an impressive total of 1-6 as team captain David Clifford scored the first goal of the game after only five minutes. O’Sullivan followed up with their second two minutes later; Clare’s only first-half score was a goal by Gearóid Cahill in the 16th minute as the Kingdom led by 2-10 to 1-0 at half-time.

There was an air of inevitably about the second period but Gavin Cooney finally raised a white flag for the Banner County in the 44th minute as the hosts laboured to 10 poor second-half wides.

Chris O’Donoghue, Ryan O’Neill and Eddie Horan impressed in the second period for Kerry despite Horan receiving a second yellow card towards the end.

Kerry’s win now puts them on a collision course with Cork next month in the Munster semi-final at Páirc Uí Rinn .

KERRY: D Uosis; R O'Neill, C O'Donoghue, S O'Leary; M Potts, E Horan (0-1), P Warren; B Mahony (0-1), D O'Connor; A Donoghue, B Friel (0-1), F Clifford (0-1); Donnachadh O'Sullivan (0-1), D Clifford (1-4, one 45), Donal O'Sullivan (1-6, four frees).

Subs: M Slattery for Friel (H/T), N Donohoe (0-1) for Warren (44 mins), C O'Reilly for O'Leary (46 mins), J Griffin for F Clifford (49 mins), C Firtear for Donnachadh O'Sullivan (52 mins) and M O'Leary for Potts (56 mins).

CLARE: M Lillis; J Sheedy, J O'Sullivan, J Miniter; F Donnellan, K White, C McNelis; D Griffin, P Kelly; S Rouine, C O'Donoghue, D Ryan (0-1); G Cooney (0-3, one free), D Coughlan (0-2, one free), G Cahill (1-0).

Subs: R Considine for O'Donoghue (38 mins), A McNamara for Cahill (44 mins), C McMahon for Kelly (49 mins), A O'Brien for White (54 mins), R O'Doherty for Griffin (58 mins) and R Phelan for Ryan (60 +2 mins)

Referee: D Murnane (Cork).

Limerick 1-10 Waterford 0-9

A late goal by substitute Calvin Moran spared Limerick blushes at the Gaelic Grounds as they survived a brave bid by Waterford to win their first game in this championship since 2014.

Sean Whelan-Barrett opened the scoring with a pointed free but Limerick picked off four in a row.

By half-time Limerick led 0-7 to 0-2 and they had the opening point of the second half.

Waterford had been reduced to 14 after 25 minutes for a straight red card but they battled bravely in the second half and on three occasions only three points separated them. And it was down to a single point until super sub Moran’s late strike.

LIMERICK: C Walsh; M Quinlan, E Burke, C Ferris; P Power, J Fitzgerald, J Cummins; K Maloney (0-1), L Kennedy; B Coleman, N Callinan (0-3), R O'Brien (0-2, both frees); D Burke, S Ryan (0-2), Colm Moran.

Subs: N McAuliffe (0-2, one free) for Colm Moran (inj, 4 mins), P Collins for McAuliffe (35 mins), Calvin Moran (1-0) for Ryan (40 mins), A Costelloe for Coleman (54 mins).

WATERFORD: A Beresford; M Horgan, S Ahern, D Cullinane; S Murphy, M Towmey (0-1, free), C Kilgannon; M Devine, C Cullinane; B Power, D Booth, S Whelan-Barrett (0-3, all frees); S Curry, D O'Keeffe (0-1), T Barron (0-3, two frees).

Subs: B Lynch (0-1) for Booth (38 mins), D Montgomery for Curry (46 mins), J Walshe for O'Keeffe.

Referee: D Grogan (Tipperary).