Mary Immaculate set up Fitzgibbon final with IT Carlow

Mary Immaculate, Limerick 0-19 Limerick IT 0-14

Jamie Wall’s Mary Immaculate took a step closer to back-to-back Fitzgibbon Cups as Aaron Gillane fired them past Limerick rivals LIT in Dangan.

In a tight affair played in strong wind and rain, the defending champions finally pulled clear thanks to a powerful start to the second-half with Gillane and Clare’s Colm Galvin proving dangerous.

A point down midway through the opening half, Mary Immaculate managed to lead 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time – despite seeing Gillane’s penalty expertly saved by Eibhear Quilligan a minute from the break.

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Crucially though, Gillane went out the field and converted the 65 that resulted, and after the restart he was in dominant form for his side and ended with a 12-point tally.

LIT were the side that started the brighter though, and they lead early on thanks to Killeen’s second minute free.

A super sideline cut from Darragh O’Donovan soon levelled matters, but from there it was all about Gillane’s free taking. He struck three in quick succession to push his side 0-4 to 0-1 ahead by the fifth minute and after David Dempsey and Paul Killeen responded for LIT, Gillane made it 0-5 to 0-3 with his fourth soon after.

Killeen was also an impressive free taker for the eventual losers, and he tapped over three in a row between the 11th and 18th minutes to give his side the advantage once more.

Colm Galvin levelled matters again with a good point on the run, and Mary I upped their intensity before the break as Gillane added another couple of points to give them a 0-8 to 0-7 lead.

Gillane was denied a goal from a penalty after a super save from Eibhear Quinn just before the break, but Galvin ensured Mary I’s dominance continued after the restart with his second score of the game.

Kileen responded with a point for LIT, who were determined to hang on to their coattails, but Mary I took a huge step towards victory with a powerful four minutes where they hit four of the next five points – three of which came from Gillane for a 0-14 to 0-9 lead.

From there to the finish it was a case of Mary I taking their scoring chances, and Gillane was unflappable under pressure. And when he drilled over a huge free from his own 65 he gave his side a seven-point cushion with five minutes remaining.

Peter Duggan weighed in with two frees late on and Sean Ryan saw his shot diverted over the bar by Ronan Maher, but that was it for LIT as Mary I eased their way into the final.

Mary Immaculate College: C Barrett; D Sweeney, R English, E Quirke; C Twomey, R Maher (0-1), A Flynn; C Galvin (0-3), S Cahill (0-1); D O'Donovan (0-1, 1'sl), M O'Neill (0-1), A Gillane (0-12, 10f, 1'65); L Meade, C Lynch T Gallagher.

Subs: T Monaghan for Gallagher (39 mins), C Stapleton for English (44 mins).

Limerick IT: E Quilligan; O O'Brien, K Bennett, C Nolan; W Ryan, B O'Connell, D Byrnes; D Reidy, W Connors (0-2); P Killeen (0-7, 7f), P Duggan (0-2, 2f), S Bennett; J Shanahan, J McCarthy (0-1, 1f), D Dempsey (0-1). Subs: S Ryan (0-1) for Bennett (41 mins), A La Touche Cosgrave for Connors (53 mins), M O'Malley for McCarthy (53 mins), S Burke for O'Neill (54 mins).

Referee: Paud O'Dwyer (Carlow).