UCC 2-17 Mary Immaculate 2-12:Cork senior Conor Lehane shot 1-9 as UCC overcame Mary I in the final of the Fitzgibbon Cup at Pearse Stadium on Saturday having missed out on a medal last year as he was a fresher.
Both sides struggled to get high intensity into their play in the opening half with the previous day’s semi-finals clearly taking a toll.
Mary I got a boost before the game when Limerick star Declan Hannon, sent off after just nine minutes of their epic semi-final win over Waterford IT, was successful in an appeal and was able to line out at centre-back.
UCC, with Lehane again deadly with frees, led by 0-9 to 0-7 at the interval. Conor Cooney, got three points in that opening half but a goal from Lehane helped push the holders six points to the good after 40 minutes.
John Conlon responded with a goal from a 20 metre free for Mary I, which helped them reduce the margin to a point. But UCC pulled away again and they wrapped up their 41st crown when Séamus Harnedy pounced on a mistake to shoot their second goal into the top left corner from a tight angle seven minutes from time. Cooney blasted another 20-metre free to the roof of the net in the closing stages but UCC were out of sight .
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