Quirke is class in the rain

TIPPERARY SFC SEMI-FINAL: Moyle Rovers 2-6 Arravale Rovers 0-5: ALL-IRELAND minor football winner Philip Quirke scored two second…

TIPPERARY SFC SEMI-FINAL: Moyle Rovers 2-6 Arravale Rovers 0-5:ALL-IRELAND minor football winner Philip Quirke scored two second-half goals to send Moyle Rovers through to the county senior football final.

The seven-time champions pulled clear in the second half to see off Arravale Rovers on a dreadful day in Holycross.

Incessant rain and driving winds saw the pitch transformed into a virtual mudbath before the finish but Quirke provided two finishes of genuine class.

The teams scored seven points between them in the first half, with Moyle Rovers holding a 0-4 to 0-3 interval lead, before Quirke took over with a fantastic strike just 12 seconds after the restart.

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From the throw-in, the impressive Peter Acheson gained possession before embarking on a run straight through the heart of the Arravale defence. He offloaded to Quirke, who buried a rising drive past Eric Higgins from 10 yards.

That goal handed Moyle Rovers the breathing space they had been craving and they had little difficulty maintaining their lead.

Quirke made the game safe in the 51st minute when he produced another top class finish, with Acheson again the provider.

MOYLE ROVERS: I Browne; D Conway, R Power, A Campbell; R Desmond, B Mulvihill, S Keating; M Dunne, N Fitzgerald; S Carey, L Boland, P Shanahan (0-3, frees); J Shanahan, P Acheson (0-1), P Quirke (2-2, 0-1 free). Subs: D Dwyer for Desmond (h-t), L Cronin for Boland (42 mins), J Lonergan for J Shanahan (52 mins), S Foley for Carey, D Lyne for Dunne (both 60 mins).

ARRAVALE ROVERS: E Higgins; R O'Connor, B Jones, J Hayes; S Leahy, D Leahy, P Ryan; S Spillane, D Kiely; R Kiely, A Lacey (0-1), M O'Dwyer; T Dalton (0-1, free), D Lowry (0-2, one free), B Lowry (0-1). Subs: S Quinn for Ryan (50 mins), S O'Meara for Lacey (53 mins), B Glasheen for Jones (57 mins), F O'Reilly for B Lowry (58 mins), N Sheehan for D Lowry (60 mins).