Alan Flynn
INDEPENDENT.IE FITZGIBBON CUP QUARTER-FINAL: MARY IMMACULATE 2-25 GMIT 0-10
By Declan Rooney
Mary Immaculate eased their way past GMIT and into the Fitzgibbon Cup semi-finals as they overwhelmed their visitors with a powerful first-half display in Limerick on Tuesday afternoon.
GMIT trailed by 21 points at the interval and failed to score a single point before half-time, albeit they were playing against a strong wind for the first 30 minutes.
Declan Hannon landed 1-7 before the break when he was substituted along with Cian Lynch, Ronan Maher and Colm Galvin, while a goal 12 minutes from time from Limerick's David Reidy put the gloss on the scoreboard.
Hannon's goal came in the 17th minute which was finished well following some great build up play from Niall O'Meara and John Meagher in defence. That score made it 1-8 to 0-0, but the points flowed freely from there to the break as Hannon, O'Meara and Galvin impressed.
It was 1-18 to 0-0 at half-time, and to their credit GMIT were far better after the break as Mary Immaculate's multitude of changes and sloppy play allowed the Galway side back into it.
Davy Conroy was the standout man for GMIT with four points in the second-half, but a couple of great saves from James Barrett in the first-half saved his side further embarrassment.
A smart finish from Reidy in the 48th minute meant the game fizzled out, but Mary Immaculate will need 60-minute displays in a fortnight to reach the final.
Scorers for Mary Immaculate: D Hannon 1-7 (5f), D Reidy 1-2, S Linnane 0-4, M O'Neill 0-3 (2f), N O'Meara 0-3, S Cahill 0-2, C Galvin 0-2, C Lynch 0-1, S Kennedy 0-1
**Scorers for GMIT: **D Conroy 0-4, D Nevin 0-3 (2f), D Burke 0-1, C Gardiner 0-1, A Ward 0-1
MARY IMMACULATE COLLEGE: M O Conghaile (Galway); E Quirke (Clare),J Meagher (Tipperary), A Ryan (Tipperary); T Stapleton (Clare), A Flynn (Tipperary), M O'Neill (Clare); S Cahill (Tipperary), R Maher (Tipperary); C Galvin (Clare); C Lynch (Limerick), N O'Meara (Tipperary); D Reidy (Limerick), D Hannon (Limerick), S Linnane (Galway).** Subs: **C Twomey (Cork) for Galvin (h-t), S Kennedy (Tipperary) for R Maher (h-t), J Hannon (Limerick) for Lynch (h-t), C Barry (Cork) for Hannon (h-t), T Monaghan (Galway) for O'Meara (34).
**GMIT: **J Barrett (Galway); D Cronin (Galway), I Creaven (Galway), J Finnerty (Galway); L Cosgrave (Galway), P Hoban (Galway), S Collins (Galway); D Conroy (Clare); D Burke (Galway); J Mannion (Galway), J Mooney (Galway), B Touhey (Tipperary); D Mangan (Galway), D Nevin (Galway), C Gardiner (Galway). Subs: A Ward for Mannion (h-t), S Pierce for Cosgrave (40), Darragh Cooney for Mangan (47), Cathal Reilly for Collins (47).
**Referee: **Barry Kelly (Westmeath)
