Kieran Bennett
Independent.ie HE GAA Fitzgibbon Cup Quarter-Final: LIT 0-16 WIT 0-8
by Daragh Small
Diarmaid Byrnes took control in the second-half as LIT defeated the 14 men of WIT in Moylish to advance to the Fitzgibbon Cup semi-finals.
The game was an even contest until just before the half-hour when Waterford star Austin Gleeson got a straight red card.
He clashed with LIT wing back Oisín O’Brien off the ball and after a consultation with his linesman and umpires referee Cathal McAllister sent him off.
WIT held off the immediate surge to trail 0-8 to 0-5 at half-time, but they were helpless against Davy Fitzgerald’s men after the break.
LIT have a 100 per cent record in the Fitzgibbon Cup this year, and Peter Duggan’s early point gave them the lead. They led by four after 22 minutes, but were just two ahead before Gleeson saw red.
It was the turning point in the match, with last year’s runners-up trailing by three at the break. And Limerick star Byrnes hit four frees in the second-half as LIT put the game beyond doubt.
This was LIT’s fourth win of the campaign after victories over Maynooth, UCD and UCC in Group A. And further efforts from David Reidy, Cathal Barrett and the impressive David Dempsey gave them a comfortable win.
Scorers for Limerick IT: P Duggan 0-5 (0-3f), D Byrnes 0-5 (0-5f), D Dempsey 0-3, C Barrett 0-1, D Reidy 0-1, M O’Malley 0-1.
**Scorers for Waterford IT: **J Hayes 0-2 (0-2f), J Dwyer 0-2 (0-1f), S McNulty 0-2, T Fox 0-1 (0-1f), O McGrath 0-1.
Limerick IT: E Quilligan (Clare); N O’Connor (Clare), K Bennett (Waterford), C Nolan (Clare); W Ryan (Tipperary), C Barrett (Tipperary), O O’Brien (Clare); D Byrnes (Limerick), D Reidy (Clare); P Killeen (Galway), P Duggan (Clare), D Dempsey (Limerick); J Shanahan (Clare), N Maher (Limerick), M O’Malley (Clare). Subs: W Connors for Nolan (30 mins), A Dempsey for Shanahan (31), S Gleeson (Clare) for Killeen (27), J Ryan (Tipperary) for Bennett (27), K Sweeney (Kilkenny) for Duggan (59).
Waterford IT: M Fanning (Wexford); W Hahessy (Waterford), G Teehan (Kilkenny), J Maher (Waterford); T Fox (Tipperary), S McNulty (Waterford), C Guiry (Waterford); J Langton (Kilkenny), J Dwyer (Tipperary); O McGrath (Kilkenny), A Gleeson (Waterford), J Hayes (Kilkenny); E Ryan (Offaly), Shane Ryan (Waterford), C O’Brien (Cork). Subs: M Lynch (Clare) for Ryan (32 mins), J Doyle (Wexford) for Guiry (43), J Henderson (Kilkenny) for O’Brien (49), J Lane (Cork) for Dwyer (56).
**Referee: **Cathal McAllister (Cork).
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