VIDEO: UCC capture Sigerson Cup in dramatic style

UCC 0-10 UUJ 0-9

UCC enjoyed a dramatic win over UUJ to claim their 21st Sigerson Cup title in a thrilling final at The Dub today.

Centre back Conor Dorman emerged as the hero, pushing forward to curl over the winning point just 30 seconds short of the hooter.

Billy Morgan’s superb organised side possessed a work ethic and a level of intensity that a star-studded northern side simply could not match.

The Cork students defied the odds with two unexpected wins on finals weekend at the Belfast venue, having edged out a fancied Maynooth side with just 13 players a day earlier.

They were seven points ahead midway through the second half, and looked set to carve out a deserved victory, but a handful of Ronan O’Neill points, including a 29th minute equaliser, threw the game wide open.

But Conor Cox had laid a solid foundation with a six points tally, and it was Bishopstown’s Dorman who sealed the win in a late frenzy.

Cork started strongly, and after Cox had opened the scoring, Luke Connolly fired a shot into the side netting

UUJ, playing with wind advantage, enjoyed a spell of pressure, with Ronan O’Neill an effective playmaker, but they hit a rash of wides, before Cork doubled their lead on the breakaway, Cox converting a free.

Kieran Hughes, who could do no wrong in the semi-final win over UCD 24 hours earlier, was guilty of some bad misses.

Cork were clinical on the break, and after Cox had landed a delightful free, wing back Tom Clancy powered forward to make it 0-4 to 0-0 at the end of the opening quarter.

Mattie Donnelly hit the Jordanstown college’s opening score after 21 minutes, and Hughes narrowed the gap from a free.

But the intensity and workrate that UCC brought to the contest soon had them back on the attack, and two more Cox efforts restored the four points cushion.

UUJ lost corner back Dean McNally to a black card, and needed an excellent save from Rory Beggan, who finger-tipped skipper Paul Geaney’s angled shot onto the crossbar.

UCC led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the interval, and profited from some wayward shooting by UUJ, who finished with 16 wides.

Cox tapped over another free, and a stylish effort from Luke Connolly was followed by another raid which saw full forward Michael Quinilvan cut in from the left to split the posts for a 0-9 to 0-2 lead.

But with the influential Mattie Donnelly raising his game in midfield, UUJ finally began to make inroads against a well organised Cork defence.

Having missed a succession of chances, they began to find the range, and hit seven points on the spin to throw the contest wide open.

Connor McAliskey’s stylish effort was followed by a Hughes free, before O’Neill nailed three scores, two of them from frees.

Goalkeeper Beggan stepped up to send a ’45 sailing between the posts, and the home crowd was getting behind the Jordanstown lads.

A minute from the end, O’Neill launched a wonderful score from long range to bring the sides level, and just as it looked certain that extra-time would be required to separate the sides, Dorman found the space, the nerve and the accurate finish to clinch it.

UCC: B Kelly, D Culhane, E O’Mahony, F McNamara, T Clancy (0-1), C Dorman (0-1), B Shanahan, D Nation, I Maguire, L Connolly (0-1), S Keane, B O’Driscoll, C Cox (0-6, 5f), M Quinlivan (0-1), P Geaney.

Subs: S Kiely for Nation (36), E Healy for Keane (46)

UUJ: R Beggan (0-1, ’45), D McNally, C McKaigue, B Tierney, L Keaney, C Walshe, K Clarke, M Donnelly (0-1), N McKeever, K Hughes (0-2, 2f), R O’Neill (0-4, 2f), D Savage, J Clarke, C O’Boyle, C McAliskey (0-1).

Subs: K McKaigue for McNally (BC, 26), P Devlin for Savage (43), R Donnelly for McAliskey (50)

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).