Donal Shirley's stunning goal propels DCU past UCC and into Fitzgibbon Cup final
SHIRLEY NOT: DCU’s Donal Shirley celebrates scoring a goal. Pic Credit: ©INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan.
A wonder goal from Offaly's Donal Shirley helped propel DCU past favourites UCC in Carlow and to within an hour of a maiden Fitzgibbon Cup title.
Finalists back in 2018, DCU fought tooth and nail to make it to another decider and were mightily grateful to midfielder Shirley for his game-hinging goal in the 45th minute.
The scores were tied when DCU forged a move straight through the centre of UCC's defence, ending it with Shirley blasting off his left side to the net.
Having trailed 40-times champions UCC at half-time, the Shirley goal put DCU into a lead they would only embellish by full-time as they finished strongly.
Shirley hit 1-2 overall at the SETU Carlow GAA grounds for DCU while Dublin's Joe Flanagan helped himself to five important points, all from play.
Four of Flanagan's points came in the second-half as DCU, whose footballers also made it through to the Sigerson Cup final, turned the screw on the 2020 champions.
Free-taker Denis Walsh nailed six ponts from placed balls too while the counties of Kildare, Wexford and Kilkenny were also represented on a breakthrough evening of sorts for DCU.
UCC will rue the nine second-half wides they blasted, and 15 overall, as they surprisingly slipped up at the penultimate hurdle.
It was mostly Cork men that buttressed the UCC team but Waterford's Michael Mullaney drilled a cracking point late in the first-half.
UCC looked to be in a good position at that stage with Fionn Coleman's goal midway the half giving them real impetus after a slow start that saw them fall three behind, 0-3 to 0-6.
Ethan Twomey sniped a couple of eye-catching scores for UCC who hit the interval with a 1-10 to 0-12 lead.
UCC were fortunate in first-half stoppage time when Sean Gallagher, who featured for Dublin in 2024 like Flanagan, had a goal opportunity blocked out for a '65.
And UCC did their best to capitalise after the restart with three points, including two beauties from William Buckley, to DCU's two in the opening 10 minutes or so.
But that's when the wides started to mount up for UCC and St Finbarr's man Twomey cut a frustrated figure on several occasions.
DCU, meanwhile, sensed opportunity knocking and drilled points from Walsh and Flanagan before Shirley cut through the UCC defence and struck his sidewinder to the net.
Suddenly, DCU had a 1-16 to 1-13 lead and while UCC got it back to a two-point game on a couple of occasions in the final quarter, the side in blue always looked more likely to prevail.
They duly did so with four points in a row between the 51st and 57th minutes setting the seal on victory and hinting that a non-Munster winner of the competition for the first time since 2010 could be on the horizon.
D Walsh 0-6 (5 frees, 1 65); D Shirley 1-2; J Flanagan 0-5; C Boran 0-2; P Langton, S Gallagher, S Bourke, B Reid, D Carley 0-1 each.
F Coleman 1-1; D Flynn 0-4 (2 frees); E Twomey, W Buckley 0-3 each; D Stakelum, M Mullaney, B Keating, P McGarry, L Elliott 0-1 each.
C Byrne (Wexford); I Bolger (Kilkenny), P Langton (Kilkenny), P Lennon (Kilkenny); S Bourke (Offaly), P Moylan (Kilkenny), B Reid (Kilkenny); D Shirley (Offaly), C Spain (Offaly); S Gallagher (Dublin), D Walsh (Kilkenny), D Carley (Wexford); C Boran (Kildare), J Flanagan (Dublin), P Clarke (Westmeath).
C Dunne (Laois) for Walsh (55); C Kehoe (Carlow) for Gallagher (55); J Carroll (Kilkenny) for Clarke (62).
P O'Sullivan; T Wilk, S Daly, C Doolan; M Mullaney (Waterford), E Downey, J Dwyer; B Keating, D Stakelum (Tipperary); E Twomey, E Stokes (Limerick), D Flynn; W Buckley, F Coleman, C McCarthy.
P McGarry (Tipperary) for Wilk (h/t); D Hogan for Keating (43); L Elliott for Dwyer (45); E O'Leary for Stakelum (53).
J Owens (Wexford).
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