Dingle make light work of understrength Mungret to reach Munster final
Dingle will face the winners of St Finbarr's and Éire Óg Ennis in the Munster final. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Without ever having to move through the gears, Dingle propelled themselves into a second Munster club SFC final in three seasons following a facile victory over an understrength Mungret St Paul’s in this semi-final at a very windy Austin Stack Park.
Having lifted the Limerick county title for the very first time two weeks ago, the underdogs were rocked by the absence of five starters from that side – including inter-county duo Darragh O’Hagan and Jason Hassett. As a result, they were always up against it.
Then, finding themselves playing against the elements from the throw-in was a further blow to their prospects of making a competitive fight of it. When Conor Geaney buried Dingle’s opening goal as early as the second minute, the order of the afternoon was set.
The Kingdom champions were rusty enough themselves, with only a West Kerry semi-final breaking up the month’s gap since their victory over Austin Stacks in the Kerry decider. However, gaining control on the scoreboard from the outset, they were never troubled.
Niall Geaney, lining out further forward than usual, took the most kudos for Dingle, hammering over four points (including an orange flag) in the first eight minutes. His overall display stood out in a team performance which improved on the resumption.
Indeed, Padraig Corcoran and his management team would not have been happy with a 12-minute scoreless spell with the wind at their backs, broken by Matthew Flaherty’s 20th minute point. By half-time, the gap was out to eleven (1-8 to 0-0) as Mungret toiled to no avail.
At the back, the Limerick champions had strong outings from Oisín Moss, Tom Lloyd, Ciarán Uwatse and youngster Conor Ó Longaigh, but they were toothless in attack, and seeing Shane Barry hobble off at the interval didn’t help their attacking penetration.
Finally breaking their scoring duck with a Lloyd placed ball in the 47th minute (they would only add another free through substitute Luke Walsh), their list of absentees left Mungret out of their depth as Dingle improved in the second half.
An excellent 41st minute move involving Dylan and Niall Geaney concluded in the former supplying the assist for Conor Geaney to tap home his second goal. With Mark O’Connor dominant around the middle, and Tom O’Sullivan probing from deep, the winners ploughed on.
Captain Paul Geaney also looked to have fully recovered from the hamstring injury which curtailed his mobility in the Kerry decider, and he also fired over three points from play, as Dingle performed with more cohesion, as a unit, in the second half.
In the last quarter, the winners were able to utilise their bench to good effect, with one of the replacements, Cathal Bambury, kicking their final point in the 56th minute. The Munster final now awaits in a fortnight, as they aim to erase the painful shoot-out memories of 2023.
C Geaney 2-2, N Geaney 0-4 (1tp), P Geaney 0-3, T O’Sullivan 0-2, D Geaney 0-2 (0-1f), M Flaherty, C Bambury 0-1 each.
T Lloyd 0-1(f), L Walsh 0-1(f).
G Curran; Brian O’Connor, T Leo O’Sullivan, T O’Sullivan; A O’Connor, C Flannery, P O’Connor; M O’Connor, Billy O’Connor; T de Brún, P Geaney, D Geaney; C Geaney, M Flaherty, N Geaney.
C Bambury for Flaherty (42), N Ryan for Billy O’Connor (48), M Geaney for P Geaney (52), R McCarthy for C Geaney (52), D O’Sullivan for M O’Connor (56).
R McElligott; C Ó Longaigh, R Hegarty, C Uwatse; L Harrington, O Moss, T Lloyd; J Somers, J McCarthy; J Killian, D O’Sullivan, K Ryan; S Barry, J Hutton, Darragh Bridgeman.
L Walsh for Barry, inj (ht), C Rochford for Harrington (48), David Bridgeman for Killian (48), C Mangan for Hutton (52), E B Ryan for Somers (58).
E Morrissey (Waterford).
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