Munster Minor Football Semi-Finals
Kerry 2-19 Tipperary 2-5
Cork 1-13 Clare 0-8
Leinster minor football semi-finals
Longford 0-11 Louth 0-10
Kildare 1-12 Dublin 2-10
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LONGFORD HAVE REACHED their first Leinster minor football final since 2015 on a night when Kerry and Cork booked their place in the Munster decider.
Longford, who last won the minor provincial crown in 2010, produced a late rally to edge out Louth and progress to the final in Tullamore on 20 May.
Louth had the better start as they built up a 0-5 0-1 lead inside the opening 15 minutes, but Longford cut the gap to two before half-time following a brace of points from James Hagan.
Cian O’Donnell left just one between them on the resumption before Conor Clinton and Luke Keenan pushed Louth into a three-point advantage. Longford responded again and after Hagan scored the equaliser on the hour mark, O’Donnell gave Longford the lead for the first time with an injury-time free, which in turn was the winning of the game.
Dublin await in the final after a dramatic victory over Kildare where they too required a late point to advance. Hugh O’Neill slotted the decisive score to ensure a rematch with Longford after previously losing out to the midlands side in the second round.
Finn Costello and Shane Devane also scored crucial goals for Dublin this evening, while Ronan Kelly netted for Kildare.
In Munster, defending champions Kerry overcame a Charlie Walsh goal for Tipperary from to execute a commanding win and book their place in the Munster final. The goal arrived just before half-time and a point from Walsh levelled the tie at the start of the second half.
A Gearóid White free edged Kerry back in front and they were four points up after a goal from Jack Joy. The Kingdom then rattled off 1-8 without reply with Éanna Murphy providing the second goal.
Walsh grabbed his second goal for Tipperary in the 55th minute but it wasn’t enough to curb Kerry’s stretch to a comfortable win.
Cork had eight points to spare at the end of their semi-final win over Clare. They were 1-7 to 0-1 ahead by half-time, their goal coming from Danny Miskella while Clare’s point was by Sean Fennell. The Banner were reduced to 14 men after 21 minutes when Aidan Weaver was sent off with a straight red card.
Cork continued their march to victory in the second half with Dylan O’Neill among the scorers. They will now prepare for a home Munster final at Páirc Uí Rinn against Kerry next Monday.
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