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Top man: Jason Forde of Tipperary. INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Winning

Star-studded UL ease to victory over Mary Immaculate College

Tipperary’s Jason Forde hit 10 frees as his side secured a 13-point win.

Fitzgibbon Cup group B

Mary Immaculate College (Limerick) 0-16

University of Limerick 2-23

UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK won this afternoon’s city derby against Mary Immaculate College to progress to the quarter-finals of the Irish Daily Mail Fitzgibbon Cup.

Tipperary’s Jason Forde hit ten frees for the winners as they scored a comfortable 13-point victory on Mary I soil.

Star-studded UL have now guaranteed themselves a home quarter-final against the runners up of Group C, a section containing Cork IT, GMIT and Limerick IT.

But Mary I, last year’s beaten finalists, must beat UCD next week to reach the knockout stages.

Mary I badly missed the influence of injured Limerick star Declan Hannon and they were overreliant on Cork’s Jamie Wall for scores.

The Kilbrittain man hit 0-12, including ten points from placed balls, as Clare All Star Colm Galvin and Limerick’s David Reidy weighed in with a brace of points each.

But four-time Fitzgibbon winners UL, who beat UCD comfortably in their opening match last week, were a class apart as nine of their players got on the scoresheet.

Their margin of victory could have been much greater too but for a string of magnificent saves by Mary I’s Westmeath goalkeeper Niall Kelly.

At half-time, UL were ahead by 1-13 to 0-5 and it was Clare ace Podge Collins who netted a fortuitous 14th minute goal.

It was Kelly’s only error all day as he allowed a speculative long-range effort from Collins to trickle over the line.

That goal handed UL a 1-7 to 0-2 advantage and they kicked on from there until half-time.

Mary I were far more competitive as they registered eleven second half points, including seven of the opening eight scores on offer after the break.

But UL’s second goal, scored by Tipperary’s Tommy Heffernan, extinguished any hopes of a Mary I revival, on a pleasant afternoon for hurling.

UL captain Padraic Walsh, brother of Kilkenny star Tommy, turned up the heat towards the finish, clipping over three of his four points from play to cap an industrious display.

Scorers for Mary I: Jamie Wall 0-12 (9f, 1 65), Colm Galvin & David Reidy 0-2 each.

Scorers for UL: Jason Forde 0-10f, Podge Collins & Tommy Heffernan 1-1 each, Padraic Walsh 0-4, Conor Ryan 0-2 (1 65), Cathal Malone 0-2, Bill Maher, Brian Stapleton & Johnny Glynn 0-1 each.

MARY I: Niall Kelly (Westmeath); Niall Wynne (Offaly), Andrew Ryan (Toomevara), Eanna Hogan (Tipperary); Colm Barry (Cork), Seamus Kennedy (Tipperary), Liam Corry (Clare); Colm Galvin (Clare), Thomas McGrath (Tipperary); David Reidy (Limerick), Jody Hannon (Limerick), Lar Considine (Limerick); Eoin Hogan (Tipperary), Jamie Wall (Cork), Dinny Ferncombe (Tipperary).

Subs: Brian McCarthy (Waterford) for Eoin Hogan (h.t.), Cian Treacy (Tipperary) for Ferncombe (36), Niall Cleary (Offaly) for Barry (52), PJ Keane (Kerry) for McGrath (52).

UL: Shane Hassett (Tipperary); Paul Flanagan (Clare), Jack Sheehan (Cork), Jack Browne (Clare); Thomas Ryan (Limerick), Dan Morrissey (Limerick), Conor Ryan (Clare); Bill Maher (Tipperary), Padraic Walsh (Kilkenny); Cathal Malone (Clare), Podge Collins (Clare), Brian Stapleton (Tipperary); Jason Forde (Tipperary), Johnny Glynn (Galway), Tommy Heffernan (Tipperary).

Subs: Seadna Morey (Clare) for Stapleton (45), Tommy O’Brien (Limerick) for Maher (54), Mark Carmody (Limerick) for Browne (55), Mikey Ryan (Limerick) for Collins (59), Peter Geraghty (Offaly) for Heffernan (60).

Referee: Alan Kelly (Galway).

Here’s this week’s fixtures in the AIB football and hurling club championships>

‘It’s very hard to get everyone on the same hymn sheet’: The battle to develop a county’s young stars>

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