Sem claim 24th Corn Uí Mhuirí title

St Brendan’s College retained their Corn Uí Mhuirí title at Mallow on Saturday last as they defeated St Francis College, Rochestown 1-12 to 1-4. They can now look forward to an All-Ireland semi-final against Summerhill College of Sligo on February 25.

Last year the Sem got to the final of the Hogan Cup but were well beaten by the powerful Naas College. The Kildare school are on target to regain their All-Ireland title; they will face Omagh CBS of Tyrone in the other semi-final.

Banter

Playing conditions were perfect for the Munster final at the well-laid-out Mallow complex and the pre-match friendly banter between the rival college supporters set the scene for what I hoped would be a classic. It wasn’t really, but that won’t bother the Sem. They were superior throughout. Manager Kieran Herlihy and his team will be satisfied to have retained the Munster title, but will be cognisant of the fact that Roco were never going to win this game.

Brendan’s had to go without Charlie Keating, one of their best players. Hopefully he will be fit to play in the next match.

The Cork college suffered greater losses before the game as injured stars Harry Quilligan, Micheál O’Mahony, Kevin Lyons and Bryan Hayes all missed out. This put them on the back foot. To compound their problems, midfielder Barry Kelliher only lasted 10 minutes before going off. With such body blows, Roco had little chance of success.

The quality of forward play by both sides was very poor in the opening period. Even with the wind assistance in that period, Roco were so wasteful. So, too, were the Sem forwards, but their defence was superb throughout. It wasn’t too surprising that they also contributed to the scoring. One of the best scores of the game was Jamie Moynihan’s superb, accurate strike with the ciotóg for a darling point. Shades of his famous father, Séamus.

Contest

The scoring was so poor in that first half: the Sem led by 0-5 to 0-3. Rochestown were so poor that they failed to score again until the 53rd minute when Seán Coakley followed through and netted following a save by Shay O’Meara. At long last, spectators had a real contest to savour. Brendan’s reacted quickly and positively for their second brilliant score. John Kelleher, their powerful midfielder, won possession i Iár na páirce and cut through the centre, crashing a mighty shot to the back of the net. A goal that should be admired. No wonder he got the Man of the Match award.

That inspired St Brendan’s to up the pace and win comfortably with an eight-point cushion. The defence is excellent from a very reliable keeper in O’Meara and right through. Seán Fitzgerald caught the eye for his tenacity. Luke Crowley was the winner of all primary ball at 14. Strong and sure winning possession, he was unlucky to be called back by the referee when he had the ball in the Roco net in the second half.

Alex Hennigan showed up well, scoring three points, as did Timmy Moynihan (0-2). The Sem had five clear goal chances. They only scored one and an Aodh O’Neill penalty effort went wide. They will need to be less wasteful to progress further.

It was still a fine win for St Brendan’s, retaining their title, and they have plenty to improve on in their bid for the Hogan Cup.

In the 1968 O’Donoghue Cup final, the ageing Tom (then 31) didn’t move far from the front of the square, but he used that definitive and devastating short step and swerve to hit two goals. He assisted the other two goals in the 4-3 to 0-11 win over Spa. Goals win matches; Tom Long won the 1968 final.

He was also devastating with East Kerry, winning Kerry SFC titles with another prolific goalscorer Johnny Culloty at corner forward.

Tom was also very influential in getting the Fossa club going. Laoch go smior ab ea Tom Long le buanna faoi leith leis an gcaid in a lámha móra. Comhbhrón ó chroí le Bríd agus a muintir uile.

NATIONAL LEAGUE: DIV

Mayo v Kerry

Saturday at 7.30pm

MacHale Park | Live on TG4

1

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor is facing a selection headache ahead of Kerry’s important fixture against Division 1 rivals Mayo on Saturday.

The Kingdom travel to Castlebar in search of two crucial points and with a number of regular starters now returning from rest periods, O’Connor must decide how and when he will fit them all in.

Starting in goal, All-Star keeper Shane Ryan returned to the bench for the Monaghan game two weekends ago. The Rathmore all-rounder was given a couple of weeks off following his club’s All-Ireland triumph in the middle of January but he is now back in contention to start. Shane Murphy deputised for Ryan in the opening two rounds of the league and the Crokes man acquitted himself very well against Monaghan. Ryan is still O’Connor’s first choice, however, so he may slot back in on Saturday.

Widespread changes are unlikely at the back with the All-Ireland-winning full back line of Graham O’Sullivan, Jason Foley and Tom O’Sullivan expected to retain their spots. Pa Warren filled in at half back last time out alongside the dependable Tadhg Morley and rejuvenated Paul Murphy. Mike Breen, who missed the last match with a minor hamstring injury, is another option assuming he is available.