Dublin Institute of Technology reached a first Sigerson weekend yesterday with a tightly-won 2-6 to 0-11 victory over NUIG in Galway. A point on 57 minutes by Ollie Murphy secured the win which sets up a meeting with hosts and many peoples' favourites, Queen's Belfast.
St Mary's, Belfast, pulled off another shock yesterday when they knocked out University of Limerick 1-11 to 0-12 in a thrilling encounter at Balbriggan. The Belfast side looked to be beaten when they trailed by a point seconds before the final whistle but they were handed a lifeline when Sean O'Hare scored a fine point to send the game into extra time.
Four minutes into the additional time, the Northerners gained the winning initiative when Alan O'Neill linked up with Ciaran Crossan before the mid-fielder drove a sizzling shot past University of Limerick goalkeeper, Hughie Murphy.
Meanwhile in Cork, the local derby between UCC and Cork IT was decided by some impressive scoring from UCC in the closing 10 minutes. After Paddy Connolly had pushed the Institute a point ahead with a 49th-minute goal, Ian Twiss the winners' left corner forward rattled off three points and Padraig Griffin kicked one to leave UCC three-point winners.
Sligo IT, semi-finalists in 1997, made the decisive move against Mary Immaculate in Markievicz Park with two goals within three minutes of the start of the second half to win 3-8 to 0-10.
