U-20: Cork ease past Limerick to reach decider, Kerry overcome Clare

Holders Cork are back in the Eirgrid Munster U-20 Munster football final after a commanding second-half performance saw them ease past Limerick on a 2-15 to 0-05 scoreline in Ballyagran.

The Rebels were slow out of the blocks with a routine Emmet Rigter free putting Limerick 0-02 to 0-01 ahead in the 12th minute, and they only led by two points at the break, 0-06 to 0-04, with Ryan O'Donovan (0-03), Conor Hanlon (0-02) and Darragh O’Mahony grabbing the Cork scores.

Hanlon opened the second-half scoring just 13 seconds after the restart as his effort just made it over the bar, and when the resulting kick-out was thrown up for being too short, Cork worked the hopped ball to Hugh Murphy who calmly slotted home their first major of the game.

Cork’s third-quarter blitz continued when O’Donovan slotted home a penalty in the 37th minute after Limerick half-back Cormac Woulfe was adjudged to have pulled the jersey of Hanlon as he took aim at goal.

That left Cork 2-08 to 0-04 ahead and the contest essentially over, and they outscored their opponents 0-07 to 0-01 from there to comfortably book a provincial final date.

They will meet Kerry in the final after the Kingdom overcame a gallant Clare outfit to eventually win 1-11 to 0-08.

It was all going to plan for Kerry when the impressive Dylan Geaney put them 0-04 to 0-02 ahead after 16 minutes, but Clare would kick five points without reply to get their support dreaming of a first Munster final appearance since 2002.

Their purple patch owed much to a real domination of Kerry kick-outs and scores from Thomas Meenaghan, Brendan Rouine, Sean McNamara and, at the start of the second half, Joe Rafferty had them 0-07 to 0-04 ahead and looking confident.

Kerry fought back though and two scores