THE Fitzgibbon Cup final will be an all-Limerick affair as Mary Immaculate College will take on UL as the sides came through their respective semi-finals against SETU Waterford and University of Galway.
MIC overcame SETU Waterford in the first of the two semi-finals, with the Limerick based college leading for the majority of the game, but two second half goals brought SETU Waterford back into contention.
MIC hit two goals as well, either side of the half time whistle and built up a ten-point lead by the break. The sides were tied 0-2 apiece after ten minutes, but a successive haul of 1-7 saw MIC breeze ahead, with Shane Meehan grabbing the goal.
The two-time winners held a 1-9 to 0-2 advantage at the halfway point and while SETU Waterford won the second half, the margin was too large to match. They raised their first green flag on the 50th minute mark however, through full forward Sean Walsh.
Diarmuid Cahill notched a second goal for the eventual winners before Billy Nolan slotted home a major with a superb free with the last play of the game for SETU Waterford, but MIC did enough to qualify for the decider with a 2-18 to 2-12 win.
In a repeat of the previous two finals, reigning champions UL overcame University of Galway, as their aim for three in a row continued. They have Offaly wing back Killian Sampson to thank as his late score secured a one-point win.
Galway held a slender two-point lead at the turnaround, 0-10 to 0-8, but a goal from Clare attacker Mark Rogers pushed the UL into the lead early in the second half.
But Galway battled back bravely and a late score from Liam Collins looked to have secured a draw. Limerick weren’t to be denied though, and Sampson swiped the ball over from long range to seal the deal, 1-18 to 0-20.