Mungret St Paul's bow out of Munster senior football club championship at the hands of Dingle

MUNGRET ST PAUL'S were defeated by Dingle 2-15 to 0-2 in the Munster Senior Football Championship semi-final on Sunday afternoon in Austin Stack Park, Tralee. 

Mungret St Paul's won their first ever Limerick Senior Football Championship title defeating Newcastle West two weeks ago in the county final. Kevin O'Hagan's side were without Jason Hassett, Brendan Giltenane, Darragh O'Hagan, Diarmuid Hynes, Frank Corcoran and James Garvey on Sunday afternoon. 

1-8 without reply in the opening period saw Dingle take control of this contest early on and lead by eleven points at the interval. On two minutes, Dingle forced a turnover in the middle third and Kerry senior footballer Dylan Geaney played the ball inside to his brother Conor who cooly slotted the ball past Mungret St Paul's goalkeeper Ronan McElligott. Niall Geaney then followed that up with four points in-a-row which included a two pointer and two points from play as Dingle led 1-4 to 0-0 after eight minutes. 

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The rain and wind made conditions difficult for both teams, and scores were hard to come by during this spell. However, Matthew Flaherty and Paul Geaney managed to extend Dingle’s lead. The city side struggled to break down an impressive Dingle defence and tried to hold possession for long stretches, but they found it difficult to match the intensity and work rate the West Kerry side produced in the first half. 

Tom O'Sullivan and Conor Geaney finished off the scoring in the first half as Dingle led 1-8 to 0-0 at the interval. 

After the break, the Limerick side created two scoring chances from frees taken by captain John Hutton, but both efforts fell short. At the other end, Dylan and Conor Geaney combined to stretch Dingle’s advantage to thirteen points, Dylan then fisted the ball across to Conor who smashed the ball into the roof of the net, leaving their side firmly in control.

Tom O'Sullivan and Paul Geaney then continued to make their side's dominace count on the scoreboard. On 46 minutes, Mungret St Paul's finally registered their first score through a Tom Lloyd close range free but Paul Geaney, Dylan Geaney and Cathal Bambury shoved their side 2-15 to 0-1 clear with time almost up. 

Late on, Mungret St Paul's added another free from Luke Walsh but Dingle cruised to a 19-point victory over the Limerick champions. 

Dingle will now face St Finbarr's of Cork or Eire Og of Clare in Munster SFC final on Sunday Decmber 7. 

SCORERS: 

MUNGRET ST PAUL'S: Tom Llyod (0-1, 0-1 free), Luke Walsh (0-1, 0-1 free). 

DINGLE: Conor Geaney 2-2, Niall Geaney (0-4, 0-1 two pointer), Paul Geaney 0-3, Tom O'Sullivan 0-2, Dylan Geaney (0-2, 0-2, 0-1 free), Matthew Flaherty and Cathal Bambury 0-1 each

MUNGRET ST PAUL'S: Ronan McElligott; Conor O'Longaigh, Robert Hegarty, Ciaran Uwatse; Liam Harrington, Oisin Moss, Tom Lloyd; Jack Somers, Jack McCarthy; Killian Ryan, Darragh O'Sullivan, James Killian; Shane Barry, John Hutton, Darragh Bridgeman. 

SUBS: Luke Walsh for Barry (Half-Time), Colin Rochford for Harrington (47 minutes), David Bridgeman for Killian (47 minutes), Conor Mangan for Hutton (52 minutes), Darragh O'Sullivan for Mark O'Connor (55 minutes), Eoin B Ryan for O'Sullivan (57 minutes). 

DINGLE: Gavin Curran; Brian O’Connor, Tom Leo O’Sullivan; Tom O’Sullivan; Aidan O'Connor, Conor Flannery, Patrick O’Connor; Mark O'Connor, Billy O'Connor; Tadgh Browne, Paul Geaney, Dylan Geaney; Conor Geaney, Matthew Flaherty, Niall Geaney. 

SUBS: Cathal Bambury for Flaherty (42 minutes), Ned Ryan for Billy O'Connor (47 minutes), Mikey Geaney for Paul Geaney (52 minutes), Ciaran Scully for Conor Geaney (52 minutes). 

REFEREE: Eoin Morrissey (Waterford).