The west awoke to spectacular effect in the Heineken Sigerson Cup in Galway yesterday. Hosts NUI Galway sprang the shock of the round with a highly-charged victory over competition favourites UU Jordanstown at the university grounds in Dangan.
Jordanstown can legitimately point to their controversially re-arranged previous-round match against Athlone IT which was played only on Wednesday and the burden on the McEntee twins who were playing their third match in five days, having lined out with Crossmaglen in last Sunday's All-Ireland club semi-final. NUIG tore into their opponents with furious abandon, and went four points up. Jordanstown drew level only for the home side to pull clear and lead 0-8 to 0-4 at halftime. Micheal O Collarain was the Galway star with Sigerson veteran Mayo's Maurice Sheridan scoring 0-5, four from frees.
The match tightened in the second half, as Jordanstown unwrapped Jimmy McGuinness, who was recuperating from a gashed leg. He had a major influence and kicked five points, including four frees.
Temperatures rose, and shortly into the half, after two melees, referee Pat McEnaney called the teams aside separately and warned them he would abandon the match if proceedings didn't calm down.
They did, although the match was on a knife-edge. Jordanstown cut the deficit but couldn't eliminate it.
NUIG now face UCD in Dangan today. Galway-Mayo IT did them a favour by dragging UCD all the way into extra-time and nearly beating them in the last of the quarter-finals at Moycullen.
This was an absorbing match. UCD looked to be on their way when Dublin's Colin Moran scored an early goal, but an impressive GMIT rallied and had the better of the second quarter to be level, 0-6 to 1-3, at half-time.
Kildare's Dermot Earley played well for GMIT at centrefield but it was new Galway senior Joe Bergin and John McCafferty in the attack who stole the show. After UCD looked to have nicked the verdict in the second minute of injury-time with a 45, McCafferty responded with a last-gasp free to take the match into extra-time.
Not even an early goal from David Hanniffy could deter GMIT and they pursued the match all the way until the end. With five minutes left, Mark Kelly kicked them level, but UCD finished out with points from Hanniffy and two from Wexford's John Hegarty.
Cork sides UCC and CIT required two periods of extra-time - of half an hour and 10 minutes - to decide the issue.
UCC, who have never lost this fixture, prevailed, but the Institute's Alan Cronin controversially had a 99th minute goal disallowed. Brian O'Sullivan had just denied CIT at the end of normal time by equalising at the death.
UCC, who lost to Crossmaglen last Sunday in the club championship, were nearly out on their feet at the end. They will face a considerably fresher Queen's, who won comfortably against Mary Immaculate from Limerick.
The Ulster college rested Diarmuid Marsden, who is still troubled by a chronic groin injury. His Armagh colleague Paddy McKeever kicked 1-3 as the outgunned Limerick team went down valiantly.
The revised semi-finals' schedule sees NUIG face UCD at Dangan at 1.30 and UCC take on Queen's in Salthill at 3.30.
