Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup round 2A

Queen’s University, Belfast 2-14 University College, Cork 1-19

THE uneasy sense of deja vu was strong with this one.

Three years ago, on the very same pitch in Abbottstown, UCC and Queens finished level and UCC won the game on penalties. The Cork side went on to win the competition outright that season, their last of 24 titles.

It looked like it might be another long night at the GAA’s National Games Development Centre this time with the scores tied closing in on the hour.

Conaill Higgins then sniped a point for Queens to leave Feargal Logan’s side one up and dreaming of revenge for 2023, as well as a quarter-final spot.

But a terrific Ruairi Murphy score from distance, earning him an orange flag and two points, swung the game back in UCC’s favour.

Then, in stoppage time, a free won by UCC was brought up to within tap over range by referee Andrew Smith for dissent and Cormac Dillon did the needful, securing a most dramatic two-point win.

A game like this can only stand to UCC who are through to the quarter-finals having previously beaten ATU Sligo. Not that that will be of any interest or consolation to Logan’s crew.

Queens fancied back-to-back wins at the Blanchardstown venue themselves having surprised University of Galway in Round 1 there but were reeled in at the death this time.

It was a finish worthy of deciding a cracking contest with UCC hitting the interval with a 1-10 to 1-5 lead.

Michael McSweeney fired 0-5 of that tally for UCC in the first half hour, the midfielder swinging over two two-pointers and a single.

The UCC goal came from Santry and amounted to a gift as he capitalised on the Queens University goalkeeper taking a wander out of goals and kicked to an empty net.

That three-pointer cancelled out an earlier Queens goal by Ryan McQuillan, the Antrim man palming home after good work by Donal Scullion in the sixth minute.

Luke Diamond was on the mark too with a tidy point though it wasn’t until the second-half that the Belfast side really got going.

Noah Grimes, a star of last year’s All-Ireland U-20 final success for Tyrone, struck 1-2 in the half, and 1-4 overall, while current Tyrone senior Ronan Cassidy weighed in with three points in a row in the closing minutes.

From trailing by five at the three quarter point, suddenly Queens were right back in it and had momentum on their side again.

Queens led after the Grimes goal and again after the Higgins score, 2-14 to 1-19.

But that’s when UCC moved up a gear, finding the scores to propel themselves through to the competition’s last eight. Firstly, Kerry senior Murphy knocked over that terrific two-pointer to leave UCC a point up and then Dillon made it a two-point game.

Queen’s A Lee (Dublin); J Clarke (Tyrone), J Finnegan (Antrim), R Forbes (Derry); C Hynds (Antrim), C O’Neill (Tyrone), D Scullion (Down); D Higgins (Derry), A Tohill (Derry); C Higgins (Derry) 0-1, R Cassidy (Tyrone) 0-5 (0-1f), L Diamond (Derry) 0-3; N Grimes (Tyrone) 1-4, M Burnett (Armagh), R McQuillan (Antrim) 1-1 (0-1f)

Subs L McManus (Monaghan) for Burnett (45); M Ennis (Meath) for McQuillan (50); J Corrigan (Tyrone) for Hynds (52); R Callaghan (Donegal) for D Higgins (60)

UCC (Cork unless stated A Murphy (Kerry); D Peet, J O’Driscoll, C Gammell; L Evans, C Molloy, C Kenneally; M McSweeney 0-5 (1tpf, 1tp), R Murphy (Kerry) 0-2 (tp); T Cunningham 0-1, E Daly (Kerry) 0-1, J Horgan (Kerry) 0-2; O Corcoran 0-2, C Daly 0-3 (0-1f), C Santry 1-1

Subs C Dillon (Kerry) 0-2 (0-1f) for E Daly (46); D O’Connor (Kerry) for Gammell (48); D Desmond for C Daly (52); H Aherne for Evans (56)

Referee A Smith (Meath)