UL 1-27 IT Carlow 2-23
A two point lead is the most dangerous lead in the GAA.
We said it on Saturday after a pair of blockbuster All-Ireland club finals and we’re saying it again now. Where does it end? When will it stop? Because it’s taking the biscuit at this stage.
Rory Higgins scored an absolutely breath-taking point and the IT Carlow crowd went wild when, with two minutes of extra-time left, he finally pushed them one point ahead in this thrilling Fitzgibbon Cup semi-final. Then the brilliant Wexford forward repeated the trick a minute later and UL’s jig looked up.
The IT Carlow crowd were planning for Saturday by this stage because this was Rory Higgins’ night. But then, in a freakish but ridiculously familiar plot-line, the whole thing turned upside down in a manner that would break your heart and race it in equal measure.
Referee John Keenan awarded UL a free that, frankly speaking, wasn’t a free in a month of Sundays but Michael Kiely will not care.
The Waterford man was a full 45 yards out from goal and he had about 20 men to beat but that did not stop him. He top-spinned the life out of it in a way the great Rafa Nadal would be proud of and with Cian Galvin making a nuisance of himself inside, it was only seconds later by the time the net was shaking.
The IT Carlow players dropped to their knees. Their home crowd were shook to the core. UL were dancing and they were already thinking about Saturday.
Beat the holy man!
Michael Kiely sends UL through to the Fitzgibbon Cup final with a miracle strike from 45 yardspic.twitter.com/396CkhW1LW
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) February 17, 2022
It was a heart-warming moment a few minutes later when, as the dust settled, Michael Kiely made his way around the pitch to console the inconsolables. Because no matter where you’re from, your heart went out to Eoin Cody and those IT Carlow boys. This was a rotten way to lose a game and they’ll need a long time to get over that one. But as we discovered on Saturday and as we’ll discover again soon, sport moves in cruel ways.
We haven’t even got around to mentioning Conor Flaherty’s belter from downtown or Marty Kavanagh’s moment of magic or the referee’s decision to blow the game up 50 seconds early in normal time.
But that’s for another day. After a show-stopping night of Fitzgibbon hurling, it’s time for a breather now.
