DCU 0-14 IT Carlow 0-7

A flawless display from David Garland helped DCU to a first Sigerson Cup since 2015 on their home turf this evening.

The Monaghan attacker had too much pace and too much guile for IT Carlow under the Glasnevin lights as he kicked four of the finest from open play and pointed DCU to a convincing win. Paddy Christie's side were well drilled and disciplined and in the end they just had too much for a battling IT Carlow bunch, who despite this disappointing ending, will look back on this journey with pride in time. DCU had the better of the first half, with Jordan Morrissey and Shane Carthy ruling the midfield. IT Carlow couldn't lay a glove on them, with the pair's strong running opening gaps and creating opportunities. The first of those came after five minutes, when the sprightly Evan Comerford deserted his goals and confidently stroked a 40 yard free over the black spot from the deck. That would become a theme of the evening, with the Ballymun man slicing long-rangers with the accuracy of Steven Cluxton's left. The underdogs, to their credit, defended with aggression and in numbers but you can only keep a tidal wave at bay for so long. DCU were incredibly fit and fast all over and with David Garland as sharp as a tack inside, their dominance eventually began to show on the scoreboard. He showed pace and poise to kick two hard earned points as the home side began to turn on the tap. Garland has recently departed the Monaghan panel, Banty will be rushing to the phone after this. Down the other end, Pat Critchley's attackers just struggled to find the fluency and  that had gotten them this far. A lack of familiarity with the ball was to blame for that, DCU enjoyed the lions' share of it. A sin-bin for captain and Brendan McCole gave the visitors hope, as did a brilliant individual score from Evan Lowry, but the three point half-time gap was justified. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1222633101542809600 IT Carlow needed something special. In fairness to them, they threatened a revival in the second with Offaly star Cian Farrell dead-eyed from placed balls, but DCU were just too good. Garland was in the zone and he kept on finding the sweet spot. Jordan Morrissey kept on running hard and despite a trojan effort from Niall Hughes in midfield for IT Carlow, DCU just had too much with Paddy Small and Michael Bannigan joining the party late on. It will have been a proud day for the Glasnevin college to win on their home turf. IT Carlow meanwhile, can hold their heads high after a spirited underdog run.

DCU

E Comerford (0-3f); C Morrison, B McCole, D Corcoran; K Flynn, J Morrissey, D Monaghan; S McMahon, S Carthy (0-1); B Stack, M Bannigan (0-3, 0-2f), S Bugler (0-1); D Garland (0-4), P Small (0-2), T Donohoe Subs: Tom Fox for T Donohoe (37), Stephen Smith for Brian Stack (52), Mark Curran for Conor Morrisson (55), Kieran Dwyer for Corcoran (60) Nathan Gavigan for Sean McMahon (60)

IT Carlow

K Roche; R Ryan, R Hitchcock, J Moore; C Walsh, T Collins, C Doyle; N Hughes, S Ryan; C Byrne, A Steed, P O’Toole; C Farrell (0-6f), J Walsh, E Lowry (0-1) Subs: Tommy Griffin for C Doyle (HT), Gearoid Murphy for Jack Walsh (37), Sean Crowley for C Walsh (40), Tommy Griffin for Steed (50)