Conor McCarthy loves the Sigerson Cup.
Last year, the Monaghan hotshot was unplayable in the decider as he danced around NUIG defenders and kicked UCD to their first Sigerson Cup in three years.
It’s that time of the year again and the dainty 22-year-old is still knocking about.
This is what he lives for. UCD were up against it in their pipe opener for this year’s campaign with plenty of their lads slow to get going as a hyped-up CIT roared into a 0-7 0-1 lead after seventeen minutes of the action.
McCarthy was rearing for it though.
And with CIT threatening to put clear daylight between themselves and the favourites heading into the second half, the Scotstown dancer came alive and he kept UCD alive.
He scored two goals in the space of two explosive first half minutes, one of them bursting a hole through the CIT net before shattering Jerome Quinn’s in goal camera such was the ferocity of the left-footed shot.
Conor McCarthy’s rocket of a goal for @UCDGAA vs CIT smashed the in-goal camera! It will be worth watching later.. @HigherEdGAA @officialgaa pic.twitter.com/41RgfSqAiV
— Jerome Quinn (@JeromeQuinn) January 17, 2019
Watch a video of McCarthy taking it all out on the camera here.
“All I can do is apologise for that Jerome,” he said to HE GAA camera man Jerome Quinn afterwards who claimed that he’d never had a camera hit as hard.
“I was probably just trying to hit the ball as hard as I can out of pure frustration,” he added.
Video: See a 'smashing' shot by @UCDGAA's Conor McCarthy to break the in-goal camera and break CIT's resistance in today's @ElectricIreland Sigerson Cup tie.. #firstclassrivals pic.twitter.com/RQ8jWV8g2M
— GAA Higher Education (@HigherEdGAA) January 17, 2019
It was that intervention from McCarthy that settled UCD into it and despite still trailing by two at the break, they went on to take over in the second half, scoring 3-6 themselves and holding CIT scoreless.
It would remind you of a certain Paddy Bradley in his prime.
