Match Preview | Bank Of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cup Final

19th December 2019 By Eolan Allen

The new facility is being built at Irish Independent Park in Cork. INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

The final of the Bank of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cup should be a real hard-fought battle between two of Munster’s top clubs at Irish Independent Park on Friday night, 7.45pm.

Both Cork Constitution and Young Munster have a very proud tradition in this competition and have shown excellent form both in the earlier rounds of this competition and in Division 1A of the All Ireland League.

Cork Con’ have been the dominant force in this competition recently. They have won six of the last seven tournaments and they will be aiming to claim the trophy for the 30th time in their history.

Garryowen broke their streak two seasons ago, but Con’ overcame them in last year’s final and were drawn against them again this year in their opening match in a real tough and tense tussle; it was the boot of Aidan Moynihan that saw them through with three penalties. Garryowen did score the only try of the game through Andrew O’Brien that Peadar Collins converted but it wasn’t enough in a defence dominated clash.

The Temple Hill club then followed that up with a thrilling local derby against Highfield in the semi-final. Con’ got off to a magnificent start with Niall Kenneally and Ryan Foley notching tries in the first half while Tomás Quinlan kicked 13 points to give his side a 23-7 lead at the break. The Woodleigh Park club produced a stirring comeback but Con’ needed all their experience to close out the game with a 23-17 success.

Chris Bannon and Timmy Ryan were the try scorers for Highfield with Shane O’Riordan converting both and adding a penalty.

Young Munster opened their campaign in the quarter-finals with a big local derby against Shannon. The first-half was very tight as the sides traded blows. Evan Cusack kicked two penalties for the ‘Cookies’ as the sides were tied at six points apiece at the break with Bill Gray kicking two for Shannon.

A try by Luke Fitzgerald that Cusack converted gave Young Munster an early edge in the second-half but they fell behind 17-13 entering the final 20minutes as Gray kicked a further two penalties with Jordan Prendeville touching down. Young Munster showed all their resilience to come back with Jordan Stewart scoring a crucial try while Cusack added the conversion and a further penalty to secure the victory.

Cashel provided the opposition in the semi-final at Tom Clifford Park. The Tipperary side put up a strong performance, but Young Munster’s power and skill levels eventually saw them pull away with a 26-7 success. Keelan Stephenson, Jason Kiely and Fintan Gleeson were the try-scorers with Cusack kicking three penalties and a conversion.

Brendan Crosse responded with the only try for Cashel that Aidan McDonald converted.

There will be a little extra spice to the game as it comes in the middle of a league double-header. Con’ won at the death with a late penalty narrowly missing for Young Munster. The sides meet again on January 11th while Con; will play in the All Ireland Senior Cup semi-finals on January 4th.