De La Salle College are back in the last four of the Harty Cup after a three year absence. Injury time points from Mark Fitzgerald and top scorer Cormac Power secured their semi final place as Dermot Dooley's charges withstood a second half comeback from St Colman's Fermoy at Fraher Field this afternoon. Power shot six points (five frees) and Alan Kirwan got the crucial goal in a nail biting 1-14 to 0-14 victory.
Kirwan pounced on a spill from keeper Ben Hogan on 20 minutes to help the Waterford school into an eight point advantage during a dominant opening half. Cormac Power was responsible for five points, Tom Gallagher converted three long range frees and Eoghan Reilly sent over two from play as they led 1-10 to 0-6 at the break.
St Colman's fought back in the second period led by midfield duo Darragh Flynn and Eoin Carey who accounted for seven points between them. Paddy Leavey settled De La Salle with two white flags but Colman's closed the deficit to a single point in added time through sub Conor Barry. Those late efforts by Fitzgerald and Power set up a semi final against Midleton CBS on January 26.
Manager Dermot Dooley said that the sacrifices made over Christmas paid off. "We put our lives on hold, I have to say that. We put a lot of work in and we trained hard. The strength and conditioning work with Gary Walsh in Waterford Warriors really stood to us. We finished stronger."
