DCU won a thrilling quarter-final in the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup against a spirited TUS Midlands side 4-14 to 3-13 in arguably the game of the tournament on Wednesday night.
DCU had suffered just one defeat in the round-robin phase of the competition, losing to Dublin rivals UCD by a single point.
However, TUS had gone into Wednesday's quarter-final unbeaten having enjoyed a strong campaign ahead of their trip to the capital.
TUS had a sluggish start, trailing 0-06 to 0-02 before getting the game's opening goal to close the gap, taking momentum from the score and leading by a point into half-time.
Superb goal for @TUSMidlandSport!
See the goal that has the surprise packet leading @DCUDocEirGAA at half-time in their @ElectricIreland Sigerson Cup Quarter-final.
Join us now for the Live Stream second-half.. pic.twitter.com/8awHrPYfEi
— GAA Higher Education (@HigherEdGAA) January 29, 2025
DCU started the second-half emphatically, finding the net within 30 seconds of the restart but their goalkeeper Eoin McGuinness was soon caught out under a high ball as TUS got their second goal of the game.
Matthew Whittaker added a third goal for the underdogs and emphatically so, but the goal-fest continued with DCU forging a tight lead at 2-11 to 3-07.
![](https://img.resized.co/balls_ie/eyJkYXRhIjoie1widXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL21lZGlhLmJhbGxzLmllXFxcL3VwbG9hZHNcXFwvMjAyNVxcXC8wMVxcXC8yOTIwMjEzNlxcXC8zMDMwODkyLmpwZ1wiLFwid2lkdGhcIjpcIjc2OFwiLFwiaGVpZ2h0XCI6XCI1NTBcIixcImRlZmF1bHRcIjpcImh0dHBzOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LmJhbGxzLmllXFxcL2ltYWdlc1xcXC9icmFuZC1pbWFnZS5qcGdcIixcIm9wdGlvbnNcIjp7XCJvdXRwdXRcIjpcImF2aWZcIixcInF1YWxpdHlcIjo1NX19IiwiaGFzaCI6IjE0ZWFjYmQ1Mjg4NGQ3YjY4MGI2YThiMjk2NWNmNWNkZmFjMTEzOWIifQ==/dcu-captain-questions-teammate-039-s-bizarre-winner-in-sigerson-cup-qf-win.jpg)
29 January 2025; Ciarán Caulfield of DCU Dóchas Éireann in action against Daniel Farrell of TUS Midlands during the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Sigerson Cup quarter-final match between DCU Dóchas Éireann and TUS Midlands at Dublin City University Sportsgrounds in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
DCU found daylight when Dublin panellist Lorcan O'Dell burst the net after coming on as a substitute putting four points between the two teams.
TUS had a late surge but Eoghan O'Connor-Flanagan put the game to bed, cementing DCU's play in the semi-finals of the competition.
The finish was unortodox, the corner-back looping the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net to put the fixture to bed.
DCU captain Ciarán Caulfield spoke after the match, where he jokingly suggested that his teammate did not intend to score a goal when he kicked the ball towards the uprights.
I don't know... I don't know if he had seen the 'keeper out!" Caulfield joked after the win.
"He could have just dropped it short but ah no look, we'll believe him for tonight!
"I think he went for the goal and it is a great finish in fairness to him to see the 'keeper out (off his line)."
'He says he meant the winning goal..'
See @DCUDocEirGAA's late late goal by Eoghan O'Connor-Flanagan in their 4-14 to 3-13 @ElectricIreland Sigerson Cup QF win over @TUSMidlandSport
Video from Live Stream coverage of a fabulous game between #FirstClassRivals @officialgaa pic.twitter.com/LxI0SyWlUj
— GAA Higher Education (@HigherEdGAA) January 29, 2025
All in good spirits.
DCU may well have vindicated their status as pre-match favourites but TUS Midlands should be proud of the scare they gave the North Dublin side in what was a thrilling back-and-forth fixture.