Ulster Club Championships

[ziggysego]

Errigal: 2-02
Ballinderry: 0-07

[Carmen Stateside]

Any word on the Cross game??

[ziggysego]

Errigal: 2-03
Ballinderry: 0-09
Half-Time

Crossmaglen: 1-04
Clontibret: 0-02

[keadygal]

Whats the latest on Cross-clontibret now ziggy

[never kickt a ball]

1-8 to 0-8 for cross keady gal

[Bogball XV]

Ballinderry 1.15 EC 3.7 result

[pintsofguinness]

Crossmaglen 1-09 0-11 Clontibret (result)

[keadygal]

Any sign of a clontibret goal yet???

[SouthArmaghBandit]

Well done Cross but Ballinderry will be big favorites in the final.

[Redhandfan]

More excellent entertainment at Casement Park today with another two very close and exciting ties.  Thankfully, conditions were also much better than last week and there was a big crowd in place by the time the senior clash got underway.

Ballinderry 1-15 Errigal Ciaran 3-7
No arguments here....the best team won.  I was hoping for an Errigal victory but have to say that Ballinderry deserved their two point win.  The Tyrone men failed to capitalise on an excellent start, leading 1-1 to 0-0, and it was Ballinderry who controlled the midfield sector for much of the first half and kicked some superb long range points to seize the initiative during this period.  Peter (The Great One) and Daisy McDermott were by far and away Errigal's two most threatening forwards and their goals in the first half helped keep the Ballygawley side in contention.  Although Errigal were level at half-time, they were in trouble in a lot of places.  Ballinderry captain Conleth Gilligan had another outstanding match and gave the normally reliable Cormac McGinley a torrid time during the opening thirty minutes.  The decision to play Gilligan at full forward proved a masterstroke as he exposed Cormac's lack of pace.  The Errigal management were at fault in not making a switch early on...a more tenacious and tighter marking defender was needed for Gilligan.  That said, Ballinderry was winning the lion's share of possession at midfield and were more capable of landing long range points than their opponents.  Ultimately, this game was won and lost midway through the second half when some very slack marking allowed Ballinderry wing forward Darren Conway through for an easy goal and, moments later, Errigal's Pascal Canavan was shown a straight red card for stupidly striking out at one of the Ballinderry players who had provoked the attack with an off the ball shoulder into Pascal's chest.  The same Ballinderry player then fell like a sack of spuds when given a clip by Pascal and stayed on the ground for several minutes.  Unfortunately, a very good Ballinderry display was soured somewhat by the constant play-acting of several of their players.  It was only when they were six points down and one man down that Errigal actually started to win the midfield battle and they staged a spirited revival towards the end, culminating in Mark Harte's penalty kick which left just one point the difference with still a minute left to play.  Moments earlier, Davy Harte (who had a poor game today) could have had a goal but his shot was brilliantly saved by the Ballinderry keeper.  Having awarded Errigal that late penalty, referee Pat McEneaney then turned in Ballinderry's favour by awrding them two very handy frees at the end.  However, Ballinderry were the more balanced team throughout and fully merited their win.  They should give Crossmaglen their fill of it next Sunday in what should be a cracking decider back at Casement.

Greencastle 1-8 Drumhowan 1-7
What a finish to this very enjoyable Junior Semi-Final....it might be one of the most worn out cliches in sport but if ever a team 'snatched victory from the jaws of defeat' it was Tyrone champions Greencastle today!  Sean Teague's men had trailed for most of this Casement curtain-raiser and, for long periods, it looked as if their wayward shooting would result in an undeserved defeat.  However, they came good at precisely the right time in front of goal to grab a famous one point win.  Their winning score, deep into injury-time at the end of the match, caused the stand at Casement Park to shudder!  It was a long range effort which slipped through the fingers of the poor Drumhowan goalkeeper and bobbled over the crossbar.....dramatic stuff indeed.  It was tough on Drumhowan who had led for most of the contest but, in truth, Greencastle were the slightly better side.  The green and whites enjoyed the bulk of possession all through but couldn't put the finishing touches to their good play and squandered many good scoring opportunities, including two clear-cut goal chances in the first half.  Drumhowan, on the other hand, made most of their scoring chances count - in much the same way as they did in the quarter-final when they defeated Armagh champions An Port Mor.  Drumhowan led 1-4 to 0-2 towards the end of the first half but a powerful goal by big Greencastle midfielder Enda Clarke right on the stroke of half-time helped keep his side in the hunt.  Clarke proved to be one of the major driving forces behind Greencastle's challenge.  He is a big guy whose high fielding and powerful runs were a feature of the match.  I believe he is still quite young and Sean Teague reckons he should be drafted on to the County squad in the near future.  On this showing, Clarke should certainly be given his chance to impress at Tyrone trials.  Although the Monaghan men continued to stay ahead for much of the second half and looked to have done enough to secure victory, Greencastle somehow found their range in front of goal late in the game to win the day and give our renowned poster ziggysego something to celebrate!  Greencastle will now meet Naomh Brid of Donegal in the Final.  

[Orior]

Congrats ziggyego!

[cville]

Is Casement a defo next Sunday?

[armaghniac]

The Casement venue was announced at the end of the game in Breffni. Ballinderry will fancy their chances if Cross' ease off the gas as they did in the second half today.

[cville]

Thanks for that - if they get a day like today there shoule be a good 10,000 at it...

[never kickt a ball]

Once again RHF great reports. I could almost feel the casement stand shaking. PS Carmen Paddy Hunter is a legend around Tyrone. A civil lad who's very approachable.