Carmen edge past Errigal to take League title

ERRIGAL CIARAN 0-6  CARRICKMORE 0-8

CARRICKMORE maintained their steely focus amid the swirling fog of Dunmoyle to deservedly clinch their tenth Senior League title at the expense of old rivals Errigal Ciaran on Saturday lunchtime.

This pre-Christmas ACL showdown was never going to serve up a high-scoring ‘Thrilla in the Mist’ given the high-stakes on offer, but in terms of commitment, tenacity and determination it was still a pleasing watch.

Caolan Daly swung over an excellent point to get Carrickmore off to an excellent start in the second minute, but Canavan quickly responded at the other end with a 30m free after Harte was sent bundling to the turf. Tyrone’s All-Ireland winner was tracked all afternoon by Sean Loughran, who stuck manfully to this unglamorous but vital role.

That placed ball strike from Canavan in the third minute was to prove to be Errigal’s only score of the first half, as the Munroe brothers, Ciaran Daly and Ruairi Slane helped the visitors to take a firm grip on proceedings.

They almost stole in for a goal when Daly teed up Lorcan McGarrity but his low shot was well tipped around the posts by Errigal keeper Darragh McAnenly, with Ciaran Daly banging over the resultant ‘45’.

At the other end a razor sharp exchange of passes almost breached the Carmen rearguard but Ben McDonnell’s final handpass was beyond the flailing grasp of Padraig McGirr and the chance went abegging.

Following this near miss Errigal’s attack floundered for the remainder of the half, afforded little change by a well-drilled Carrickmore back unit. The home side weren’t helped by their unusually wayward finishing and they tallied up thirteen wides in total over the course of the match.

They introduced Odhran Robinson to try and inject some much needed incision into their forward line in the run up to the interval, but by that juncture they trailed 0-4 to 0-1, with Cormac Munroe splitting the posts after good work from Ciaran Daly, and Daly himself planting a free, following a foul on the impressive Rory Donnelly.

Carrickmore were the more lively and tenacious of the two sides across every sector of the field and when Caolan Daly knocked over a ‘mark’ it provided them with a 0-5 to 0-1 half-time cushion.

No doubt fired up by a few choice words at the break, there was a marked improvement in Errigal’s intensity and commitment levels when action resumed and this brought a touch of a spikiness to proceedings.

Pauric McAnenly (mark) and Thomas Canavan (free) quickly cut the deficit in two and as the half unfolded referee Cathal Forbes had his work cut out keeping a lid on things.

Carrickmore thought they could have had a penalty when Caolan Daly went to ground under challenge from Ciaran Quinn when running through at full-pelt, while things threatened to get out of hand when a brief skirmish ensued soon after.

Order was quickly restored however after the brandishing of a couple of yellow cards, and it was Carmen who rediscovered some of their earlier swagger as Cormac Munroe curled over a beauty in the 43rd minute.

Shortly afterwards Daniel Fullerton imposed his class on the tie with two brilliant left footed strikes in quick succession and heading into the last ten minutes the gap was up to five points, 0-8 to 0-3.

Errigal to their credit however were never going to go quietly and that never-say-die spirit was evident when Thomas Canavan stepped up to the plate with three wonderful points from various angles to heap the pressure on Carmen.

While just two in arrears, Errigal needed a goal as a draw would also hand the league crown to Carrickmore, who headed them in the table, but despite pumping a series of high-balls in around the square, Carmen keeper Jack McCallan and his colleagues were able to mop up any danger and see the match out.