Holders Errigal quell Killyclogher fightback

Errigal Ciaran 0-16

Killyclogher 0-9

ERRIGAL Ciaran slammed the door shut on their opponents Killyclogher in the closing stages of a championship opener that took quite some time to come to the boil under lights at O’Neill’s Healy Park last Thursday night.

This had potential ambush written all over it. We all know what usually befalls the reigning champions in Tyrone at some stage or another, and a rock solid league campaign from Killyclogher suggested that Errigal could be stopped in their tracks at the first time of asking. From a neutral perspective, the pieces were in place for a humdinger.

But this was certainly no classic in large part due to Killyclogher’s lethargy for the first 40 minutes of the contest. Cruise control would be the operative phrase as Errigal, playing a little within themselves, sauntered into a 0-11 to 0-6 lead with 20 minutes remaining.

Killyclogher would be the first to acknowledge that they had been poor. Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, and that very much applies to their unhealthy commitment to a long-ball tactic that was gobbled up time-and-time again by a grateful Errigal rearguard.

They’ll rue the fact that when they belatedly got their offensive game up and running midway through the second-half, they gave Errigal plenty to think about. Four points on the spin in literally a five-minute period suggested we were in for a grandstand finish but if you come at the King, you best not miss, and they spurned a glorious opportunity to draw level with 10 minutes remaining.

Dara Hayes did everything right, pirouetting into a position on the edge of the square where all he had to do was pick his spot.

Errigal goalkeeper Darragh McAnenly had made a super stop from the livewire Gavin Potter earlier in the half, stretching at full length to tip the ball wide for a ‘45’, but on this occasion you’d really have fancied Hayes to ripple the net. That he didn’t, flashing the ball wide, was the wake-up Errigal Ciaran needed and they boxed clever for the remainder of the contest between clever forward-play and exerting massive pressure on Killyclogher goalkeeper Simon O’Neill.

So Errigal Ciaran march on, and while it wasn’t a performance from the ages it didn’t really need to be and the positives were many. Cormac Quinn made his return to the starting line-up after a prolonged spell to the sidelines and he was thrown straight back into the deep-end, tasked with a man-marking role on Mark Bradley. Bradley always oozes class and had some sublime touches, but Quinn kept him honest and will be delighted to have come through a full game unscathed.

Elsewhere the likes of Joe Oguz and veteran defender Ciaran Quinn played leading roles (did Quinn make a mistake all evening?) while the Canavan brothers Darragh and Ruairi delivered up front as they generally tend to do.

From early doors Errigal looked the more threatening and well-rounded team. They were three points to the good with seven minutes gone as they set about unpicking Killyclogher’s packed defence with relative ease. Killyclogher mustered a reply – a Mark Bradley special – but on the whole their was a curious listlessness about their play in the first-half.

Errigal trotted into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead but their opponents finished the half fairly strongly with a fine score from Tiernan McCann and a free from his brother Conall to leave things reasonably well-poised at the break.

The ever-reliable Tommy Canavan tagged on a few Errigal frees before Killyclogher enjoyed their period of dominance. Full-back Danny Gorman landed the point of the day with the difficulty level set to extreme, and they found joy when they ran at the Errigal defence with Gavin Potter (twice), Bradley and McCann all scoring points in a five-point Blitzkrieg.

The game had sprung to life but the aforementioned missed goal chance from Dara Hayes was a seminal moment in the contest. Errigal gave themselves a shake and the momentum swung back in their favour as they finished the game with a flourish. It was a painful end to proceedings for Killyclogher but it could’ve been worse had Ruairi Canavan’s goal-chance gone the other side of the crossbar, and while there were a few hairy moments for Errigal, they’ll be delighted that their title defence remains firmly intact.