Errigal prevail over Clonoe at the second time of asking

Errigal Ciaran 0-14  Clonoe 0-11

CANAVANS to the rescue! Now how many times have we seen that movie over the years.

On Saturday night the siblings played an instrumental role in guiding Errigal Ciaran through to the last four of the Senior Championship, amassing eleven points between them as their side finally put paid to the stoic resistance of Clonoe in front of another packed crowd at O’Neill Park in Dungannon.

Ruairi weighed in with half a dozen white flags (including four frees), but it was Darragh’s collection of dazzling efforts all from open play which really caught the eye, as he continually punctured any semblance of optimism which the Rahillys sought to build.

Of course they had willing helpers elsewhere with Peter Og McCartan, Joe Oguz and Peter Harte producing whole-hearted efforts, while for Clonoe, defenders Ciaran O’Neill and Ryan Morrow stood out, and Connor McAliskey and Pascal McClure hoisted over some sublime scores.

The Rahillys started this replay at a breathless pace with skipper Danny McNulty belting over the opener on just twenty seconds, before McAliskey knocked over a ‘mark’ and Morrow floated a beauty from distance between the sticks.

The response from Errigal was emphatic however, as Ruairi Canavan tagged on a free, and then Darragh rifled an effort inches over the bar having been released by Oguz, before slipping into a pocket of space to curl over the equaliser, all with twelve minutes still to have elapsed.

It was tit for tat after that for a spell, underdogs Clonoe demonstrating that they weren’t going to meekly accept their fate at the second time of asking.

Wing-back Ronan Corey swung over a superb score to ease the Rahillys in front again, only for Ruairi Canavan (free) and Padraig McGirr to reply at the other end, the latter galloping up the left wing and finishing in style.

Ryan Morrow and Odhran Robinson then traded ‘marks’ , but it was Errigal who were starting to flex their attacking muscles as Ruairi Canavan and Peter Harte capped razor sharp exchanges with accurate finishes. Still McAliskey’s free in injury time kept Clonoe very much in the hunt, trailing 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time.

A quick fire brace of Ruairi Canavan frees soon handed Errigal a bit more breathing space, but again Clonoe kept plugging away, and a couple of spectacular efforts swung over on the turn by the McClure brothers, Pascal and Fintan, handed them renewed belief.

Darragh Canavan was just in one of those moods however and twice he jinked into shooting space to wreak maximum damage down the home straight, despite another booming effort from Pascal McClure.

Two points ticking into injury time from McAliskey (one free) left the potential for extra-time, with the bare minimum between the teams, but the Canavan boys quickly dispelled that notion, adding to their repertoire with brilliant scores right at the death, Ruairi’s from a near impossible angle out on the right sideline. Class is class!

The Scorers

Errigal Ciaran

Ruairi Canavan (0-6,4f), Darragh Canavan (0-5), Padraig McGirr, Peter Harte (0-1 each), Odhran Robinson (0-1,m)

Clonoe

Connor McAliskey (0-4,2f,1m), Ryan Morrow (0-2,1m), Pascal McClure (0-2), Ronan Corey, Danny McNulty, Fintan McClure (0-1 each)