By 
Éire Óg 1-12 Craobh Ciaran 0-9
A STOPPAGE-time goal from impact man Kevin Cuddy sealed victory for a slick Éire Óg Carrickmore against Armagh side Craobh Ciaran in Ballinascreen on Sunday.
The Tyrone champions now face Dunloy in the cup semi-final, aiming to go one better than last year when they lost to Loughgiel in the decider.
The Carrickmore side led 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time having played with the aid of the breeze. Would it be enough? That was the question at the break.
Craobh Ciaran cut the Éire Óg lead to two points on three occasions in the second half but squandered chances to ask any serious questions.
It took points from Cuddy and Shea Munroe to eventually break the Armagh resistance.
A free from captain Francy Hurson put Éire Óg into a lead they never let go and the pressure on the Craobh Ciaran defence helped lay the foundation for the settling down period that set the tone.
Aidan Woods (free) and Hurson, with a fine score from distance, had Carrickmore three points clear and they were full value for it.
When Éire Óg worked a sideline short, James McCallan fired from over close range. Sean Óg McNaughton and Paddy Lynch were the pick of the Armagh challenge but the Carrickmore defence was in resolute form throughout..
It took 17 minutes before Craobh Ciaran had their first shot, a Lynch point. Lynch and McNaughton hit scores to make it 0-6 to 0-3 in the closing stages of the opening half. Carrickmore made two half-time changes and hit the ground running with a Hurson free at the end of the first attack. It was point for point over the next ten minutes as the temperature of the game began to rise.
A Caionn Hughes 65 had the Armagh side back to within two points before a Cuddy point did enough to keep the Éire Óg noses in front. When Shea Munroe shot Éire Óg into a 0-12 to 0-8 lead with seven minutes remaining, a Carrickmore victory looked on the cards.
A fine Conor Fox score had it back to the puck of a ball before a high and dangerous Lynch cross whizzed across goal. It could’ve ended up anywhere.
Craobh Ciaran had chances but were off target. When their last attack was snuffed out by Senan Munroe, the breakaway ended up with Cuddy’s kicked goal and Éire Óg sealed the deal.
THE SCORERS
Eire Og
Kevin Cuddy 1-2; Francy Hurson 0-4; Shea Munroe 0-2; Aiden Woods 0-2; James McCallan 0-1; Dylan Devlin 0-1
Craobh Ciaran
Sean Óg McNaughton 0-6; Caolan Hughes 0-1; Conor Fox 0-1; , Paddy Lynch 0-1.
THE TEAMS
Éire Óg
Aodhan Groogan; Ciaran McKenna, Cormac McCrystal, Senan Munroe; Caolin Grimes, Darragh McPhillips, Michael Coyle; Daithai McElhatton. Francy Hurson; Shea Munroe, Aidan Woods; Padraig McCrystal; James McCallan, Conor McGlinchey, Dylan Devlin.
Subs: Caolánn Martin for C Grimes, Kevin Cuddy for C McGlinchey, Rory Woods for D Devlin, Finbar Donnelly for D McPhillips, Oran Keyes for J McCallan
Craobh Ciaran
Ruairi Mallon; Darragh Burke, Ronan Gaffney, Jamie McGuinness; Odhran Duffy, Caolan Hughes, Shea McNaughton; Conor Fox, Sean Burke; Conor Lappin, Sean Óg McNaughton, Charlie Lennon; Ryan Taylor, Paddy Lynch, James Hamilton
Subs: Tiarnan O’Neill for C Lappin, E McNeaney for R Taylor
Referee: Alan Nash (Derry)
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