By 
ULSTER INTERMEDIATE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL
Clonoe 1-13 Cuchulainns 2-11
By Michael McMullan
AFTER 20 wins on the trot, Clonoe’s run of impressive results came to an end on Saturday in Armagh as they exited the Ulster Intermediate Championship at the hands of Cavan champions Cuchulainns.
A 63rd minute penalty from Connor McAliskey left the O’Rahilly’s just a point in arrears but when they gave away possession after winning the next kick-out, the men in blue kept the ball until referee Dorrian’s final whistle.
Goalkeepers Mickey O’Neill and Ryan Lennon made saves in what was an excellent game. Bryan Magee and PJ Lavery pinged goal chances off the bottom of the posts.
Over the hour, it came down to a few key moments with the Cavan men doing better on the breaking ball as they stopped Declan McClure having the influence he had on the Saval game.
When McClure’s 58th minute ball from defence went over the sideline, Cuchulainns used the ball with Turlough Farrelly weaving his way though to land a brilliant score, their first for 14 minutes.
Captain Philip Smyth won the next kick-out, leading to a fine Niall Magee score. Cian Doughty added the next score; it opened the four-point gap that offered the Cuchulainns the comfort blanket they needed.
In terms of kick-outs, Clonoe did well – largely thanks to Danny McNulty – on Lennon’s restarts in the third quarter, but when the fat was in the fire late on, there always seemed be to a blue jersey hoovering up a loose possession.
In the other key matchup, Ruairi O’Connell stuck with Connor McAliskey, limiting him to one point from play. There was a block early on and he forced him into a hurried wide. Then, collectively, Cuchulainns largely cut off the supply with a hard hour of graft in the middle third. Niall Carolan was immense for the winners. He was the incisive man through the lines before applying the final pass for both the Cavan side’s goals.
Clonoe had a different approach to their win over Saval. Ryan Morrow played much of the game at centre-back on Evan Doughty, PJ Lavery pushed into the half forward zone with McNulty stationed in the middle. With Doughty’s runs taking Morrow away from the centre, it allowed Cuchulainns to see green grass all the way to Bryan Magee.
The sides were level three times in the opening 12 minutes. A sharp move involving Fintan McClure and PJ Lavery led to a first score for Rhys Donnelly. Magee levelled the game before another assist from McClure made a brilliant breakaway point for McNulty.
Farrelly and Smyth kicked Cuchulainns into the lead for the first time but when James Rafferty broke onto a loose ball he paced forward before Ryan McCabe slotted over to make it 0-3 each.
The first momentum swing came midway through the first half. Goalkeeper Lennon fired over a 45 before the game’s first goal. Niall Carolan worked his way inside the defence before passing to Adrian Taite and his bounce dummy helped him across the ‘keeper before applying the finish for a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.
Now, it was Clonoe time. McAliskey finished an excellent team move before adding two frees and they were back within a point. As Clonoe bossed the Cuchulainn’s kick-out with McNulty, a second Donnelly point levelled matters. Both teams traded scores before a Magee free had the Cavan side ahead at half-time, 1-6 to 0-8.
Magee put them two up and he then saw a shot come off the post during a spell when they registered three wides.
When they hit a crucial second goal, Niall Carolan was at the heart of it. He picked up the break when Taite got a hand to a kick-out and seared goalwards. Carolan drew a defender before passing to Evan Doughty who lashed to the net. It had to be a cracking finish given goalkeeper Mickey O’Neill’s form.
Trailing by five points, McAliskey punished midfield dissent by landing a two-point free. Doughty (free) and McCabe kicked points at either end before the game went a full 12 minutes without a score.
It was a period that saw Clonoe have Declan McClure’s finish to the net ruled out before McAliskey kicked his final point of the game in the 56th minute, leaving the score 2-8 to 0-13.
That’s when the game really hung in the balance but it was points from Farrelly, Niall Magee and Cian Doughty that pushed Cuchulainns four up.
It was Doughty who pushed Clonoe sub Daire Devlin, giving away the stoppage time penalty. Up stepped McAliskey to send the ‘keeper the wrong way.
There was still time for Clonoe to engineer an equaliser. When Lennon lost his only kick-out of the second half, Clonoe got hands on the ball but a turnover saw their last chance slip away and Cuchulainns kept ball all the way to the end.
Scorers
Clonoe: Connor McAliskey 1-7 (1tp, 4f, 1-0pen), Ryan McCabe, Rhys Donnelly 0-2 each, Danny McNulty and Shea Coney 0-1 each.
Cuchulainns: Bryan Magee 0-4 (1f), Evan Doughty 1-1 (1f), Adrian Tate 1-0, Turlough Farrelly 0-2, Ryan Lennon (45), Niall Magee, Cian Doughty and Philip Smyth 0-1 each.
Teams
Clonoe: Mickey O’Neill, James Taggart, Conall Coyle, Shane Hughes, Shea Coney, Ryan Morrow, Darragh McGrath, Declan McClure, Danny McNulty, Rhys Donnelly, PJ Lavery, Ryan McCabe, Tommy Taggart, Connor McAliskey, Fintan McClure. Subs: Eoin Mansell for Taggart (35), Ryan Quinn for McGrath (41), Pascal McClure for Coyle (51), Daire Devlin for Morrow (62).
Cuchulainns: Ryan Lennon, Cian Doughty, Cian Donoghue, Ruairi O’Connell, Oisin Carolan, Niall Carolan, Ryan Tobin, Philip Smyth, Adrian Taite, Turlough Farrelly, Evan Doughty, Mark Gilsenan, Niall Magee, Bryan Magee, Adam O’Reilly. Subs: Glenn McCann for Taite (46), Oisin Donoghue for Gilsenan (58), Sean Kenny for O’Reilly (58), Luke Doyle for O Carolan (62).
Referee: Mark Dorrian (Donegal).