Cargin (Antrim) 0-9 Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) 0-17
Errigal Ciaran’s attacking power was too much for Cargin as the Tyrone champions qualified for the Ulster Club SFC semi-finals for the first time since 2012.
They combined selfless hard work with sheer class for a potent mix that the Antrim champions could not handle at Corrigan Park, chasing turnovers and break ball with a refreshing hunger.
Errigal led from start to finish, never looking remotely likely to struggle in this one.
The Canavan brothers, Ruairi and Darragh, sparkled as usual, but there was plenty of support from others, with ten different players on the score-board, while Tomas McCann was the only Cargin forward to hit the target, all six of his points from placed balls.
Errigal’s appetite for attack had them on the front foot right from the outset, and they raced into a three- point lead, with a couple of Tommy Canavan frees and a gem from Ruairi Canavan, all of them attributable to a sense of chaos and uncertainty in the Cargin defence.
Living off scraps and the surging efforts of midfielder Mick McCann, the Antrim champions struggled to find an offensive shape, devoid of penetration, and their opening score came from goalkeeper John McNabb, who thumped over a long-range effort from play in the 16th minute.
The Tyrone men bossed the central area, where Ben McDonnell and Joe Oguz reigned supreme, and with wing backs Peter Og McCartan and Tiarnan Colhoun always in support along the flanks, they maintained a high tempo.
For all that, their finishing was off, and a rash of wides allowed the home side to close the gap, with Sean O’Neill reducing the margin to a single point.
But Errigal powered through the closing five minutes of the half with four points on the spin, the Canavan brothers both on tarte, as they went in at the break with a 0-10 to 0-4 advantage.
With the wind in their backs in the second half, Cargin went route one, pushing Mick McCann in to the edge of the square, but Errigal had the men to repel the aerial bombardment in Ben McDonnell and Odhran Robinson.
They managed just a Tomas McCann free in the third quarter, despite the strong pressing of Jamie Gribbin, James Laverty and Pat Shivers.
A McCann free, followed by a ’45, brought the Saffron champions to within six points, but Errigal had more in the tank.
Running the bench to display impressive depth, they finished strongly, with Peter Harte running the show around the middle and McDonnell getting up and down the field with boundless energy.
Substitutes Mark Kavanagh and Ronan McRory chipped in with points, as did Ciaran McGinley and Ruairi Canavan, Errigal Ciaran very much up and running with two provincial victories on successive weekends.
Cargin: J McNabb (0-001); K O’Boyle, K McShane, R Gribbin (0-01); J Crozier, S O’Neill (0-01), J Gribbin; M McCann, J Carron; D Johnston, T McCann (0-06, 5f, 1 ’45), J Laverty; C Johnston, E Quinn, P Shivers.
Subs: P McCann for Johnston (h-t), B Kelly for Crozier (h-t) C Johnston for Quinn (36), R Devlin for Kelly (46), T Shivers for Johnston (50).
Errigal Ciaran: D McAnenly; Cormac Quinn, A McCrory, N Kelly; T Colhoun (0-01), B McDonnell (0-01), P Og McCartan (0-01); O Robinson, J Oguz (0-02); C McGinley (0-02), P Harte, P Traynor; T Canavan (0-02, 2f), D Canavan (0-02), R Canavan (0-04, 3f).
Subs: Ciaran Quinn for Traynor (45), M Kavanagh (0-01)for Traynor (46), E Kelly for Robinson (50), P McGirr for T Canavan (50), R McRory (0-01) for D Canavan (56).
Referee: M McNally (Monaghan)
