THERE wasn’t that much between these sides, but if you give Crossmaglen an inch they take a mile and, in the end, they continue their Ulster journey with a deserved win.
Their first victory in Ulster since the 2012 final paved the way for a semi-final clash with Kilcoo and it was secured thanks to deep reserves of self-belief and some clinical finishing in a hard-fought clash against the impressive Antrim champions who matched them for long spells but made too many unforced errors to cause a shock.
Cargin led by three points near the end of the first half but it was level at the break and Cross out-scored them 1-4 to a point in the first 10 minutes of the second half to establish an advantage they never really looked like losing, particularly after Cargin’s Gerard McCann was sent off for a second booking with 10 minutes left. Crossmaglen added a goal and a point in the final 90 seconds and joint manager John McEntee admitted the final scoreline flattered his side.
“They are a mobile, exciting, pacey team and we knew they would cause us a lot of problems,” he said.
“We made a lot of sloppy mistakes at times but we had to work really hard and that last goal put a shine on a very tight game. We would have been happy winning by a point or two.”
Meanwhile, Cargin manager John Brennan was aggrieved at some of the calls that went against his side and rued a late goal chance that would have made for a tighter finish.
“We’re not an eight-point worse team,” he said.
“When we were four points down in the second half we had a great chance but the player who took the shot [James Laverty] didn’t see the spare man inside and he had an empty net. That would have been a one-point game but at the other end they didn’t miss their chance.”
Crossmaglen finished the game well and Cargin didn’t miss any of their early opportunities. Only 30 seconds had gone when Ryan McKernan drew a foul from his marker Aidan Rushe and Kieran Close swept over the free. Close bagged his second two minutes later when he took McKernan’s pass and split the uprights from play. McKernan and Michael Magill caused the Cross defence problems and both sides set up man-to-man in an entertaining battle.
Cross opened their account when Johnny Hanratty took Aaron Kernan’s pass and fired over but Magill cancelled it out after good work from John McCarron and Justin Crozier. Close was given far too much room by the Cross defence and extended the Cargin lead to three and the south Armagh side’s management detailed Paul Hughes to mark the former Antrim star before Tony Kernan’s free left two points in it.
Hughes had to dive in bravely to block a Close shot and then Mickey McNamee pulled another one back for Cross with a well-taken point. Magill swept over a 45 and won a free moments later almost from the same spot, but this time Tomas McCann took it and sent it wide and Crozier’s off-target effort soon after was the Antrim side’s fourth of the half.
Rico Kelly’s switch to midfield curtailed Carron’s influence and Stephen Kernan ended a sweeping five-man move to leave a point in it again. Cargin responded well though and Magill clipped the ball over the bar stylishly before Michael McCann added another point to leave them well placed with the interval in sight.
Cross took control from then until the whistle though. Frees from Aaron and Tony Kernan followed and then McNamee grabbed a poor clearance from Cargin goalkeeper Colm O’Reilly and equalised.
The sides trotted in all-square and Cross would have been delighted with that because Cargin had shaded most of the first half. However, all their good work was wiped away as the south Armagh outfit came charging out of the blocks in the second half.
Aaron Kernan’s accurate free put them ahead for the first time and his brother Tony left two in it with a sweet strike. Paul McCann and McKernan combined to give Michael McCann the chance to pull one back, but Tony Kernan quickly cancelled it out.
The critical moment came when Cargin’s Carron rose majestically through a thicket of arms to snatch the kick-out. But as he looked to set up a chance for an equaliser Stephen Kernan nicked the ball off him and Cross drove forward. McNamee was also involved as the ball was worked to Johnny Murtagh and he lashed it into the net from 20 metres to put clear daylight between the sides for the first time.
Two more goal chances followed but Cargin survived as Oisin O’Neill (point) and Aaron Kernan (wide) shot off target. Tony Scullion landed a fortuitous long-range effort before Tomas McCann’s brace cut the gap to four. Cross sub O’Neill fisted his second, but Magill kept Cargin alive with another excellent 45 and then the score of the match from near the goalline.
Stephen Kernan hit back with his second point and then Cargin almost grabbed a lifeline when Laverty burst through on the right. He fired in a shot which zipped across the goalmouth, substitute Michael Clarke slid in at the far post but could only find the side netting.
The game was over at the end of the next play – Hanratty chipped the ball into the Cargin net and O’Neill added another for good measure before the final whistle sounded.
Cargin’s players filed off disappointed but they’ll learn a lot from this experience. Meanwhile, the final scoreline may flatter Cross a little, but they took all that the Antrim champions could throw at them and came through. The test will prepare them well for the Kilcoo showdown to come.
STAR MEN
CROSSMAGLEN
Johnny Hanratty was on the receiving end of some big hits from Cargin, but he stuck to his task in a competitive midfield sector. Cargin had begun the game with a bang when he landed Crossmaglen’s first point and he showed great reserves of energy to break forward near the end and kill the match off once and for all with a deft finish for his side’s second goal.
CARGIN
Michael Magill delivered a superb display. The Antrim forward showed safe hands when he broke out to win the ball and used it well. Also contributed five points – three from play, including the score of the game and two sweetly-struck 45s.
MATCH STATS
Crossmaglen: P Hearty; P Hughes, A Rushe, P McKeown; A Kernan (0-3, 0-2 frees), M Aherne, J Morgan; J Hanratty (1-1), S Finnegan; M McNamee (0-2), S Kernan (0-2), T Kernan (0-4, 0-3 frees); J Murtagh (1-0), R Kelly, K Carragher. Subs: G Carragher for Finnegan (28), O O’Neill (0-3) for Murtagh (40), A Cunningham for Kelly (49), P Stuttard for McNamee (52), K Brennan for Carragher (55); Yellow cards: Kelly (17), Morgan (38).
Cargin: C O’Reilly; M Kane, J Laverty, K O’Boyle; A Scullion, J Crozier, P McCann; M McCann (0-2), J Carron; C Close (0-3, 0-1 free), T McCann (0-2, 0-1 free), E McGrogan; R McKernan, G McCann, M Magill (0-5, 0-2 45). Subs: M Kelly for McGrogan (35), B Laverty for P McCann (40), M Clarke for T McCann (55); Yellow cards: G McCann (33 and 51); Red card: G McCann (51).
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).
