Sport

The Irish News - Nov 10 1997: Bad blood, bad temper but football and Dungiven win through in Ulster Club final battle

TOP MAN... Errigal Ciaran's Eamonn McCaffrey outjumps Ronan McCloskey in yesterday's Ulster Club final at Clones as Dungiven notch up their first provincial title
TOP MAN... Errigal Ciaran's Eamonn McCaffrey outjumps Ronan McCloskey in yesterday's Ulster Club final at Clones as Dungiven notch up their first provincial title TOP MAN... Errigal Ciaran's Eamonn McCaffrey outjumps Ronan McCloskey in yesterday's Ulster Club final at Clones as Dungiven notch up their first provincial title

AIB Ulster Club Football Final: Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) 1-8 Dungiven (Derry) 0-14

The opening 30 minutes were fought along the lines of some recent inter-county skirmishes between Derry and Tyrone.

Bad blood, bad temper, nasty challenges, three brief flurries of fist-fighting, frees and stoppages here, there and everywhere, and six bookings.

Any of at least half a dozen players could also have counted themselves lucky that the match was not marred by sendings off.

The second half was a different beast altogether,with real football commencing.

Within eight minutes Peter Canavan had scored two gems, Eoin Gormley converted a free, while Grieve and the impressing Heavern responded from play.

Cahal Grieve levelled it at 0-10 to 1-7 after 41 minutes, and from that point to the finish Dungiven switched to overdrive.

When it came down to it, football that is, Dungiven were the masters on the day, with Emmett McKeever's brilliance at the back, Geoffrey McGonigle's on the scoring range, the outstanding differences.

Errigal Ciaran: C McAnenly; S Mallon, E McGinley, C McCann; E Kavanagh, C McRory, A McGinley (1-0); P Canavan, H Quinn (capt); B Neill (0-1), M McCaffrey, E McCaffrey; C Quinn, P Canavan (0-2), E Gormley (0-5, four frees).

Subs: M McGirr for M McCaffrey (42 mins), M Farrell for Quinn (53 mins). Dungiven: O McCloskey; S Heavern (0- 1), K McKeever, S McGonigle; E Lynch, E McKeever (capt), B McGonigle; B McGilligan, R McCloskey; P Murphy (0-1), E Kelly, R Murphy (0-1); J Brolly (0-3, two frees), G McGonigle (0-5, three frees), C Grieve (0-3, one free). Subs: B Kealey for McCloskey (41 mins), B Kelly for Brolly (47 mins).

Bookings: C McCann, M McCaffrey, P Canavan and E Gormley (Errigal Ciaran); E McKeever, B McGilligan, J Brolly (Dungiven).

Referee: Martin McBrien (Fermanagh).

Attendance: 9,000.

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DONEGAL light-middleweight prospect Anthony McFadden took his winning run to nine but had more trouble than expected in outscoring Watford's Ojay Abraham's in a bad tempered eight round brawl at the Elephant and Castle in South London.

McFadden landed what quality work there was, and deserved the decision – but referee Marcus McDonnell's 79.5 – 78.5 scoreline, marking four of the eight rounds even, was significant.

All too often there was little clean punching from either fighter, and both were warned for various infringements (with Abrahams by far the worse culprit).

Abrahams twice went down, in the 3rd and 6th claiming he had been hit low and referee

McDonnell gave him time to recover and warned McFadden.

It was altogether a frustrating night for the Donegal man, who had been due to challenge Steve Roberts for the Southern Area title, only for the champion to pull out with a cold.

National Junior Camogie League: Antrim 1-7 Down 4-12

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DOWN gained revenge for last May's National Junior League final defeat by outplaying an experimental Antrim side in yesterday's league game in Loughgiel.

Both sides meet again next Sunday in the Ulster senior final, but I doubt if Jim Nelson will keep his more senior players on the sideline as he did yesterday.

Despite that Antrim played very well during the first half and only trailed by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval, freetaking by Clare McGarry being first class.

Down captain Maureen McAleenan shot six first half points, three of them frees. In the second half Down gradually wore down the Saffrons and three goals inside five minutes midway through the half sealed the points.

Down: T McGowan, D Greerin, C Mulholland, A Mason, D Savage, C Hynds, M McAleenan (capt) (1-9), S McGovern(1-0), C McGovern (0-1), J Braniff (1-0), A Fearon, M Murray (0-1).

Subs: J Henderson (1-0) for C McGovern, P Green (0-1) for A Fearon, C McGrath for J Braniff. Antrim: C Doherty, C Maguire, C Nelson, G Connolly, H Healy, U Brady (0- 1), C Megarry (capt 0-6), S McCloskey, G Adams, E Dowds, K O'Neill, U Culbertson.

Subs: C Higgins for C O'Neill, A McKee (1-0) for U Culbertson, D O'Boyle for C McGarry. Referee: M Brolly (Derry)