Sport

The Irish News Archive - July 20 1998: Tyrone lads get a flier to hang on to Ulster Minor title

BREAKING BALL...Tyrone’s Stephen O’Neill and Antrim’s Ciaran Anderson battle for possession during the Red Hand side’s victory in the Minor Final at Clones yesterday
BREAKING BALL...Tyrone’s Stephen O’Neill and Antrim’s Ciaran Anderson battle for possession during the Red Hand side’s victory in the Minor Final at Clones yesterday BREAKING BALL...Tyrone’s Stephen O’Neill and Antrim’s Ciaran Anderson battle for possession during the Red Hand side’s victory in the Minor Final at Clones yesterday

Ulster Minor Football Championship final: Tyrone 4-9 Antrim 2-2

A LIGHTNING first quarter by Tyrone when they established a 1-6 to no score advantage laid the foundations for this Ulster minor final win over Antrim.

The holders were already three points to the good in the ninth minute when corner-forward Aidan Lynch hammered in a glorious goal with a long-range left foot shot which gave Antrim goalkeeper John Finucane no chance.

A better finish will not be seen in any of the four provinces this year.

Brilliant midfielder Cormac McAnallen had already put his stamp on the proceedings with a couple of superb points including a towering effort after a fine fetch by his midfield partner Kevin Hughes.

McAnallen’s penchant for kicking long-distance scores was shown again on 15 minutes when he blasted a 45-metre free over the crossbar.

Antrim attacker James Dougan finished to the net to round off a great move involving Ruairi O’Loan and Kevin McCloskey for Antrim’s

first score.

For a few brief moments, Tyrone seemed rattled but right on half-time came a magnificent McAnallen goal which effectively finished the contest.

Tyrone’s third goal came in the 43rd minute when Ryan O’Neill fired home. Substitute Peter Murphy goaled for Antrim with his first touch in the 50th minute to reduce the Tyrone lead to nine points.

But it was Tyrone who claimed the sixth and final goal of the match with the superb Stephen O’Neill setting up Gavin Wylie for the last score of the hour, five minutes from time.

Tyrone: P McConnell, G Devlin, M McGee, F Loughran, C Meenagh, D O’Hanlon, P O’Neill, C McAnallen (1-3), K Hughes, G Wylie (1-1), E Mulligan (0-3), S O’Neill (0-2), A Lynch (1-0), E McGinley, R O’Neill (1-0)

Subs: R Mellon for R O’Neill 52 mins, B McGuigan for S O’Neill 55, P Jordan for F Loughran 58

Antrim: J Finucane, J McKeever, M McMullan, M Clenaghan, C Anderson, K Carey, N Ward, P Logan, SP O’Hagan, R O’Loan, K McGourty, K McCloskey (0-1), G Bell, M McCarry, J Dougan (1-1)

Subs: P Murphy (1-0) for Bell 48, K Doyle for McGourty 45

Referee: M Convery (Derry)

ooooooOOOOOoooooo

ANTRIM completed an Ulster Hurling Championship grand slam with the Under 21 title added to the minor and senior accolades, following Saturday’s 3-20 to 4-8 win over Down.

Their nine-point winning margin in no way flattered the Glensmen, it should have been much more.

At one stage in the first half they led 3-10 to 0-4 and appeared to be heading for a landslide.

But over the hour Antrim hit 18 wides to Down’s six and their defence conceded four goals.

Down led momentarily when Johnny McGrattan pointed a first minute free but within a minute John McIntosh, one of Antrim’s best forwards had equalised.

Antrim: B McGarry, P McMullan, M McCambridge, D McMullan, K McKay, R McNaughton, K Kelly, C Cunning and C Hamill (0-1), J McIntosh (0-4), D McKillop S Kelly (0-4), A Delargy (1-2), B McFaul (2-5), L Richmond (0-3)

Subs: J Flynn (0- 1), M Dallas

Down: K Keating, S Young, J Caughey, Colin Coulter, S Wilson, J Trainor, H Savage, B Coleman (0-1), Peter Mallon, G Gordon (1-0), P Matthews (0-3), R McGrattan (0-1), S McGrattan, J McGrattan 3-3, John McManus

Subs : Liam Clarke, Brian Savage

Referee: Gerry Devlin (Armagh)

ooooooOOOOOoooooo

STEVE Collins, the man who made Chris Eubank retire once is now urging him to give up the fight game for good, following his fifth world title defat on Saturday evening.

Former WBO super-middleweight champion Collins watched from ringside as Eubank’s second brave challenge for Carl Thompson’s WBO cruiserweight title at the Sheffield Arena gradually faded behind a grotesquely swollen left eye which saw him stopped for the first time in 52 fights.

It was the Brighton boxer’s fifth successive world title defeat in just over three years, Collins having inflicted upon Eubank the first two of those with points victories in March and September of 1995.

It was that second loss which led to Eubank throwing in the towel on a sport he had openly derided with an arrogance which had made him someone the British public loved to hate.

END IN SIGHT...Chris Eubank
END IN SIGHT...Chris Eubank END IN SIGHT...Chris Eubank