Football

Cargin manager Brennan Cross over 'bite' claim

Crossmaglen and Cargin players come together in the Armagh champions&rsquo; Ulster Club SFC victory at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday&nbsp;<br/>Picture: Philip Walsh&nbsp;
Crossmaglen and Cargin players come together in the Armagh champions’ Ulster Club SFC victory at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday 
Picture: Philip Walsh 
Crossmaglen and Cargin players come together in the Armagh champions’ Ulster Club SFC victory at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday 
Picture: Philip Walsh 

CARGIN manager John Brennan claimed midfielder Michael McCann was bitten by a Crossmaglen player during a second-half melee at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday.

Crossmaglen ran out 2-15 to 0-13 winners in the quarter-final clash for their first win in the Ulster Club Senior Football Championship since the 2012 final. But Brennan made his claim after the final whistle.

“We had a player who was bitten out there,” said the manager of the Antrim champions.

“Michael McCann was bitten on the neck and that’s why the fisty-cuffs started out there and they had another player who came in and struck.”

McCann later confirmed what Brennan had said, but wouldn’t name his alleged assailant. However, Crossmaglen joint managers Oisín McConville and John McEntee both denied any biting had taken place.

“It sounds ridiculous to me,” said McEntee.

“I would have thought that John would have been magnanimous in defeat and just take it on the chin, there were a lot of incidents we could all talk about. It was a very clean game given the competitiveness of it.”

All four quarter-finals were down for decision on Sunday and joining Crossmaglen in the last four will be Trillick, Kilcoo and Scotstown.

Monaghan champions Scotstown dumped out the reigning Ulster champions and last season’s beaten All-Ireland finalists Slaughtneil after a rip-roaring contest in Clones that ended Scotstown 1-15 Slaughtneil 0-15. In the process, Scotstown banished the memory of their agonising one-point loss to Ballinderry at the same stage two years ago.

Mattie McGleenan’s men will now play Trillick in the semi-final. The Tyrone representatives had just one point to spare on a 1-11 to 2-9 scoreline against Glenties, who lost Anthony Thompson to a red card and Dermot Molloy to injury in the first-half.

Despite Trillick being six to the good just before half-time following goals from Niall Gormley and Dáire Gallagher, they narrowly avoided a replay when Glenties’s Dara Gallagher just missed a 35-metre free in the 62nd minute.

Crossmaglen’s opponents in the other semi-final will be old foes Kilcoo who dismantled Kingscourt Stars in a very one-sided contest that finished 0-5 to 3-15 at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Darragh O’Hanlon was man-of-the-match for the Down men and finished the game with a personal tally of 0-5, including three frees.