Football

Crossmaglen sink Kilcoo to return to first Ulster final since 2012

Crossmaglen's Tony Kernan fends off the Kilcoo rearguard to get the ball away in Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final
Crossmaglen's Tony Kernan fends off the Kilcoo rearguard to get the ball away in Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final Crossmaglen's Tony Kernan fends off the Kilcoo rearguard to get the ball away in Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final

AIB Ulster Club SFC semi-final: Eoghan Rua, Kilcoo (Down) 0-8 Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) 0-12

CROSSMAGLEN returned to the Ulster final for the first time since 2012 with a convincing win over a subdued Kilcoo side in Newry yesterday.

It took the Rangers 20 minutes to get going but they were level by the end of a scrappy first half that finished 0-3 apiece and kicked on in the second to secure a meeting with Monaghan’s Scotstown in the provincial decider at the Athletic Grounds in two weeks’ time.

On yesterday’s evidence Cross will take some stopping in that game. Kilcoo can point to the loss of playmaker Paul Devlin to injury 19 minutes and Dominic McEvoy to a red card for a second booking, but they were second best yesterday.

The platform for Crossmaglen’s win was laid by the defensive excellence of man-markers Paul Hughes and James Morgan who shackled Conor Laverty and Jerome Johnston respectively.

Johnny Hanratty was in command at midfield while Tony and Aaron Kernan and Kyle Carragher all scored three points each. The Cross management even had the luxury of giving Jamie Clarke some game-time before the finish.

Clarke will hope to force his way back into the starting line-up for the final but he watched from the bench as Kilcoo shaded the early exchanges. The first score of a low-scoring first half came in the opening minute when Jerome Johnston went down after a challenge from tenacious Cross defender Morgan.

Darragh O’Hanlon trotted up from the back to curl the ball over but scores were hard to come by as the sides slugged it out. Conditions were terrible. Persistent drizzle made the ball greasy and the pitch heavy. Possession was fumbled and passes drifted off target.

Five times Cross surrendered possession as they looked to open their account. Tony Kernan sent their first chance wide after Oisin O’Neill – in for Johnny Murtagh – had won a free, but Carragher was on target after the Armagh men had won the resulting kick-out.

O’Hanlon and Laverty both shot wide and 18 minutes had drifted by before referee Noel Mooney spotted Hughes’ foul on Laverty and awarded Kilcoo a chance to regain the lead. O’Hanlon took it, provoking a chorus of ‘UTM, UTM’ (up the Magpies) from the packed stand and Ryan Johnston had them chanting again soon after when he blazed the ball over the bar Laverty’s clever off-load.

But the Down kingpins were dealt a hammer blow when Devlin limped off with injury and Cross gradually found their feet from there to the break. However, although they dominated possession Kilcoo’s tigerish defending forced them back and wide and Hanratty added to his side’s wide stats with two off-target efforts.

However, as half-time approached the Armagh champions got themselves back on terms. First Paul Hughes joined the attack and scored and, on the whistle, Tony Kernan sent over a free to leave it 0-3 apiece at the interval.

The opening 10 minutes of the second half are often a purple patch for Crossmaglen. Kilcoo would have been expecting their opponents to come out on the attack - they did and the Magpies couldn’t stop them. O’Neill gave his team the lead and the crowd a glimpse of his exciting talent when he turned his marker on the left touchline and sent a swerving shot over the bar off the outside of his right boot.

Then Stephen Kernan galloped through the heart of the Kilcoo defence and was illegally halted by Niall Branagan. Aaron Kernan clipped over the free and Branagan, who was lucky not to be yellow-carded for the foul, was soon in the book for another on Rico Kelly. Another free, another score and Cross led 0-6 to 0-3 and were in control.

With the industrious Hanratty running the midfield, Kilcoo were unable to get the ball forward and Tony Kernan’s persistence won the ball and led to a goal-scoring chance for Kelly. The crowd held its breath as he fired in a low shot that beat Stephen Kane but cannoned off the post and the ball was hacked to safety.

Kilcoo were unable to take advantage of their good fortune and Cross extended their lead through Carragher and another free from Aaron Kernan. O’Hanlon and Martin Devlin replied but Tony Kernan landed another free and his brother Aaron scorched down the right touchline and cut inside to send the Rangers five up with 10 minutes to play.

Two frees from O’Hanlon left a kick of the ball in it but Cross, who sprang Clarke from the bench, replied though Kelly and Carragher. Jerome Johnston pulled one back in the dying seconds but Crossmaglen were convincing winners at the end.

They return to the Ulster final after a three-year gap and Scotstown will need to be at their best to stop them reclaiming the Seamus McFerran Cup.

PICK OF THE TEAMS

Crossmaglen

Tony Kernan 

HIS early struggles mirrored those of his team, but once Kernan found his feet Cross found theirs. After missing three efforts from placed balls Kernan landed a free late in the first half to tie the game at the break.

He added two frees more in the second half and his tenacity in the tackle created the goal chance for Rico Kelly that hit the post. Also laid on a point for Kyle Carragher and used the ball intelligently throughout the game.

Kilcoo

Darragh O’Hanlon

CENTRE half-back O’Hanlon was a steady performer on a day when some of Kilcoo’s big names struggled to impose themselves on the game.

He top-scored for the Magpies and found the target with two frees in the first half to edge his side into the lead and landed three more points, one from play, in the second. Worked hard in a defence that came under sustained pressure throughout the second half.