THE Tyrone Division One final was marred by a brawl in the closing stages of the clash between Dromore and Errigal Ciaran.
Five players were sent off after fighting erupted late on at Fintona, where Dromore held on to lift the title with a four-point (1-10 to 1-6) win over the defending champions.
Errigal Ciaran’s Niall Kelly and Eoin Kelly were shown red cards, as were Dromore pair Sean McNabb and Paul McHugh.
And Errigal finished with 12 men after Ben McDonnell picked up a second yellow card. The county board is set to launch an investigation into the incidents which cast a shadow on one of the most high-profile occasions of the club season in the Red Hand county.
“An otherwise sporting game was interrupted by a brief but unacceptable sequence of events in the closing stages,” said Tyrone PRO Eugene McConnell.
“The Tyrone Competitions Control Committee will await the report of the referee and a full investigation will be carried out.”
Ryan McCusker’s second-half goal was the vital score that put daylight between the sides, after the St Dympna’s had fought back.
They trailed by two points at the interval, with Errigal’s first-half goal coming from a Peter Harte penalty. Davy Harte and Peter Harte had early points for the Dunmoyle men, with Sean McNabb responding at the other end in a low-scoring opening quarter.
But the game sprang to life when a foul on Errigal captain Peter Harte earned his side a penalty, and he took the kick himself, slotting the ball low to the corner of the net to give the holders a significant advantage. Niall Sludden responded with a brilliantly executed score, with Cahir Goodwin also on target for the men from Gardrum Park.
Sean McNabb and Eoin McCusker also found the target, but Mark Kavanagh sent Errigal in at the break with a 1-4 to 0-5 advantage.
It was Dromore who stepped up their level of performance in the second half, with Emmet McNabb, McCusker and Tyrone star Sludden, with another brilliant score, getting them in front.
The excellent Sludden was central to the move which led to Ryan McCusker’s goal, and they finished strongly with scores from skipper Eoin McCusker and Ronan McNabb.
Meanwhile, Edendork were relegated to Division Two after losing a sudden death play-off to Eglish by 2-9 to 1-10.
