LAST UPDATE | 29 Oct 2023
Trillick: 1-13
Errigal Ciaran: 0-13
IN A GAME that goes to extra time, there is nothing that beats raw, animal pace.
Whatever way you studied the finish of normal time, you felt that when referee Cathal Forbes blew the whistle with the ball in Trillick hands at the end of normal time, that Trillick were goosed.
Having been six points up on 39 minutes, a tactical switch seemed to throw them astray. They took off Ryan Gray who had been operating around the middle third and playing well.
But Errigal had to do something and pursued Trillick’s restarts to huge success. The last three scores were all in injury time.
They snatched the game from Trillick’s grasp and, ominously, the Canavan brothers and Peter Harte were starting to really motor.
The first score of extra time fell to Ciaran Quinn, who put Errigal in front for the first time of the contest.
From that moment on, Trillick put the foot on the pedal and never let up, outscoring their opponents 0-5 to 0-1.
At the start of the second half of extra time, Rory Brennan burned up through the centre of the Errigal defence. Nobody was fit to live with him and he dished off to Ryan Gray – by now restored to the field – to point. It put a goal between them.
A minute later, Darragh Canavan had to leave the field injured. Peter Harte followed him soon after. Peter O’Hanlon and Padraig McGirr both seen red. Trillick had their ninth Tyrone championship.
It was one drenched in emotion.
In his captain’s speech, Trillick captain Rory Brennan paid tribute to Gerard Donnelly, uncle of Matthew and Richard who passed away recently after a lifetimes’ service to the club.
“Two weeks ago, we laid to rest a man, a legend in our community, Gerard ‘Shep’ Donnelly. He gave most of us our first taste of success and is in there with the hard work and grit we carried with us today.
“He was a man who epitomised the style of the Reds and no doubt he is looking down on us a proud man today. Rest in peace, Gerry.”
It wasn’t something that was discussed in the dressing room, insisted manager Jody Gormley. Instead, they had to make the game a battle of wills. Their analysis held that Errigal hadn’t been sufficiently tested in wins over Killyclogher, Moortown and Ardboe.
At times it was cagey and defensive with both teams withdrawing their full complement into defence.
Early indications that it might be a classic came with both teams pushing up on each other’s kickout, but as if by a secret truce, that policy was abandoned by both teams.
In the first half, Trillick got all the tactical questions right. More than that, they had the defensive match-ups in place. Playing without Matthew Donnelly who spent the afternoon on the sideline doing waterboy duties, rehabbing a knee and leg injury.
Daniel Donnelly, named at corner forward, stuck to Ruairí Canavan and held him scoreless from play throughout the entire game, while Daire Gallagher was on Darragh Canavan and as the game sprung open in the second half, leaked two excellent scores with all credit going to Canavan.
Because of that platform, Trillick kept Errigal to 0-3 in the first half. In the meantime they compiled 1-5, the goal coming just before the break when Daley Tunney squeezed the ball out to the unmarked Ciaran Daly who drilled low and hard under goalkeeper Darragh McAnenly’s dive.
Seanie O’Donnell put Trillick six up after the break and manager Jody Gormley then took Ryan Gray off.
Gray looked puzzled. He had been playing well in that middle sector and with Errigal now choosing to push up on every Trillick kickout, along with sending in the statuesque Odhran Robinson and Bryan Horisk, were to dominate in the air.
From eleven kickouts from goalkeeper Joe Maguire, Errigal gobbled up six of them, another floating out to the sideline after the break.
The substitution immediately brought four consecutive Errigal points. Darragh Canavan’s feet got going for two, his brother Ruairí clipped over a free, and Cormac Quinn had a goal effort saved by Maguire before fisting the rebound over the bar.
Inspirational points from Richard Donnelly and Daly again after a brilliant Seanie O’Donnell run looked to give Trillick some relief and a four point lead heading into the last eight minutes.
However, two Peter Harte points and a Tommy Canavan free set it up for a massive final play. Maguire’s kickout was again broken by Joe Oguz and substitute Robinson swung over to bring the contest to extra-time.
But the effort taken from Errigal, with three of their last points scored in injury time, was to prove too much for them.
For a small, unremarkable village, they have some remarkable people.
Scorers for Trillick: Ciaran Daly 1-2, Richie Donnelly 0-3, James Garrity 0-3, Seanie O’Donnell 0-2, Lee Brennan 0-2 (2f), Ryan Gray 0-1
Scorers for Errigal Ciaran: Cormac Quinn, Peter Harte, Mark Kavanagh, Darragh Canavan 0-2 each, Ciaran Quinn, Joe Oguz 0-1 each, Thomas Canavan 0-1 (1f), Ruairí Canavan 0-1 (1f)
Trillick
Joe Maguire; Stevie O’Donnell, Peter McCaughey, Daley Tunney; Seanie O’Donnell, Rory Brennan, Daire Gallagher; Richie Donnelly, Liam Gray; Ciaran Daly, Niall Donnelly, Ryan Gray; Daniel Donnelly, Lee Brennan, James Garrity
Subs:
Colm Garrity for Ryan Gray (39m), Damian Kelly for Tunney (57m), Ryan Gray for Colm Garrity (ET 1m), Darragh McQuaid for Niall Donnelly (ET 10m), Daley Tunney for Stevie O’Donnell (ET 20m)
Errigal Ciaran
Darragh McAnenly; Cormac Quinn, Aidan McCrory, Dermot Morrow; Ben McDonnell, Ciaran Quinn, Peter Óg McCartan; Peter Harte, Joe Oguz; Peter O’Hanlon, Thomas Canavan, Mark Kavanagh; Pauric Traynor, Darragh Canavan, Ruairi Canavan
Subs:
Bryan Horisk for Traynor (40m), Eoin Kelly for Morrow (40m), Odhran Robinson for O’Hanlon (54m), Michael McCann for Kavanagh (59m), Peter O’Hanlon for Thomas Canavan (ET 10m), Padraig McGirr for Darragh Canavan (ET 13m), Mark Kavanagh for Peter Harte (ET 16m)
Referee: Cathal Forbes (Ardboe)
