UUJ 0-17
St Mary’s 1-9
Orla Bannon reports from Belfast
ST MARY’S DEFENCE of the Sigerson Cup was ended emphatically at the first hurdle by Belfast rivals University of Ulster today.
The 2017 champions relied heavily on some of last year’s stars like Oisin O’Neill and Cathal McShane, who both impressed in the opening half on the 3G pitch in Finaghy.
St Mary’s had the wind and twice built up a three-point advantage in the early stages, leading 0-7 to 0-4 after 20 minutes.
But they missed too many chances in that opening half when they were on top, McShane’s thunderous shot crashing off the crossbar in the 18th minute one of several opportunities to slip by.
Jordanstown made them pay. Two quick-fire points by Ryan McAnespie, followed by two frees late in the half from Lee Brennan, cut UU’s deficit to just 0-7 to 0-6 at the interval at a snowy, freezing 3G surface at Woodlands.
They were by far the better side after the interval, winning most of the breaks and dominating possession.
They hit seven points in a row – holding St Mary’s scoreless for 21 minutes – to take complete control.
Tyrone forward Mark Bradley caught the eye with two of his three points during that spell while Down full-forward Niall Madine also landed a brace, one from a huge distance.
Despite a black card for Eoin McHugh, UU continued to press on with Danny Tallon using the wind to perfection to score a long-range point and Ronan McNamee also on target after a driving run.
Deep into stoppage time with the game all but over, O’Neill drilled a St Mary’s free low into the square and it hit the back of the net for the outgoing champions.
UU will be at home against UL in a quarter-final next Tuesday.
Scorers for UUJ: Lee Brennan 0-5 (0-3f), Mark Bradley 0-3, Niall Madine, Ryan McAnespie 0-2 each, Daire Gallagher, Ronan McNamee, Danny Tallon, Terence O’Brien 0-1 each.
Scorers for St Mary’s: Oisin O’Neill 1-4 (3f), Cathal McShane 0-2, Stephen McConville, Niall Toner, Darragh Canavan 0-1 each.
University of Ulster
1. Sean Fox (Tyrone)
2. Malachy Magee (Down)
3. Michael McKernan (Tyrone)
4. Rory Brennan (Tyrone)
5. Ryan McAnespie (Monaghan)
6. Ronan McNamee (Tyrone)
7. Gareth McKinless (Derry)
8. Frank Burns (Tyrone)
9. Jonathan Munroe (Tyrone)
10. Eoin McHugh (Donegal)
11. Mark Bradley (Tyrone)
12. Daire Gallagher (Tyrone)
13. Lee Brennan (Tyrone)
14. Niall Madine (Down)
15. Danny Tallon (Derry)
Subs
19 Terence O’Brien (Derry) for McHugh (Black card, 42)
St Mary’s
1. Marc Reid (Down)
2. Colm Byrne (Louth)
3. Jack Hannigan (Antrim)
4. Kyle Mallon (Armagh)
5. Kieran MacIomhair (Armagh)
6. Caolan McConville (Armagh)
7. Liam Rafferty (Tyrone)
8. Liam Devlin (Down)
12. Jarlath Óg Burns (Armagh)
10. Stephen McConville (Down)
11. Oisin O’Neill (Armagh)
9. Cathal McShane (Tyrone)
13. Niall Toner (Derry)
14. Darragh Canavan (Tyrone)
15. Conor Meyler (Tyrone)
Subs
Aaron Boyle (Armagh) for Devlin (Black card, 43)
Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)