Omagh 2-8
Crossmaglen Rangers 1-9
TYRONE CHAMPIONS OMAGH caused a major upset as they produced a late fightback to beat 13-man Crossmaglen in the Ulster club SFC quarter-final.
Ronan O’Neill’s goal had brought Omagh level at Healy Park but Rangers moved five points clear by the break after Padraig Stuttard hit the back to the net to give them a 1-8 to 1-2 half-time lead.
Armagh champions Crossmaglen had Callum Comiskey dismissed before Barry Tierney fisted home Omagh’s second goal and, after Tony Kernan also saw red, momentum was very much with the hosts.
O’Neill capitalised to score an injury-time point to clinch a place in the semi-finals.
In the day’s other Ulster SFC quarter-final, Clontibert came from six points down to beat St Gall’s by the narrowest of margins in Clones.
The Antrim champions hit the first six points of the game before Clontibert troubled the scoreboard operators. However, the Monaghan champions had halved the gap by half-time; 0-6 to 0-3.
Two Conor McManus frees reduced the gap even further after the break before St Gall’s midfielder Jackson McGreevy was red-carded.
McManus levelled things up and, even though Galls finally found their scoring boots again, it was the Monaghan star who slotted over the injury-time winner Clontibert; 0-10 to 0-9.
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Elsewhere, The Nire advanced to the semi-final stage of the Munster Club SFC today to set a clash with Clare champions Cratloe on 16 November.
The Waterford champions ran out 1-11 to 0-7 winners over Limerick’s Ballylanders in Kilmallock.
Minor star Conor Gleeson netted in the first-half to help The Nire lead 1-7 to 0-3 at the interval before they held on to run out seven-point winners.
Meanwhile in Ulster, Down’s Portaferry sprung a surprise to win the senior club hurling crown by 1-16 to 0-10 against Antrim’s Cushendall in Owenbeg.
Portaferry became the first Down side since Ballygalget in 2005 to claim the Ulster senior title and ended a run of Antrim clubs dominating the championship.
