A wet Thursday night, a 22-point win, the road back from Croke Park begins
Declan Bogue
THE FIRST GAME back on the championship road for Errigal Ciaran and this is how it’s presented to them – a wet Thursday night in Dungannon, meeting a ravenous Ardboe side bubbling under with some crack minor teams coming on stream.
What’s more, Peter Harte is not stripped out.
It seems a long time ago since Harte produced one of the finest second-half performances in memory to drag his side back from a 13-point half-time deficit in last January’s All-Ireland club final.
As good as he was, it wasn’t enough and when the final attack broke down with Errigal four points adrift of Dublin’s Cuala, he lost control and punched an opponent.
The straight red card to follow led to his absence here.
As one of only two remaining straight knockout football club championships – the only other is Kilkenny – the Tyrone county board do all they can to maximise revenue and the ability of everyone to see the games.
A quick scan of the crowd here identified people from three different counties outside of Tyrone. Again, on a wet Thursday night.
There was a feeling in the county that Ardboe might do something big here. It just never materialised. Two years ago, the two met in the county semi-final and Errigal won that game in Carrickmore 2-19 to 0-7.
It is possible to say that the even more extravagant scoreline here; 4-21 to 1-7, didn’t flatter the victors in the slightest.
It was a fired-up Errigal team that went 2-3 to 0-2 up after fifteen minutes. Ruairí Canavan littered the first half with wides but the one he did land from the right hand corner was special.
Once Joe Oguz potted his goal after eight minutes there were calls from the Errigal bench asking, “Who is the soft touch?”
Grudges, exaggerated or imagined, is still the default currency for GAA motivation, be it Errigal Ciarán or Kerry.
In that first period, it should be noted how impressive Ciaran McGinley was.
You might remember his name from the middle of the last decade when he had a spin with the Tyrone seniors for a few years before a spell living abroad.
Upon his return, he couldn’t force his way back into the Errigal team and played with the club’s third team for a spell in the junior leagues.
Now in his late 30s – look, the exact age is unimportant – he is one of those players who is constantly underappreciated. Not by manager Enda McGinley however.
Here, he was a constant outlet for Darragh McAnenly’s kickouts sliced out to the left.
He was indefatigable in bringing the ball from back to front and he turned over Ardboe to put in motion the move for the second goal; a Thomas Canavan shot that fell short, wasn’t dealt with by the Ardboe goalkeeper Gary Mallaghan, with Odhran Robinson knocking home.
Even when the stewards were called to their end of match positions, he was still linking play.
On 24 minutes, Darragh Canavan skated in a goal. The half-time scoreline was 3-6 to 0-6.
From the start of the second half, Ardboe caught the most fleeing glimpse of hope, Cormac Devlin, son of now Louth manager Gavin, finding the net in the first attack of the half.
Errigal’s response came with two quick Darragh Canavan points and a two point free from Ruairí Canavan sandwiching a Robinson point.
All in, Ardboe only scored one more point. The crowd started thinning out halfway through the second half but those who remained were treated to some glimpses of gorgeous football.
It rarely happens in championship football, but when a game is won and the opposition are only putting in the tackles for appearances’ sake, you get the see the full extent of their swash and their buckle.
There were numerous examples here in the final quarter. Thomas Canavan played a ball inside that Darragh Canavan produced a Crocodile Roll to collect the ball – a signature move of his father Peter – before staking his heel into the turf to come up in one fluid, athletic, balletic and graceful movement.
The ball ended up with Peter Óg McCartan reprising his party piece of last winter with a long range point from the right wing. Only this time he gets two points.
Manager Enda McGinley was able to bring on Shea McDermott for the closing stanza. He had several scoring impacts when introduced for the all-conquering Tyrone U20s this year.
He soon grabbed a goal by palming in at the back post.
A little later, the ball was running away from him and he dinked a chip into his hands, remarkably similar to David Clifford rising the ball in Fossa’s recent win over Beaufort. McDermott sized up his options and from the corner, laced it onto the chest of Cormac Quinn to point.
At the very end, Darragh Canavan had the ball and was being horsed around the floor. He squirted a fistpass to his brother to point.
‘Holy shit’ said an Errigal man on the bank watching all this, ‘How did he even see him?’
Elsewhere, the big beasts of club football around the country are clicking into gear.
Cuala are into the Dublin quarter-finals after three games.
Dr Crokes face county final first-timers Na Gaeil in Kerry’s clubi showpiece on Sunday.
Before all that, something huge looms over Errigal Ciarán; that no team since Carrickmore in 2005 have retained the O’Neill Cup in Tyrone.
The Local is the Universal.
The 42
