Fintona Pearses defeat Urris in Ulster Junior Club Football Championship quarter-final

Ulster Club Junior Football Championship quarter-final

Fintona….3-16

Urris….1-5

FREE-flowing Fintona delighted their supporters with a thrilling display of attacking football as they swept aside the challenge of Donegal champions Urris to book their place in the Ulster Club Junior Football Championship semi-final.

The Tyrone title-holders turned on the power in the second half at O’Neills Healy Park, routing their opponent with an avalanche of scores to set up a last four meeting with either Cavan side Lacken or Bellyhegan of Armagh.

A combination of pace, power and clinical finishing came together in an expression of all that is positive about Tyrone club football on a weekend that saw all three of the county’s champions make winning starts to their provincial campaigns.

Despite suffering an early setback in the concession of a goal, the Pearses never lost their focus, and contained their wind-assisted opponents to take a two-points lead into the interval, with the help of a Caolan Donnelly goal.

And they assumed complete control after the restart, out-scoring their opponents by 3-10 to 0-1 as they cruised to the finish line.

Goals from Conor McGillion and Jared Brogan added extra gloss to a successful afternoon, and manager Cathal McCarron and Connor O’Donnell will be interested spectators at Kingspan Breffni this weekend as they run the rule over their next opponents, who meet in their delayed quarter-final.

Fintona took an early lead through Diarmuid Martin, but in the third minute, the Donegal men struck for a goal.

Pearse McCarron drifted dep to send in a long ball, which goalkeeper Oisin Watson could only parry against the crossbar, and Oisin Hession nipped in to finish to the net from close range.

Carolan Donnelly was a constant threat with his piercing runs through the heart of the Urris defence, and he collected Conor McGillion’s pass to split the posts, but the side from Inishowen was winning all the Fintona kick-outs, and pressed with purpose for midfielder Lorcan McGonigle to send over a point.

But the Tyrone men struck for a tenth minute goal, a sweeping move ending with Aaron McCarney sending Donnely away to finish low past Sam Coyle.

And when Eugene Colton forced a turnover, McCarney was again the provider for wing back Donnelly to add to his tally.

Fintona came close to grabbing a second goal when McGillion sent his shot crashing against the butt of a post from Donnelly’s assist, and rather than find themselves five points ahead, they were hauled back to level terms by a Joe Doherty two-pointer, tying it up at 1-3 each at the end of the opening quarter.

Doherty controlled play between the ’45 and halfway for a spell, but was unable to find the openings to create genuine scoring chances, although Pearse McCarron did split the posts from recycled possession, after the Fintona defence failed to deal with a high ball into the goalmouth.

But late in the half, the home side took a lead they were never to lose, Aaron McCarney, Conor McGillion and Donnelly all hitting the target for a 1-6 to 1-4 interval lead.

With the wind in their backs in the second half, the Pearses established almost total control, and from the throw-in to the finish, they outscored the men from Inishowen by 3-10 to a single point.

Peter McGlinn and Cormac Watson dominated the battle for possession in the middle third, while flying wing backs Donnelly and Jared Brogan made repeated raids along the flanks, stretching the Urris cover.

Aaron Morris and John McCarron did all they could to stem the tide, but the scores started to stack up, with Peter Colton and Oran Hughes on target early on.

Joe Doherty’s 37th minute free proved to be the visitors’ only score of the second half, and from there to the finish they were putting out fires while attempting to muster a response of their own.

Feeding off turnovers, Fintona mounted attack after attack, with teenager Colton, darting through for his second score, before wing back Brogan fired over two brilliant scores, one of them a two-pointer.

That gave the Pearses a 1-12 to 1-5 lead going into the final quarter, and while Lorcan McGonigle and Doherty did all they could to spark an Urris revival, there was no indication that it was going to happen.

Too often the final pass went astray, and when they sent Edward Kelly in as target man, Fintona had the answer in the form of impressive full back Padraig Goodman.

Substitute Pauric Kelly got his name on the score-sheet, one of nine men in green to do so, and another break from deep saw Conor McGoldrick and Cathal Starrs combine to send veteran McCarney in to score.

Time and again, the Donegal champions saw attacks break down, and with men committed forward, they were caught by pacey counter-attacks which led to scores from Eugene Colton and McGillion.

The outcome had long since been determined by the time Fintona hammered the final nail in the form of a third goal.

McGillion spotted the run of Brogan, who picked his spot in the bottom corner of the net for a clinical finish with the last kick of the game in stoppage time.

Fintona scorers: Caolan Donnelly, Jared Brogan (1tp) 1-3 each, Conor McGillion 1-2, Peter Colton, Aaron McCarney (1 free) 0-2 each, Diarmuid Martin, Oran Hughes, Eugene Colton, Pauric Kelly 0-1 each.

Urris scorers: Oisin Hession 1-0, Joe Doherty 0-3 (1 free, 1 tp), Lorcan McGonigle, Pearse McCarron 0-1 each.

Fintona: Oisin Watson; Liam Grifiths, Padraig Goodman, Marius Monaghan; Caolan Donnelly, Niall Murray, Jared Brogan; Peter McGlinn, Cormac Watson, Eugene Colton, Oran Hughes, Diarmuid Martin; Conor McGillion, Peter Colton, Aaron McCarney.

Subs: Conor McGoldrick for C Watson, Pauric Kelly for Martin, Cathal Starrs for P Colton, Eoin Garrity for Donnelly, Eoghan Hegarty for McGlinn.

Urris: Sam Coyle; Cormac Dillon, Aaron Morris, Kieran Doherty; Brendan Doherty, Lee McLaughlin, Matthew Brennan; Oisin Devlin, Lorcan McGonigle; Oisin Hession, Joe Doherty, Patrick Doherty; Luke Doherty, Pearse McCarron, John McCarron.

Subs: Michael Grant for McLaughlin, Tiernan McDonald for McCarron, Edward Kelly for Hession, Gavin McDaid for B Doherty, Alan Friel for McGonigle.

Referee: Cianan Canney (Derry).