Trillick beat Crossmaglen in low-scoring Ulster contest

Ulster SFC quarter-final: Trillick 0-9 Crossmaglen 0-4

Trillick cut loose in the second half to send Crossmaglen limping out of the Ulster Club SFC with a five points win at O’Neills Healy Park.

The once invincible south Armagh men failed to score after the break, after leading through the first period, and taking a 0-4 to 0-2 lead into the interval.

But it was the Tyrone champions who seized control after the restart, hitting a string of spectacular scores, all but one of them coming from play.

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And Cross finished with 14 men after skipper Jamie Clarke was given his marching orders on a straight red card five minutes from the end.

Neither side could manage fluency during a tense, tactical opening half which saw just glimpses of what talented individuals on both sides are capable of.

The first quarter produced just one score, thanks to a moment of inspiration from former Armagh attacker Jamie Clarke, who spotted a gap in the cover to dart through and pick off a point.

The game did begin to open out slightly when Trillick lost sweeper Daniel Donnelly to a black card.

Rian O’Neill converted a free, before the Tyrone champions finally opened their account through James Garrity in the 21st minute.

Richie Donnelly found space to hit the target from distance, but a superb score from Clarke and another O’Neill free sent the Rangers in with a 0-4 to 0-2 interval lead.

Ciaran Daly, one of the few bright attacking lights of the first period, landed a superb point, followed by a Lee Brennan free, to level the scores within five minutes of the restart.

The Crossmaglen defence looked less assured when their opponents ran strongly and directly at them, particularly through Daly and wing back Daire Gallagher, and a couple of gems from Ryan Gran eased Trillick into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Crossmaglen’s shot options were reduced by a tenacious defence, and while they saw a string of efforts drift harmlessly wide, their opponent simply couldn’t miss.

Lee Brennan jinked past a couple of defenders to land a gem, and the Reds were in dreamland.

Trillick, now glowing with confidence, stretched the lead out to five points through Richie Donnelly and James Garrity, and Clarke’s dismissal completed a dismal evening for the Rangers.

Trillick: J Maguire; S O’Donnell, P McCaughey, D Tunney; S O’Donnell, R Brennan, D Gallagher; R Donnelly (0-2), L Gray; C Daly (0-1), N Donnelly, R Gray (0-2); D Donnelly, L Brennan (0-2, one free), James Garrity (0-2).

Subs: C Garrity for N Donnelly (46), D Kelly for Tunney (50), D McQuaid for S O’Donnell (55)

Crossmaglen: M Murray; O McKeown, R Kelly, T Og Duffy; A Kernan, C Cumiskey, C Crowley; S Morris, O O’Neill; A O’Neill, P Hughes, O Kieran; J Clarke (0-2), R O’Neill (0-2, two frees), C McConville.

Subs: R Fitzpatrick for Hughes (h-t), O Caragher for Kelly (36), D Cumiskey for A O’Neill (45), C O’Connor for Kieran (50), P Blessing for Crowley (57)

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry)