Ulster turned up the heat in the final quarter to easily win this Railway Cup football semi-final at Casement Park. But the final scoreline of 1-14 to 0-10 hides the true extent of the battle which was level seven times over the opening 52 minutes.
Ulster won because of a teak tough defence and more productive forwards. Half of Leinster's scores came from free-kicks, with outstanding midfielder Ciaran Whelan accounting for three of the losers' points from play.
In contrast, nine of Ulster's points were from open play but their goal did come from a penalty And it was that score in the 59th minute which turned the battle in Ulster's favour. After full back Micheal Magill had put the winners 0-10 to 0-9 ahead, Ulster swept upfield and full forward Owen Gormley was hauled down by Cathal Daly. Oisin McConville, only on the field seven minutes, coolly slotted the spot-kick to the Leinster net. Hard-working Jim McGuinness and link-man Shane Mulholland immediately sent over two more points.
Ulster's industry was the main difference between the teams and their rock-solid defence. Derrymen Gary Coleman and Henry Downey did a terrific marking job on Graham Geraghty and Trevor Giles. Leinster were without Darren Fay, Paul Barden and Dessie Dolan while Ulster had to do without Sean Martin Lockhart who was injured in the Ryan Cup final on Saturday. Ulster also lost Anthony Tohill after 26 minutes with a broken finger. He will not be available for the final at Sligo next Sunday.
There are also doubts about the Armagh players who are due to fly out to Lanzarote on Thursday for a holiday. "The decision is out of our hands - it is up to the managers to sort out the situation," said Ulster captain Kieran McGeeney. The teams were level at 0-7 to 0-7 at half-time but Leinster argue strongly that they should have had a goal in the 28th minute. Gary Coleman made a fantastic double save from Whelan and Murphy but the latter protested vehemently that the ball had crossed the line. Murphy's verbal attack on an umpire earned a booking.
Leinster went 0-9 to 0-8 up with Whelan's third point in the 47th minute but Ulster settled the argument in a four minute spell that yielded three points from Mulholland and McConville's penalty. They added two further points to one point in reply from Ollie Murphy - Leinster's sole score in the closing 23 minutes. "I didn't think that should have been a penalty - it was a 50-50 challenge," claimed Leinster manager Mattie Kerrigan. "And we should have had a goal in the first half. The ball was over the line. However, overall, Ulster was marginally the better team."
Three Leinster - Ollie Murphy, Graham Geraghty and Glen Ryan - and Ulster's Micheal Magill were booked during the game.
Ulster: F McConville (Tyrone); M Crossan (Donegal), M Magill (Down) 0-1, G Coleman (Derry); P McFlynn (Derry) 0-1, H Downey (Derry), K McGeeney (Armagh) capt, 0-1; A Tohill (Derry), P Brewster (Fermanagh); J McGuinness (Donegal) 0-2, S Mulholland (Down) 0-3, P McGrane (Armagh); B Devenney (Donegal), O Gormley (Tyrone) 0-3, P Canavan (Tyrone) 0-3. Subs: D McCabe (Cavan) for Tohill (26 mins); D Marsden (Armagh) for Devenney (44 mins); O McConville (Armagh) 1-0, for McGrane (52 mins); G McCartan (Down) for McCabe (62 mins); L Reilly (Cavan) for Gormley (67 mins).
LEINSTER: C O'Sullivan (Meath); B Lacey (Kildare), P Christie (Dublin), C Daly (Offaly); F Cullen (Offaly), G Ryan (Kildare), P Reymolds (Meath); C Whelan (Dublin) 0-3, C McManus (Offaly) 0-1; D Earley (Kildare), T Giles (Meath) 0-4, E Sheehy (Dublin); S Kelly (Laois) 0-1, G Geraghty (Meath) capt., O Murphy (Meath) 0- 1. Subs: T Doyle (Wicklow) for Kelly (40 mins); E Barden (Longford) for Sheehy (57 mins); D Conroy (Laois) for Reynolds (67 mins).
Referee: M Collins (Cork).
