Ulster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final
Tyrone 1-24, Cavan 0-20
Tyrone produced a commanding display to book their place in the Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final, seeing off Cavan on a scoreline of 1-24 to 0-20. The Red Hands dominated large spells of the game, particularly the closing stages of the first half, where they hit eight of the final nine scores to take full control of the contest.
Despite a spirited second-half effort from Cavan, which included a flurry of 2-point scores and a strong showing from Dara McVeety and Sean McEvoy, Tyrone’s consistency and scoring power – spearheaded by Darren McCurry and Ruairi Canavan – ensured they remained in control.
Tyrone started brightly with early points from Niall Devlin and Darren McCurry, establishing an early foothold. While Cavan responded through Sean McEvoy and Dara McVeety, it was Tyrone who set the tone for the remainder of the half.
From the 15th minute onward, Tyrone found a relentless scoring rhythm. Points from Ruairi Canavan, Aodhan Donaghy, and Cathal McShane, among others, saw Tyrone outscore Cavan 8-1 during a blistering 15-minute spell. By half-time, Tyrone had built a commanding 0-14 to 0-4 lead.
The second half began with more Tyrone pressure as Ruairi Canavan and Michael McKernan extended their lead. Although Cavan rallied with two-pointers from Cian Madden, Oisin Kiernan, and Dara McVeety, Tyrone responded with calm efficiency.
Darren McCurry was in sparkling form, adding several second-half points to his tally. The key moment of the half – and arguably the match – came in the 62nd minute when Conn Kilpatrick fired home the game’s only goal, effectively ending any hope of a late Cavan comeback.
Cavan kept battling to the end, with further scores from McEvoy and McVeety narrowing the gap, but Tyrone’s lead was never under real threat.
Manager Malachy O’Rourke was happy with the performance and attitude shown throughout the game: “As the first-half went on, we started running at them and there were some real quality scores. The work rate all over the pitch was good and we got ourselves in a great position at half-time.”
“We’ve a strong panel and the fresh legs coming in helped. There are aspects we’re happy with and some that we’re not so there’s loads to work on. Overall we’re just delighted to get through it and we have a couple of weeks to prepare for Armagh.”
Next up for Tyrone is a semi-final meeting with Armagh. That game will be played on Saturday 26th April in Clones.
By Rory Cox Sun 13th Apr
