All-Ireland Club SFC semi-final: Errigal Ciarán (Tyrone) 2-18 Dr Crokes (Kerry) 1-18 (AET)
Joe Oguz and the Canavan brothers were the toast of Errigal Ciarán as their scores propelled the club into their first All-Ireland senior final in eight days’ time.
In an absorbing semi-final in Cedral St Conleth’s Park where the Canavans contributed 1-13 between them, Dr Crokes’ noble challenge came undone in the second half of extra-time. It wasn’t coincidental that it did so after the superb Micheál Burns went off lame.
The sides couldn’t be separated at the first half of extra-time either (1-15 to 0-18). Dr Crokes reacted to both Errigal Ciarán scores, Brian Looney’s goalbound shot was touched over by Errigal goalkeeper Darragh McAnenly after Darragh Canavan’s earlier effort fizzed over the bar when Mark Kavanagh worked so well to create the opening.
Joe Oguz cut in along the endline to fist over a point in the ninth minute but that was cancelled out by Tony Brosnan’s eighth point for Crokes, a free for a foul on Charlie Keating who has returned to the fray in extra-time.
Crokes lost their Duracell Micheál Burns in that period and when Oguz picked his spot and found it for a terrific goal two minutes into the new half Crokes’ day appeared done.
Three further points from Errigal Ciarán appeared to copperfasten a northern victory but there was tension at the close when Keating was able to find the net with a low effort.
Errigal Ciarán’s county and provincial successes relied heavily on how the Canavan brothers were able to dovetail: if Darragh was starring one day, Ruairí would the next. But here they were both on song.
Their understanding of each other’s games has been admired for some years now but here their intuition lit up the first half. They were the Ballygawley men’s only scorers in that period, Ruairí sending over five points, three from play, and Darragh picking off two.
Both kicked some beauts but the pick of them was the 14th minute score when Ruairí completed a one-two with his older sibling whose sliding retrieval and then pass sent Ruairí into the clear.
Darragh had opened the scoring in the second minute but it took them until the middle part of the half to get motoring. Six minutes in, Gavin O’Shea’s diligence cut out Ruairí.
Dr Crokes themselves didn’t score until the eighth minute when Cian McMahon punched over a Brian Looney effort that was dropping short but it was the first of three scores in as many minute. Tony Brosnan punished a foul on David Shaw and then Burns sent over his first after Tom Doyle had done well to dispossess Aidan McCrory.
Errigal Ciarán settled themselves with two of the next three points both from Ruairí Canavan. Between them, Brosnan converted a soft free he claimed and in the 16th minute his goal attempt flew into the side netting.
Darragh Canavan squared the game at 0-4 apiece in the 16th minute and Ruairí landed a free he won in the 21st minute. Burns levelled the game for a third time two minutes later before Darragh and Ruairí sent over scores within a minute.
Burns converted a second free in the 26th minute for an infringement on Keating, which was soon cancelled out by a Ruairí Canavan placed ball after Evan Looney was carded for fouling him. Mark O’Shea finished out the half’s scoring with an outside-of-the-boot strike in the 29th minute.
Twice in the third quarter Crokes tied the game and Brosnan’s third free in the 39th minute put them ahead for the first time since the 15th minute. However, their good work was undone seconds later when the quick-thinking and gorgeous execution of a free by Ruairí Canavan found Darragh over the cover and his finish to the top of the net was clinical.
A massive Brian Looney point sliced Crokes’ deficit to two and the sides were locked for a sixth occasion when Brosnan sent over another placed ball in the 50th minute. He punished another foul but only after Ruairí Canavan had augmented his tally to six points.
Substitute Pádraig McGirr became Errigal Ciarán’s first non-Canavan scorer in the 54th minute. However, the tit-for-tat scoring pattern continued. Brosnan’s sixth free was quickly followed by a Darragh Canavan fisted score to restore the Ulster winners’ advantage.
Brosnan’s first from play in the penultimate minute of normal time brought Crokes level yet again and they pushed ahead when Burns steadied himself to pick off a point in the third minute of additional time.
However, Errigal Ciarán’s wing-back Peter Óg McCartan sent the game into extra-time as the clock creeped three minutes later.
Scorers for Errigal Ciarán: D. Canavan (1-6); R. Canavan (0-7, 3 frees); J. Oguz (1-1); P. McGirr, P. McCartan, B. McDonnell, M. Kavanagh (0-1 each).
Scorers for Dr Crokes: T. Brosnan (0-8, 7 frees): M. Burns (0-5, 1 free); C. Keating (1-0); B. Looney (0-2): C. McMahon, M. O’Shea, D. Shaw (0-1 each).
ERRIGAL CIARÁN: D. McAnenly; Ciarán Quinn, Cormac Quinn, A. McCrory; P. McCartan, N. Kelly, T. Colhoun; B. McDonnell, O. Robinson; C. McGinley, P. Harte, T. Canavan; R. Canavan, D. Canavan (c), J. Oguz.
Subs: M. Kavanagh for T. Canavan (43); R. McRory for T. Colhoun (60+5); M. Kavanagh for P. McCartan (70+1); D. Morrow for Cormac Quinn (70+2).
DR CROKES: S. Murphy; E. Looney, F. Fitzgerald, M. Lynch; C. Keating, G. White, B. Looney; M. O’Shea, M. Potts; M. Burns, G. O’Shea, C. McMahon; T. Brosnan, T. Doyle, D. Shaw.
Subs: K. O’Leary for T. Doyle (38); D. Casey for C. McMahon (46); J. Payne for C. Keating (48); D. Naughton (c) for M. Potts (53); A. Hennigan for D. Shaw (60+2); C. McMahon for M. Burns (inj 69); M. Potts for B. Looney (74); D. Shaw for G. O’Shea (75).
Referee: B. Cawley (Kildare).