Connollys of Moy Tyrone SFC semi-final
Trillick 0-17 Dungannon 0-7
CHAMPIONS Trillick are through to another Tyrone SFC final, a combination of grit and guile, allied to a steely self-belief, helping them comfortably through tonight’s clash with Dungannon at O’Neills Healy Park.
The holders turned on the power in the final quarter to crush their fierce rivals and keep alive their bid to become the first club to retain the O’Neill Cup in almost two decades.
The fourth championship meeting of the sides in the last five years failed to produce the thriller that had been anticipated as the Reds combined power, pace and clinical finishing to claim a decisive victory.
A modern-day rivalry has seen them both win twice since 2020, with the St Macartan’s coming out on top for a second successive season.
Trillick, with the slight wind in their backs, eased ahead in the early stages through Liam Gray and James Garrity, and with Richie Donnelly getting on plenty of ball in the middle third, they imposed themselves on the contest as their opponents struggled to settle.
But Donaghy’s accuracy from placed balls was a potent weapon that they deployed to go level by the 13th minute.
However, Trillick’s disciplined tackling saw Peter McCaughey, Daniel Donnelly and Daire Gallagher turn over possession and turn defence to attack.
Donnelly rounded off a counter-attack with a point, and threaded the pas to Liam Gray to send brother Ryan in for a point, and when Lee Brennan drilled a ‘45 between the posts, they lead by three with 20 minutes played.
But Dungannon, with Ryan Jones, Mark McKearney, Lorcan Mallon and Padraig McNulty making things happen around the middle, came strong in the closing ten minutes of the half.
Donaghy added two more frees to his tally, and they trailed by just a point at the break, 0-5 to 0-4, although a dropping Ciaran Daly shot had goalkeeper Daire Martin scrambling just before the whistle.
Trillick survived a scare in the opening moments of the second half when a Donaghy sideline ball skidded off the greasy surface and glanced off the crossbar, deflected off a defender, with Ciaran Barker bringing the sides level from the resultant ‘45
The holders survived a spell of pressure for James Garrity to weave his magic with a couple of delightful scores as they restored their two-point cushion before Seanie O’Donnell punched over another to give them breathing space.
Trillick stepped up the tempo a notch, with Richie Donnelly, Mattie Donnelly and Rory Brennan providing a solid platform, and O’Donnell and Daly raiding on the flanks.
Superb long-range scores from Colm Garrity and Richie Donnelly had them five clear going into the final ten minutes, and all the energy and drive was coming from the O’Neill Cup holders.
And when Donaghy was forced off by injury, the Clarke’s lost their chief source of scores, with Kevin Barker hitting their first point from play late on.
And a volley of Lee Brennan points finished the job off in emphatic fashion.
Now there’s the prospect of a repeat of last year’s decider, with Errigal Ciaran, beaten finalists in 2023, due to meet Killyclogher in the other semi-final on Sunday evening.
