Round-up: Electric Ireland Ulster MFC Semi-Finals
A general view of Find Insurance Celtic Park. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Electric Ireland Ulster MFC Semi-Finals
Tyrone 1-18 Cavan 3-10
Derry 0-10 Donegal 0-9
All-Ireland champions Tyrone staged a stunning comeback as they came from 11 points behind to defeat Cavan by 1-18 to 3-10 to book their place in the Ulster MFC final.
Cavan went ahead early on through Jay Graham, and the wind-assisted Red Hands had to wait until the 13th minute for their first score, from Logan O’Conor.
Ruairi O’Neill and Vincent Gormley edged them into a two points lead, but the visitors regained control in the closing stages of the opening half.
Graham slotted over a free, while skipper Jake Brady landed 0-3, including a fine two-point effort, before Charlie Meenan broke tackles to narrow the gap.
Cavan led by 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval, and struck for a goal two minutes after the restart, Brady running on to Darragh Eccleston’s long restart to lob advancing goalkeeper Ronan O’Neill for a delightful finish.
When Graham raised an orange flag from a long range free, they led by five.
Three goals in the third quarter sent Cavan 11 clear. First Brady lobbed the ‘keeper for a cheeky finish, before Exceedingly Imade smashed one into the top corner, and Finlay McCaul added a third.
They lost defender Jack Fallon to a second booking, and later Imade to a black card, allowing Tyrone to seize control.
Conan Canavan sent over a string of points, and Tomas Gallen grabbed a crucial goal, as the champions got the job done in stoppage time.
Derry will be Tyrone’s opponents in the final, thanks to their narrow 0-10 to 0-9 win over Donegal at Owenbeg.
Cahair McDonnell was the stoppage time hero as he sent over the winning point to deny a Donegal side that looked set to take the tie to extra-time.
Donegal led by 0-4 to 0-2 at the end of a tense opening half, but the Oak Leafers staged a strong second half showing.
They were deadlocked as the clock clicked past the 60-minute mark, but McDonnell settled it with a calmly executed score.
Cavan and Donegal will now enter the Tier 2 Championship.
