AIB Ulster Club SFC Quarter-Final

Trillick 0-9 Crossmaglen Rangers 0-4

By Francis Mooney at O'Neill's Healy Park

Trillick eclipsed a strangely lethargic Crossmaglen in a one-sided second half as they powered into the Ulster Club SFC semi-finals.

The Armagh men failed to score after the break, having taken a 0-4 to 0-2 lead into the interval.

And they finished with 14 men after skipper Jamie Clarke was sent off five minutes from the end.

The Tyrone men ran fearlessly at their opponents from the outset of the second period, breaking tackles and finding support runners as they picked off the scores that set up a last four meeting with either Kilcoo or Scotstown.

Neither side was taking any risks during a tense, tactical opening half which saw the emphasis placed on security at the back.

The first quarter produced just one score, thanks to a moment of inspiration from former Armagh attacker Jamie Clarke, who spotted a gap in the cover to dart through to pickoff a point.

Both sides were forced into speculative shots, some of which landed harmlessly in the hands of the goalkeepers, but the game did begin to open up slightly when Trillick lost sweeper Daniel Donnelly to a black card.

Rian O’Neill converted a free, before the Tyrone champions finally opened their account through James Garrity in the 21st minute.

Richie Donnelly found space to hit the target from distance, but a superb score from Clarke and another O’Neill free sent the Rangers in with a 0-4 to 0-2 interval lead.

Ciaran Daly, one of the few bright attacking lights of the first period, landed a point, followed by a Lee Brennan free, to level the scores within five minutes of the restart.

And when James Garrity broke tackles to send over another, the Red Hand title-holders were ahead for the first time.

The Crossmaglen defence looked less assured when their opponents ran strongly and directly at them, particularly through Daly and wing back Daire Gallagher, and a couple of gems from Ryan Gran eased Trillick into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Crossmaglen’s shot options were reduced by a tenacious defence, and while they saw a string of efforts drift harmlessly wide, their opponents simply could miss.

Lee Brennan jinked past a couple of defenders to land a gem, and the Reds were in dreamland.

The Armagh champions were coming second best in the battle for loose ball, and when in possession, were lacking in ideas or inspiration.

Trillick, on the other hand, now glowed with confidence, stretching the lead out to five points through Richie Donnelly.

The Armagh men finished with 14 men after skipper Clarke received a straight red card.

Trillick: J Maguire; S O’Donnell, P McCaughey, D Tunney; S O’Donnell, R Brennan, D Gallagher; R Donnelly (0-2), L Gray; C Daly (0-1), N Donnelly, R Gray (0-2); D Donnelly, L Brennan (0-2, 1f), James Garrity (0-2).

Subs: C Garrity for N Donnelly (46), D Kelly for Tunney (50), D McQuaid for S O’Donnell (55).

Crossmaglen: M Murray; O McKeown, R Kelly, T Og Duffy; A Kernan, C Cumiskey, C Crowley; S Morris, O O’Neill; A O’Neill, P Hughes, O Kieran; J Clarke (0-2), R O’Neill (0-2, 2f), C McConville.

Subs: R Fitzpatrick for Hughes (HT), O Caragher for Kelly (36), D Cumiskey for A O’Neill (45), C O’Connor for Kieran (50), P Blessing for Crowley (57).

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).