Edendork earn Ulster debut victory over Clonduff to set up St Brigid's tie
Edendork made a winning start to their Ulster Club SFC campaign with a hard-earned five-point victory over Down champions Clonduff, with Darren McCurry and Niall Morgan leading the scoring charge.
HOT on the heels of a first ever Tyrone Senior Championship triumph, Edendork are up and running in the provincial series, making a winning debut in their Ulster Club SFC preliminary round clash with Clonduff.
The O’Neill Cup holders travelled to Newry, just a week after winning the county title, to take on the Down champions, and emerged with a five points success, just reward for the measure of control they imposed on the contest.
They’re back in action this weekend in a first round tie against Antrim champions St Brigid’s, and there’s no reason to believe that they cant take another step forward.
Darren McCurry made another big contribution with a 0-8 haul, while Niall Morgan, the last kick hero of the Tyrone final replay, again contributed vital scores, striking a couple of sublime two-pointers.
But there’s concern over a number of injuries, including cengre back Ben Cullen, who was forced out in the second half by a knee injury.
Edendork never looked like losing this one, but Clonduff were to an extent architects of their own downfall, wayward finishing and poor shot options dogging their efforts throughout the game.
The Tyrone champions, on the other hand, were more efficient in their construction of scoring opportunities and clinical in their execution.
And they laid a platform with a dominant midfield performance, winning the battle for possession off the Clonduff.
“We wouldn’t be renowned for winning breaking ball, but we knew this game was going to come down to kick-outs and turnovers,” said team captain Conor Mallon.
“John McLernon must have got four break balls there, the lad is only 17 years of age, and it was incredible to see.”
And he hailed the commitment and game intelligent the players displayed throughout.
“Ulster Club is about putting the body on the line, it’s about being intelligent.
It’s not about playing the best football at times, it’s just about griding it out.
“This is our first experience of it, but we have ‘Deets’ (Conleith Gilligan) on the line to tell us plenty about it.
“We feel like we’re big around the middle we have Niall, Harry Og and Conn, and it’s about fighting for scraps in around the middle.”
Arthur McConville edged the Mourne champions ahead early on from a free, but Edendork, got their noses in front by the seventh minute, McCurry sending over a brilliant score, before Correy Bell and Luke Ferguson combined to send teenager John McConville in for a point.
The St Malachy’s dominated the Clonduff kick-out, providing fuel for a string of attacks, and they stretched the advantage with a terrific McCurry two-pointer.
But they could have made more of the possession they created, suffering turnovers that gave their opponents the opportunity to break from deep for scores from Barry O’Hagan and Stephen McConville.
Goalkeeper Niall Morgan availed of every opportunity to press forward, and a patient build-up gave him the perfect pocket of space to kick a two-pointer, and when McCurry added another to his tally, the Tyrone champions led by 0-7 to 0-3 at the end of the opening quarter.
Eamon Burns went on a weaving run which he capped with a point, but other Clonduff opportunities suffered from poor shot selection, with a string of efforts drifting harmlessly wide, others dropped shot to the secure grasp of the dominant Morgan.
And after goalkeeper Aaron Sherry had lost his seventh kick-out from seven, Fiachra Nelis strode forward to pick off a point.
Jamie O’Hagan was having a torrid evening as McCurry’s marker, but he did force a turnover that got his side back on the attack, but that was snuffed out by the hard-working Conor Mallon, who got back to execute an inspirational tackle.
But the Mourne champions narrowed the gap to a single point, Barry O’Hgaan scoring on the breakaway, and Stephen McConville also on target.
Goalkeeper Niall Morgan availed of every opportunity to press forward, hitting a two-pointer, followed by another McCurry score, as Edendork finished the opening quarter with a 0-7 to 0-3 advantage.
Clonduff’s shot options were off, with a string of wides and a handful dropped short into the hands of Morgan, who commanded his area, and when the Tyrone goalkeeper raised his second orange flag, this time from a free, his side led by six.
But a stoppage time breach gave the Shamrocks an opportunity to narrow the game with a Stephen McConville two-point free, to see his side trailing by 0-10 to 0-6 at the interval.
Clonduff closed the gap through Arthur McConville and Barry McConville, but they struggled for fluency, and were soon on the back foot again as the Red Hand men raided at pace, McCurry steering a two-point free between the posts for a seven points advantage by the end of the third quarter.
Goalkeeper Aaron Sherry was quickly off his line to deny James Fearon a goal after the Shamrocks defence was caught wide open, and they countered to create a goal chance of their own, but veteran defender Padraig Donnelly cleared off the line from Stephen McConville.
And with Donal Maneely raising his game to new heights with a superb defensive performance, the frustration mounted for the home side.
The Down men dd step up the tempo late on, but it was too late, a couple of Senan Carr points trimming the gap, but Edendork had control of the tie, and steered it safely to its conclusion with late scores from McCurry and Patrick McLernon.
Clonduff scorers: Stephen McConville 0-4 (1 tp free), Barry O’Hagan 0-3 (1f), Arthur McConville (1 free), Senan Carr, 0-2 each, Eamon Brown 0-1.
Edendork scorers: Darren McCurry 0-8 (1 tp, 1 tp free), Niall Morgan 0-4 (1 tp, 1 tp free), John McLernon 0-2, Patrick McLernon, Correy Bell, Fiachra Nelis 0-1 each.
Clonduff: Aaron Sherry; Jamie O’Hagan, Shane Close, Ben McConville; Jayme Gribben, Darren O’Hagan, Dan Rafferty; Ross Carr, Senan Carr; Tom Close, Charlie Carr, Stephen McConville; Barry O’Hagan, Arthur McConville, Eamon Brown.
Subs: Peter McEvoy for Gribben, Patrick O’Hagan for A McConville.
Edendork: Niall Morgan; Donal Maneely, Fionn Devlin, Padraig Donnelly; Fiachra Nelis, Ben Cullen, Correy Bell; Conn Kilpatrick, Luke Ferguson; Patrick McLernon, Conor Mallon, Harry Og Conlan; Darren McCurry, Daire Conway, John McLernon.
Subs: James Fearon for Conway, Rian Nelis for Cullen, Conor Mallon jnr for Fearon.
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)