Stylish Tyrone Take Ulster Title

Ulster Football Final
Tyrone 1-18 Antrim 0-15

By Denis O'Brien

Whilst a game Antrim side were not in the least disgraced in their first Ulster final appearance since 1970, it was the sheer class of Tyrone that was the story of the day as they dispatched the Saffron challenge with relative ease to now head into the business end of the championships and a place in the All Ireland Quarterfinal.

In the bright sunshine of Clones, in front of a 32,632-strong crowd, the All Ireland champions put on a tour de force as they shot points from all angles throughout.

Anytime that Antrim looked as if they might close their six-point interval deficit, the Red Hands responded each time with some splendid scores in a game that saw all but one of their 1-18 points-total come from play.

Though Antrim tried hard to get back on terms they just couldn't overcome a solid Tyrone defense and with the Red Hand's attack also in fine form, the champions comfortably maintained their six-point lead to the final whistle.

All to often Antrim had to depend on the brilliant Paddy Cunnigham for scores as he shot 0-11 (0-3 from play) of his side's 0-15 .

The All Ireland champions got off to the perfect start, racing into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after just 11 minutes of the game.

The goal came from the superb and flying midfielder Séan Cavanagh, who showed great leadership throughout while putting in a Man of the Match performance.

From a sideline kick, Brian Dooher expertly picked out Stephen O'Neill, who then handed off to the incoming Cavanagh. He then powered his way through a hapless Antrim defense before picking his spot in the bottom right corner of the net for a great strike.

The kickout signaled Tyrone's intent as left half forward, Joe McMahon expertly fielded then he laid off possession before getting in for the return and then without hesitation superbly put the ball over the bar to extend the lead to six.

It took 17 minutes before Antrim got their second score of the game when Cunningham kicked a fine free from distance.

Cavanagh replied with a point before his side once more opened up the Antrim defense when a fine move ended with center forward, Tommy McGuigan from close range shooting a poor wide with a goal chance in the offering.

Antrim still kept their foot in the door though, hitting three points before the break to leave the margin at 1-8 to 0-5 at half time.

Tyrone reasserted their dominance early on in the second period as three points from Eoin Mulligan (his second), McGuigan (free) and Cavanagh extend the lead once more.

In between, Stephen O'Neill had a goal chance but lost his footing at the vital moment when kicking.

Antrim got baldly needed points from Cunnigham (free) and Michael McCann to keep their hopes alive but they needed to tighten up at the back if they were to get back into the game as they were allowing the Tyrone attack acres of space to operate.

Shortly after, Cunningham found himself in a good goal position but drove his shot over the bar instead of going under to leave the gap now at five points.

But this was as close as Antrim would get as once more the unstoppable Tyrone machine kicked into high gear with lovely scores from the excellent Cavanagh and Kevin Hughes.

From here to the final whistle Tyrone kept Antrim at bay. Antrim depended on Cunningham's accuracy for scores, but once Tyrone got to the half forward line they, unlike the majority of teams this summer, had no fear of shooting and the result was usually a positive one.

The All Ireland champions are the team to beat and look intent on seizing their two in a row opportunity this year.

Antrim face the task of meeting Kerry next in the Qualifiers and they will not be in the least bit fearful of the struggling Kingdom.

Teams & Scorers:
Tyrone: J Devine; PJ Quinn, Justin McMahon, R McMenamin (0-1); D Harte (0-1), C Gormley, P Jordan (0-1); K Hughes (0-2), S Cavanagh (1-4); B Dooher, T McGuigan (0-3, 1f); Joe McMahon (0-2), M Penrose, S O'Neill, O Mulligan (0-3). Subs: E McGinley for McGuigan (49 mins), C Cavanagh for Dooher (54), C Gourley for McMenamin (66), B McGuigan (0-1) for Penrose (68), C McCullagh for O'Neill (69)
Antrim: P Graham; C Brady, A McClean, K O'Boyle; T Scullion, J Crozier, J Loughrey; M McCann (0-2), A Gallagher (0-1); T O'Neill, K Brady, N McKeever; P Cunningham (0-11, 7f), S Burke, T McCann. Subs: K Niblock for K Brady (25 mins), C Murray for Burke (43), C Close (0-1) for McKeever (58), D O'Hagan for O'Neill (63), S McGreevy for Graham (68)
Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)