Cavan 1-17 Tyrone 0-5
Tepid Tyrone were no match for a fired-up Cavan side in an incredibly lop-sided Dr McKenna Cup tie at Kingspan Breffni Park on Tuesday night.
Tyrone's first competitive outing since winning the Sam Maguire Cup last year was as sterile and slack as the final scoreline suggests and even though they started current All Stars Paudie Hampsey, Peter Harte, Kieran McGeary and Darren Curry, collectively they weren't at the races.
Cavan dominated every sector with their running off-the-ball, quality passing and glue-like tackling at the back giving Tyrone a tortuous evening.
Tyrone were wasteful early on in trying to stymie Cavan, although Darren McCurry’s free cut Cavan’s lead to a manageable 0-5 to 0-2.
Cavan were clinical throughout and a soccer-like goal just after the half-hour from man-of-the-match Gearóid McKiernan’s hoisted the hosts into a comprehensive 1-9 to 0-2 interval lead.
Things got even worse for the visitors when midfielder Richard Donnelly picked up a second yellow after a shemozzle broke out in the 39th minute.
On a perfect night for football, both sides rang the changes after the interval but Tyrone’s call-ups failed to make the required difference.
Instead, Cavan proceeded to coast home with Gerard Smith’s classy outside-of-the-foot effort fairly reflecting the hosts’ swagger all night.
Tyrone continued on their timid ways to the death with late points from Lee Brennan and Seán Loughran evoking ironic cheers from the home support.
CAVAN: R Galligan (0-1); E Finnegan, P Faulkner (0-1), K Brady; J McLoughlin (0-1), C Conroy, O Kiernan; J Smith, K Clarke; G Smith (0-2), G McKiernan (1-4, two frees), O Brady (0-1); Cormac O' Reilly (0-2), P Lynch (0-4, one free), Conor Madden.
Subs; Caoimhín O'Reilly for C O'Reilly (inj, h-t); C Moynagh for E Finnegan (47); N Murray for G Smith, S Smith (0-1) for O Brady, B Kelly for K Brady (all 57); L Brady for R Galligan (58); R O'Neill for C Madden (60); M Argue for K Clarke (61); F O'Reilly for P Lynch, P Smith for G McKiernan (both 63).
TYRONE: L Quinn; L Rafferty, C Quinn, P Hampsey; S Hamill, R Brennan, P Harte; R Donnelly, J Oguz; N Donnelly, K McGeary, T Carney; D McCurry (0-2, two frees), M Conroy (0-1), L Brennan (0-1).
Subs: C Meyler for T Carney, C Kilpatrick for M Conroy, S Loughran (0-1) for S Hamill (h-t); C Grimes for L Rafferty, P Herron for N Donnelly (both 49); M Murnaghan for K McGeary, R Donnelly for C Quinn (both 57); M McKiernan for P Hampsey (68).
Referee: K Faloon (Armagh).
Down 1-10 Antrim 1-12
Paddy McBride’s back post tap-in at the start of the second half was the impetus Antrim needed to get over Down in Group A of the Dr McKenna Cup at Páirc Esler.
Both halves began in lively fashion. Down wing forward Ryan O’Higgins powered through in the fourth minute to open the scoring with a well-taken goal, with James McCartan happy for his side to sit and soak up the pressure while Antrim enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.
Despite missing a couple of frees. Ruairí McCann did finally respond to O'Higgins's early goal. Pat Shivers, also from a placed ball, tied the game at the end of the first quarter.
The sides were level four times in the opening half but McCann’s accuracy from frees deservedly edged it in the Saffrons favour, 0-8 to 1-4.
Barry O’Hagan’s kept Down right in it with four second-half points, but thanks to McBrides’s goal Antrim secured the win to set up a winner-takes-all battle on Saturday versus Donegal in Portglenone.
DOWN: R Burns; P Fegan, B McArdle, G Collins; J Connery, N McParland, J McGeough; A Doherty, L Middleton; R O'Higgins (1-0), C Mooney (0-1), C O'Rawe; B O'Hagan (0-5, three frees, one mark), P O'Hagan (0-1), K McKernan (0-2).
Subs: D O'Hagan (0-1) for McGeough (17 mins), R Carr for Connery (h/t), T Prenter for P O'Hagan (41), A Lynch for McParland (44), C Poland for McArdle, James Donaghy for McKernan (both 56), Conor Francis for Middleton (60).
ANTRIM: O Kerr; R Boyle, R Johnston, E McCabe; P Healy, J Laverty (0-1), J McCann; K Small, M McCann (0-1); P McBride (1-2), P Shivers (0-1, free), R McCann (0-4, four frees); J Gribbin, O Eastwood (0-1, mark), T McCann.
Subs: P McCormick for R McCann, D McAleese for R Boyle (both 46 mins), R Murray (0-1) for Eastwood (49), J McAuley for J McCann, C Murray (0-1) for Shivers (both 56). D McCormick for T McCann (64) B McCormick for Small (69).
Referee: M Farrelly (Cavan).
