Trillick 0-09 Crossmaglen 0-04

Tyrone champions Trillick dominated a one-sided second half to send Crossmaglen limping out of the Ulster Club SFC at O'Neills Healy Park.

The Armagh champions, once dominant in the northern province and beyond, but without an Ulster title in eight years, failed to score after taking a 0-4 to 0-2 lead in the 26th minute, their challenge collapsing alarmingly as the home side seized control.

Trillick threw off the shackles after a nervy opening period, running at their opponents and cashing in on their spirit of adventure.

And they had the men to pick off the scores that carried them to the semi-final, with Cross finishing with 14 men following the straight red card dismissal of skipper Jamie Clarke five minutes from the end.

A tense, tactical opening half saw both sides drop into defensive set-ups to determine that there was going to be virtually no expansive, flowing football to warm the hearts of disgruntled fans on a cold November evening.

The first quarter produced just one score, thanks to a moment of inspiration from former Armagh attacker Clarke, who spotted a gap in the cover to dart through and pick off 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 out 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, now aged 34, and another O’Neill free sent the Rangers in with a 0-04 to 0-02 interval lead.

Ciaran Daly, one of the few bright attacking lights of the first period, landed a superb 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 0-07 to 0-04 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 Clarke received a straight red card for a challenge on Seanie O’Donnell, as they limped out of the Ulster series.

Trillick: J Maguire; S O’Donnell, P McCaughey, D Tunney; S O’Donnell, R Brennan, D Gallagher; R Donnelly (0-02), L Gray; C Daly (0-01), N Donnelly, R Gray (0-02); D Donnelly, L Brennan (0-02, 1f), James Garrity (0-02).

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 (0-02), R O’Neill (0-02, 2f), C McConville.

Subs: R Fitzpatrick for Hughes (h-t), 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)