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Sunday’s four rescheduled AIB Ulster Club SFC quarter-finals saw wins for Clontibret, Kilcoo, Loup and St Gall’s.
Clontibret (Monaghan) 0-10 Dromore (Tyrone) 0-8
Monaghan’s Clontibret will face St Gall’s of Antrim in Ulster’s last four after they withstood a comeback from Tyrone’s Dromore to advance from the last eight.
Last week’s clash of Clontibret and Dromore was, like all the other games set for that day in the province, postponed for a week due to weather conditions. In better weather Clontibret were thankful to have Conor McManus passed fit as he weighed in with two early scores.
That helped his side to a four-point lead and they led for much of the game before the Tyrone men came roaring back.
Star man Colm McCullagh was to the fore as Dromore closed to within a point. He and Eoin McCusker threw over several frees as the gap was cut to one point, but McCullagh was then sent off and from there the Monaghan men prevailed.
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Kilcoo (Down) 0-13 St Eunan’s (Donegal) 0-9
Kilcoo of Down continued a great season on Sunday when they ousted the far more provincially-experienced Donegal champions St Eunan’s by four points at Newry.
It was the Down men’s first ever game outside the county after their maiden Mourne success and they made it count as Paul Devlin’s prolific boots led them into a semi-final against Derry’s Loup.
Devlin hit 0-6 in all and was to the fore as his side led 0-6 to 0-4 at the break.
Conal Dunne was top scorer for St Eunan’s but neither he nor his team-mates could do enough as Martin McClean, Dominic Kane and Paul McEvoy all played their part on another historic day for Kilcoo.
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Loup (Derry) 1-10 Derrygonnelly (Fermanagh) 1-6
Loup lie in wait for Kilcoo after the Derry champions got the better of Fermanagh counterparts Derrygonnelly by four points at Celtic Park.
However, the first half hinted at a far closer game. Ryan Jones was in fine form for the Erne men as he hit four scores before the break. Paul McFlynn was looking equally-adept and two points from him saw Loup into a 0-7 to 0-5 lead.
But a well-taken free from Peter Ward meant that there was just one point between the teams at half-time.
However, McFlynn took centre-stage after the break as the men from the Oak Leaf county began to break clear. He hit a further two points and they closed on victory when Aiden McAlynn found the back of the Derrygonnelly net.
The Fermanagh men tried to hit back but missed far too many chances before Peter Gallagher hit a goal.
But it was not enough and the long wait for a Fermanagh team to achieve Ulster success goes on.
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St Gall’s (Antrim) 0-10 Pearse Og (Armagh) 0-8
St Gall’s will meet Clontibret in the Ulster semi-finals after two late scores ensured a tight victory over Armagh kingpins Pearse Og.
Rory Gallagher, CJ McGourty, Sean Kelly and Karl Stewart all helped St Gall’s to a two-point half-time lead and it could have been more as they commanded for much of the opening 30.
However, Orchard County star Ronan Clarke helped Pease Og stage a comeback. Clarke, brother Conor, Paul Devlin and Declan McManus all helped the Armagh men level it up to 0-8 apiece.
But Kevin Niblock and Ciaran McGourty ensured that the Antrim men would advance with a late point each.