Enda McGinley hails ‘superb’ Canavan siblings as Errigal Ciaran seal Ulster Club final berth
Only one Errigal Ciaran player scored against Clann Eireann who didn’t have the surname Canavan.
Odhran Robinson’s first half effort tied the game at 0-3 all after 12 minutes in Páirc Esler, but the remainder of Errigal’s 14-point tally came from Ruairi and Darragh Canavan and their cousin Tommy.
The younger Canavan was Man-of-the-Match with 0-9, including five from play while Darragh scored two from play and was fouled for three close-range frees - two of which led to points for Tommy Canavan.
Read more: Recap as Ruairi Canavan’s nine-point haul helps Errigal Ciaran edge out 14-man Clann Eireann
The Tyrone champions enjoyed a bigger spread of scores in previous rounds, but they needed the Canavan brothers at their brilliant best on Sunday and they delivered some incredible moments of skill with Ruairi, fittingly, scoring the winning point deep in injury-time.
Errigal boss Enda McGinley praised the performance of the Canavan brothers as they look forward to an Ulster Final clash with Kilcoo at the Box-It Athletic Grounds on Sunday, December 8.
“He (Ruairi) was superb and all credit to him because there have been times this season where it has been tough and he has shown huge character,” said McGinley.
“On various days, we've had various people standing up and taking critical scores when maybe Ruairi and Darragh weren't as prominent, but I thought the two of them were absolutely superb today.
“Quite a few frees, I'd say, from Ruairi would have been (for fouls) on Darragh. He took a hell of a lot of punishment today, but huge leadership and that's what he gives us. But we've got a whole team there and the next day out it will probably need to be somebody else.”
Errigal Ciaran are the only team from Tyrone to have won the Ulster Club SFC title and McGinley played on the last Errigal team to win the provincial series in 2002 while the Dunmoyle men also won Ulster in 1993.
Omagh St Enda’s were the last Tyrone team to reach the Ulster final having lost out to Slaughtneil in 2014.
McGinley said they’ll revisit their past success in the build-up to their fifth Ulster final and is hoping that playing Kilcoo will bring out the best in his side after the Down kingpins scored a decisive 5-10 to 0-14 win over Scotstown in their semi-final meeting.
“We will, we'll talk about it a lot, but they're a group that has for several years now been working exceptionally hard and putting in massive work for the club,” added the former Tyrone star.
“They're an exceptionally close group. They'll know that they're up against a huge opponent, but sometimes whenever that opponent is a pretty special team like Kilcoo, it can bring the best out of you too, so that's what you're hoping to harness.
“You're not wanting to put any weight on their shoulders, there's just a sense of opportunity - what a privilege it is in December now to be heading in, still training and still having an opportunity to go and win stuff, so it's a brilliant place to be. I don't think we'll need to build it up too much for them.”
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