Eoin Bradley brilliant as Glenullin blitz Glenravel to make Ulster Club semi-finals

Glenullin 3-13 Glenravel 0-7

Alexa, show me championship progress?

Last year at this stage of the Ulster Intermediate Club Championship Glenullin conceded seven goals to Tyrone’s Galbally. On Sunday, they conceded just seven points as the remarkable Eoin ‘Skinner’ Bradley scored a goal more then the entire Glenravel total in a brilliant all round display from Paddy Bradley’s team. But it was the veteran full forward who turned the Glenravel defence inside out with his darting runs, clever passes and deadly finishing to set up a semi-final date with Cavan club Ballyhaise.

Glenravel suffered a pre match set back when regular full back Sean Higgins was unable to play, forcing manager Joe Cassidy to restructure his defence with

centre back Niall Swan getting the unenviable task of tracking ‘Skinner’. Like a couple of other markers it proved to be too much.

In the first half the Antrim champions were still well in the game but within ten seconds of the restart Glenullin captain Traglach Bradley put the gloss on a great team move with a blistering shot past keeper Jonathan Fyfe and into the net.

Ironically Irish League team-mates Bradley and Glenravel’s Eamon Fyfe had both scored for Portadown just 24 hours earlier in a 4-1 victory over Dergview but in Celtic Park, Bradley took the honours, hitting 1-7 to Fyfe’s 0-3. Indeed there were two former Derry team mates in charge of the teams in the forms of Paddy Bradley and Joe Cassidy.

Glenullin might have got the rub of the green in the Derry final but they did not need any help in this game. They played with great fluency and there was a sharpness in their movement that Glenravel could not match. The Antrim side played a possession game with little end product and were wasteful in attack.

Not so Glenullin, everything they did had thought behind it and while they did miss a few chances they were clearly intent on wiping out the memory of last year’s bad day in Celtic Park.

The winners defence was drum tight, the central pairing of Eunan and John O’Kane using all their great experience to good effect while, on the right flank of the half back line, Cormac Hasson made some brilliant breaks and got the first score of the game. Traglach Bradey and Neil McNicholl edged midfield despite an eye catching display from Cathal Hynds. and apart from Skinner there was some great scores from Donal O’Kane.

Glenullin might have had a second minute goal when keeper Fyfe fumbled a long ball from Neil McNicholl but the angle was too tight for the inrushing Donal O’Kane. In the third minute however Cormac Hasson scorched up the right flank to open the scoring and it was quickly followed by a converted Eoin Bradley free.

The omens were not good for Glenravel when Ryan McQullan missed a simple looking mark before John O’Kane set up his brother, Dermot, who put his side three to the good. It was the 10th minute before Glenravel found the target with a long range effort from Eamon Fyfe but the pattern of Eoin Bradley being fouled and converting the resultant free was the order of the day for point number four.

Glenravel got their second score from a Ryan McQuillan free before Hasson placed ‘Skinner’ for a 0-5 to 0-2 lead after 20 minutes. At that stage Glenravel

looked far from a beaten team when Cormac McKeown closed the margin with a neat point. Neil McNicholl and Eamon Fyfe, from a free, then kept the margin at two but on the call of half time ‘Skinner’ converted his own free for a 0-7 to 0-4 lead.

However that well worked Traglach Bradley goal proved a sucker punch for the Con Magee’s who did not have enough threat in attack to close a six point

gap which kept increasing as the game went on.

Donal O’Kane stretched the lead to seven and while Cormac McKeown scored a fine solo point, it made little difference as Eoin Bradley quickly responded (free) and Neil McNicholl tapped over for a 1-10 to 0-5 lead in the 38th minute.

The game lost a bit of its cutting edge as Glenullin had victory in the bag and Glenravel knew it. Still, had Ross McQuillan not missed a clear goal chance it might have sparked Glenravel to life.

The curtain came down on the Glenravel scoring nine minutes from time but not so Glenullin who had saved their best for the closing stages. Donal O’Kane and Ryan McNicholl combined to put ‘Skinner’ through for a punched goal before he then made the sore 2-12 to 0-7 going into added time. Another Bradley point was followed by a brilliantly worked third goal.

‘Skinner’ roamed outfield to intercept a loose Glenravel pass. He picked out Dermot O’Kane and the experienced replacement sent fellow sub Eoin McIvar through to blast the ball high to the net to cap a fantastic display.

Glenullin: Niall O’Kane; Daniel O’Kane, Eunan O’Kane, Diarmuid McNicholl; Cormac Hasson (0-1), John O’Kane, Conor Rafferty; Traglach Bradley (1-0), Neil McNicholl (0-2); Cathal Hasson. Ryan McNicholl, Donal O’Kane (0-3); Eunan Boylan, Eoin Bradley (1-7, 4f), Fearghal Close. (Subs) Dermot O’Kane for F Close (inj), 12mins; Rónán Close for Cathal Hasson, 41mins; Eamonn Hasson for E Boylan, 57mins; Christopher Dempsey for C Rafferty, 59mins; Eoin McIlvar (1-0) for Donal O’Kane, 61mins.

Glenravel: Jonathan Fyfe; Charlie Henry, Connor McNeill, Conor Carey; Rian Lennon, Niall Swann, Declan Traynor; Callum Higgins (0-1). Cathal Hynds; Conor McKeown (0-2), Eoin Hynds, Ryan McQuillan (0-1f); Aidan O’Donnell, David Higgins, Eamon Fyfe (0-3, 1f). (Subs) Conleth O’Loan for A O’Donnell, 38mins; Daniel McQuillan for C McNeill (40), Sean McKay for D for Traynor, 50mins; Eoin McCusker for A O’Donnell, 56mins.

Referee: Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone).