Dungiven's talent line shows its true worth

Clones caught the first real nip of winter yesterday. On an afternoon for blowing on your hands and wishing for the spring it was Dungiven of Derry who emerged with the sort of success which will insulate them between now and St Patrick's Day. Their three-point winning margin over the champions of four years ago, Errigal Ciaran, barely gave expression to their superiority in a second half which saw them lose Joe Brolly but skip to victory nonetheless.

With a side backboned by players with inter-county experience and filled out by talents most of whom can't have been far off county honours, Dungiven laid down a significant marker yesterday. The name players - Joe Brolly, Geoffrey McGonigle, Brian McGilligan and the McKeever brothers - all played distinguished parts, but the balance in the side was what impressed observers the most.

The win was comfortable enough in the end but the first half was distinguished by the closeness of the scoring and the viciousness of the tackling.

With so many old enmities to be renewed it was unsuprising that some of the play crossed certain boundaries. Topping the bill in that regard was the tussle between Kieran McKeever and Peter Canavan, who continued their combustible relationship with due lack of caution.

The Punch and Judy stuff between McKeever and Canavan was replicated in other areas of the field and though the sides got to the break on level terms, if one stripped the game of the niggling and dragging, Dungiven had played the better football.

True, Errigal scored the only goal of the game, a neat piece of plotting in the eighth minute which saw Eamon McCaffrey pick out Peter Canavan with a swift kicked pass. Canavan deftly flicked the ball into the path of Aidan McGinley (operating as a wing forward) who finished to the net. Other than that, however, all the Errigal scoring came from placed balls by Eoin Gormley.

Dungiven were more creative. Brian McGilligan can get off the ground these days, but can't move across it. He uses what assets are left to him well, however, picking out the passes wisely and placing himself like a concrete bollard in the middle of the field.

When McGilligan or those who aid and abet him seek to make the pass to the inside line, their options are attractive. Joe Brolly represents movement and creativity. Geoffrey McGonigle represents a solid target. The energetic and adventurous Cathal Grieve works as something of a facilitator between the two.

Brolly was hammered like a piece of veal for much of the first half and a crunching, late challenge late in that period left him with a bruised face and a damaged right foot. He hobbled on bravely for a while before giving up the ghost late in the second half.

His impairment was significant as a test of Dungiven's depth.

The best points of the game came from swift Dungiven moves and with Brolly being tightly marked, they proved themselves a team of evenly-balanced talent. The club competition often goes to the team with the fewest weak links and with Brolly's star having waned, Dungiven looked solid throughout.

A three-point string of Dungiven points in the middle of the first half illustrated the Derry side's potential. Ryan Murphy popped over a huge score from 40 yards out on 13 minutes. Not long afterwards, Grieve underlined a brilliantly intricate move with a calm point and then a take and feed by Brolly set Paul Murphy up for a simple score. Coming in the space of three minutes, when added to an earlier Brolly point, they were sufficient to wipe out the deficit created by McGinley's goal.

Errigal Ciaran came out late for the second half and while one supposes they weren't using the stolen minutes to meditate in search of inner peace, the second half was certainly more football-orientated.

In that environment it was Dungiven who thrived after a faltering start to the half. Canavan, still threatening if not at his best, opened the scoring with a fisted point and Eoin Gormley, disappointing after his semi-final heroics, added another from a free soon after. Grieve and Peter Canavan then did a quick swap of scores to leave Errigal two points clear going into the final 20 minutes.

Dungiven then scored six points without reply in as fine a spell of football as the club championship has seen this year. They dominated midfield and their lively half forwards dug out everything available. They took the lead, for the first time in the game, 13 minutes in to the half.

Fittingly, that score came from the boot of Geoffrey McGonigle, whose five-point contribution made him Dungiven's most influential component. His sturdy figure served as much more than a mere target in the critical periods of the second half. He went looking for ball and took responsibility on his shoulders.

Errigal, who had devoted much of their pre-match planning to snipping the supply lines to Brolly, found themselves curiously ill-suited to an environment in which Brolly was no longer a factor.

Pascal Canavan had sporadic patches of excellence in midfield, but these became fewer as the game wore on. The forwards weren't functioning as smoothly or with as much licence as they had against Crossmaglen in the semi-final.

Errigal scored the last point of the game at a time when they were four adrift and were desperately battering away trying to score a goal. The Dungiven bench raised their arms in triumph when the ball skittered over their crossbar. Seconds later the last whistle sounded.

Remarkably, Dungiven became the third Derry side this decade to win out the Ulster club championship. On the basis of yesterday's display, they have the potential to match the achievement of Lavey in 1992 and go all the way. Ten thousand people drifted off into the November gloom expecting to see more silverware annexed in the new year.

Dungiven: O McCloskey; S Heavern (0-1), K McKeever, S McGonigle; E Lynch, E McKeever, B McGonigle; B McGilligan, R McCloskey; P Murphy (0-1), E Kelly, R Murphy (0-1); J Brolly (0-3), G McGonigle (0-5, three frees), C Grieve (0-3, one free). Subs: B Kealey for R McCloskey (41 mins), B Kelly for Brolly (47 mins).

Errigal Ciaran: C McAnenly; S Mallon, E McGinley, C McCann; E Kavanagh, C McRory, A McGinley (1-0); Pascal Canavan, H Quinn; B Neill (0-1), M McCaffrey, E McCaffrey; C Quinn, Peter Canavan (0-2), E Gormley (0-5, all frees). Subs: M McGirr for M McCaffrey (42 mins), M Farrell for C Quinn (53 mins).

Referee: M McBrien (Fermanagh).