UUJ were simply too good for UL in Jordanstown.
Tyrone haven’t had the smoothest starts to the league, with zero points from their first two games, but encouragement could be drawn from Lee Brennan’s performance against Dublin at the weekend.
The Trillick forward made his first start for Mickey Harte’s side against the Dubs and didn’t pass up the opportunity to impress, scoring 0-6 in Omagh. Of course, Tyrone’s profligacy in firing several wides against Jim Gavin’s men stopped them from causing an upset on Saturday, but Brennan had reason to walk off the pitch with his head held high.
Brennan started for Tyrone after impressing Harte for UUJ against St Mary’s in the Sigerson Cup last week and it was back to business for the 2015 U21 All-Ireland winner as Jordanstown took on UL in the competition’s quarter-final, the hosts’ formidable forward line showcasing their firepower en route to a 4-6 to 0-11 victory.
A red card for UL’s Pearse Lillis for a clear off-the-ball strike on Mark Bradley in the second minute didn’t help the visitors’ cause and UUJ, with Lee and Rory Brennan in menacing form, took full advantage in effectively ending the game as a contest before half-time.
Tyrone's Lee Brennan was in top form for the five time champs today https://t.co/4PmZJgpbxY
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) January 31, 2018
After Ryan McAnespie fired a brilliant opener for UUJ, the writing was on the wall for UL. The Monaghan man should have netted his second just a minute later when he fired wide in a one-on-one but the waves of white just kept coming.
After 16 minutes, Lee Brennan struck the second goal after a hand pass from his brother, Rory, to make it 2-2 to 0-2. Just three minutes later, Rory had a goal of his own, latching on to Niall Madine’s ball before bursting through and rifling into the top corner.
UL fought admirably in the second half, scoring nine points after registering just two in a torrid opening period, but it’s UUJ who booked their place in the last four. The joint-favourites are looking very good at this stage.
You can watch UUJ going to town in the first-half below with a three-goal compilation, made by Jerome Quinn. You can catch plenty more coverage on Jerome’s HE GAA YouTube page, too.
With thanks to Odhran Crumley, who provided team news and additional reporting for today’s game.
