Finishing masterclass puts Ulster in control

A devestating seven-minute spell that yielded three stunning goals helped Ulster breathe life into the men’s senior interprovincials at Garryduff today. Leinster looked set to have the championship wrapped up with 24 hours to spare, as they were a goal to the good at the break and in control of a tie played at a breakneck pace. But Ulster’s marksmen are no slouches either, and it was the triumvirate of Timmy Cockram, Mark Gleghorne and Eugene Magee that were the catalyst for this win. As was the case against Munster on Friday night, everything good Leinster did revolved around Stephen Butler. His fourth-minute drag-flick put them in front, and he and Andy McConnell were over-running Jason Lynch and Jonny Quigley in the middle.

Leinster thought they’d doubled their advantage on 11 minutes when Gareth Watkins skipped the ball under Gareth Lennox after being fed by Mitch Darling, but the latter was adjudged to have backed into an Ulster defender and the whistle had already sounded. Clear-cut chances were few and far between thereafter however, and Leinster were made to pay for failing to convert their dominance into goals as Ulster turned the game on its head after the break. Gleghorne out-stripped Tim Lewis down the left and fed Eugene Magee near the penalty spot, and he twisted Joe Brennan inside and out before lifting a delicate reverse flick over Iain Walker to the far top corner. If that was a goal to admire, the next, coming just two minutes later, was even better. Leinster lost Brennan – who had had an impressive first-half – in between, as he caught a Magee rocket square on the knee and required a couple of minutes of treatment before being helped off. Before Leinster had time to re-organise their defence in the Glenanne man’s absence, they’d been hit by a bolt from the blue. Cockram robbed Butler in midfield and squared for Gleghorne, who produced an outrageous piece of control before returning the ball to the onrushing Lisnagarvey man on the far left of the circle. He appeared to be winding up for a reverse-stick cross, but instead blasted the ball high inside Walker’s near post – a stunning finish worth the admission alone. Leinster still hadn’t digested the turnaround and failed to re-settle, with disastrous circumstances. Magee was left all alone 30 yards out, and he picked out Chris Cargo, who cut in from the right and hammered a reverse low to the bottom corner on 45 minutes.

The blues did find some of their rhythm despite being forced to chase the game, without ever exerting the authority and fluency they enjoyed in the first half, and Gleghorne had to be alert to clear an Alan Sothern effort off the line. But John Jackson, a colossus in defence all day, continued to thwart them time and time again, while Lynch began to strut his stuff in midfield to keep Leinster at arm’s length. Butler’s frustration boiled over in the dying minutes as he saw yellow fir dissent, putting the final nail in their hopes of a comeback. Leinster must now look on tomorrow knowing their hopes of retaining their crown are out of their hands. A win of any description will do Ulster against Munster today, but things could become more complicated if the hosts win by two clear goals –  that scenario would leave each side with a goal difference of zero.