Errigal Ciaran beat 14-man Kilcoo in dramatic finish to win Ulster title

Errigal Ciaran will face Dr Crokes in the All-Ireland semi-finals

Peter Og McCartan kicked a dramatic late winner as Errigal Ciaran beat Kilcoo 1-8 to 0-10 to claim their first Ulster Senior Club Football title since 2002.

The sides were level seven times in a tight and tense encounter at the Athletic Grounds with Kilcoo reduced to 14 men midway through the second half when Darryl Branagan was shown a straight red card.

Joe Oguz's early goal gave Errigal Ciaran a dream start, and while Brangan's dismissal was a blow for Kilcoo, the Magpies held on until McCartan's decisive long-range score deep into injury time.

After Tommy Canavan had spurned an opportunity to win it for Errigal, defender McCartan picked up possession and unleashed a towering right-footed shot to win it for the Tyrone club and spark ecstatic celebrations in Armagh.

Errigal will now meet Dr Crokes in the All-Ireland semi-final in the first week of January with the Kerry side having won the Munster title earlier on Sunday.

Tight first half

Down champions Kilcoo, the 2019 and 2021 winners, had been viewed as the favourites after they smashed five goals past Scotstown in a ruthless semi-final display.

And Karl Lacey's side - who won the All-Ireland title under Mickey Moran in 2022 - opened the scoring after two minutes, a spell of patient possession ending with Eugene Branagan dispatching between the sticks from long range.

But Errigal's cause was given a serious shot in the arm when they scored the game's only goal just three minutes later.

Ruairi Canavan slipped a pass to brother Darragh, and while the Errigal captain was seemingly fouled, he had the presence of mind to flick the ball across the face of goal where Oguz was well-placed to punch the ball into the net.

From there, it was a tight game. Kilcoo replied with the long-range free from goalkeeper Niall Kane before Miceal Rooney knocked over to level the sides.

And while Tommy Canavan replied with a free, the men in black and white hit the next three scores during an impressive spell.

Errigal thought they had scored a second goal when Tiarnan Colhoun scuffed the ball home, but referee Noel Mooney stepped in to rule it out because of a square ball.

While Paul Devlin and Darryl Branagan gave Kilcoo a two-point lead, Errigal hit the final two scores of the half through Tommy and Darragh Canavan to level at 1-3 to 0-6 at the break.

Darragh Canavan lifts the Seamus McFerran Cup

It was tit-for-tat in the second half, too, with Kilcoo replying through Devlin and a Eugene Branagan score after Ciaran Quinn had edged Errigal ahead.

The game's flashpoint arrived halfway through the second half when Darryl Branagan was given a straight red card for a perceived elbow on Odhran Robinson.

Still the sides traded scores, first through Harte and Devlin before a beautiful McCartan effort with the outside of his right boot was cancelled out by Anthony Morgan.

Then, after Tommy Canavan landed his third free to level the sides for the seventh time, McCartan struck the decisive blow with 30 seconds remaining.

There was just enough time for Kilcoo to stage one last attack, but when they failed to conjure a shot, Errigal began celebrating a famous win.

Now, having conquered Ulster, Enda McGinley's side will launch their bid to become the first Tyrone club to win an All-Ireland title, starting with January's semi-final against two-time champions Dr Crokes.