Ulster Club Championship: Ballybay stun Cross to make quarter-finals

Aaron Toner scores Ballybay's second goal against Crossmaglen at the Athletic Grounds

Ballybay secured a first ever Ulster SFC victory by beating 11-time winners Crossmaglen Rangers 2-11 to 1-9 in the preliminary round on Saturday night.

Shane McGuinness netted an early Ballybay penalty at the Athletic Grounds but Cross hit back with a superb Rian O'Neill goal.

Cross led 1-5 to 1-4 at the break before the Monaghan champions stormed clear on the restart.

Aaron Toner scored their second goal as Ballybay eased to a five-point win.

Ballybay's reward is a quarter-final meeting with All-Ireland champions Kilcoo, who knocked them out in their last Ulster senior club championship appearance in 2012.

They lost Drew Wylie to an early black card but went on to score the game's first goal on five minutes as Shane McGuinness converted a penalty, awarded for a pull on Daniel Caraher as he was shooting.

Rian O'Neill celebrates scoring Crossmaglen's goal in Saturday night's Ulster SFC encounter

Cross, who had the wind advantage in the first half, responded with a Cian McConville point before O'Neill blasted high into the net from a Jamie Clarke lay-off in the ninth minute.

Tommy Kerr levelled for Ballybay before the Armagh kingpins rattled off three straight points from Caolan Finnegan, Clarke and Ronan Fitzpatrick.

Cross keeper Conor Deery made an excellent save to deny Shane McGuinness a second goal but a point followed from Drew Wylie.

McConville and Ballybay veteran Paul Finlay exchanged scores before what turned out to be a crucial incident in the game.

Cross defender Dara O'Callaghan was black-carded for a deliberate block on Ciaran Galligan in the dying seconds of the first half.

Finlay converted the resulting free as Ballybay went in a point adrift but they would fully capitalise on the man and wind advantage with a blistering start to the second half.

Ballybay scored 1-7 compared to a solitary point for Cross in the decisive period of the match, which got under way with four unanswered points from Dessie Ward, Shane McGuinness (two) and Finlay.

Finnegan registered Crossmaglen's score but Ballybay were soon back on top as Shane McGuinness set up Toner to palm into the net on 39 minutes.

Ward, Finlay and Chris McGuinness extended the lead to 2-11 to 1-6 and while Cross scored the last three points, they never threatened a comeback.

ULSTER CLUB FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULT/FIXTURES (Times GMT)

SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER

SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER