Castlerahan 1-8
Belturbet 1-4

Castlerahan booked themselves into a long-awaited Cavan senior football championship final this evening after seeing off 14-man Belturbet at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Oisin O'Connell's 45th minute goal proved the crucial strike which rounded off a splendid third quarter spell for the Ballyjamesduff men, whom had been flat in the first-half against a Belturbet side which led by two points at half-time despite kicking nine wides.

Niall O'Reilly's sending off just before half-time didn't aid the Rories' cause, while the loss of former county ace Eoin McGuigan to injury was also another blow, as they were completely outclassed in a second-half in which they could only muster two scores against the winners, whom now await last year's beaten finalists Cavan Gaels in the county final.

Oisin O'Connell fired over the opener for Castlerahan inside two minutes after cutting loose down the right flank and drilling between the posts.

However, that would be about as good got for the would-be winner in the opening 30 minutes, as Niall O'Reilly sent Eoin McGuigan through for Belturbet's reply on seven minutes, before the Rories would bring their wides' tally up to six by the 12th minute in their hunt for the lead.

The same O'Reilly eventually gave Beltubet their first lead on the quarter hour mark after Johnny Klusch gathered a short free from Brendan Fitzpatrick and laid off to his centre-forward, as the men wearing black and amber began to dictate things with Damian O'Reilly and Kevin McConnell sweeping up at the back.

Veteran Jason O'Reilly doubled the advantage with a left-footed free, but Belturbet would be dealt a blow when midfielder McGuigan suffered a hit to his kidneys and had to be substituted, with Conor Vaughan taking his place, as the half drew to a close.

It would turn into a double blow for Cathal Murphy's side minutes later, as they would be reduced to 14 men in injury-time when Niall O'Reilly was issued a straight red card for kicking out at Enda O'Connell. The incident led to a melee which took minutes to dissolve, before Brendan Sweeney blew for half-time with the score-line still reading 0-3 to 0-1 in Belturbet's favour.

Having struck nine wides in the opening 30 minutes and lost their only two scores from play thus far, Belturbet faced into an uphill battle in the second-half with their opponents yet to ignite.

Within a minute of the restart all the leaders' good work during the first-half was undone as Paul Brady, now operating at full-forward, shot over two quick scores to level matters for Castlerahan.

Belturbet hadn't received the wake-up call as Sean Brady was denied a goal moments later by David Greene's left hand post, but a Ronan Flanagan free and a slick point from Cian Mackey ushered the now rampant Ballyjamesduff men into a two-point advantage.

A sweetly struck '45' from Brady pushed the lead to three, which should have been reduced when Jason O'Reilly had a relatively simple free in front of goal but his effort rebounded off the post and from there Castlerahan broke to carry possession as far as Oisin O'Connell, who lashed over a superb score from the right sideline.

Belturbet produced their first genuine chance of the second-half from play in the 43rd minute when brilliant work from O'Reilly at full-forward released Brendan Fitzpatrick in front of the posts, but the corner-forward crashed his powerful effort off the underside of Jamie Leahy's crossbar and Castlerahan scrambled to clear the danger.

It proved to be the turning point, as a Stephen Cooney point down the other end was quickly followed up by Oisin O'Connell sneaking in behind the Rories' defence and rolling a cool finish past David Greene for three points which sent Ciaran Macken's charges into a commanding seven-point lead with under a quarter of a hour left.

O'Reilly responded with what was Belturbet's first score of the half 17 minutes in, as they sent seasoned campaigner Ollie Donohoe on at full-forward in search of a goal, which they did manage when the substitute punched to the net after a long ball in from Damian O'Reilly, before the long whistle sounded confirming Castlerahan's place in the decider along side Cavan Gaels.

Belturbet: David Greene; Stuart Murphy, Damian O'Reilly, Garret McDonald; Mark Teevan, Kevin McConnell, Donald Magee; Eoin McGuigan (0-1), Cormac Rudden; Johnny Klusch, Niall O'Reilly (0-1), Johnny Higgins; Garrett Fitzpatrick, Jason O'Reilly (0-2, 1f), Brendan Fitzpatrick. Subs: Conor Vaughan for McGuigan (29 mins), Ollie Donohoe (1-0) for Rudden (46 mins), Connell McGinley for G Fitzpatrick (59 mins).

Castlerahan: Jamie Leahy; Stephen Cooney (0-1), Eugene Hill, Alan Mulvey; David Wright, Ronan Flanagan (0-1, 1f) Enda O'Connell; Paul Brady (0-2), Alan Cusack; Paul Cusack, Sean Brady (0-1, '45'), Paul Smith; Cian Mackey (0-1), Oisin O'Connell (1-2), John Clarke. Sub: Fergal Flanagan for A Cusack (59 mins).

Ref: Brendan Sweeney (Ballymachugh) Tweet

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