Glen beat reigning All-Ireland champions Kilcoo to claim first Ulster title

Glen won their first Ulster club SFC title with a committed and ferocious display of intensity to end Kilcoo’s reign as Ulster and All-Ireland senior football champions.

In their first provincial final, Glen led a brilliant contest from start to finish but the Derry champions had to withstand a strong fightback from Kilcoo before lifting the Seamus McFerran in front an ecstatic crowd in the Athletic Grounds.

Kilcoo struggled to contain Glen’s pace and energy in the first half, particularly the first quarter when the Derry challengers raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead after 11 minutes.

Glen owned the Kilcoo kickout at that stage. Points flowed over from Conor Glass, man-of-the-match Conleith McGuckian and Jack Doherty in a breathtaking opening to a gripping game.

Kilcoo do not like chasing games, but they chased this one hard and fought like champions.

A bit of quick-thinking from Aaron Branagan, whose run inside was spotted by Dylan Ward, got them back into it. He flicked the ball home with his left hand for the opening goal midway through the first half.

Malachy O’Rourke had Glen ready to respond to any setback and they did not look rattled. Ryan Dougan fisted over after they got inside to penetrate the black and white Kilcoo wall.

Paul Devlin had an eventful opening half for Kilcoo, sitting out 10 minutes for a black card before coming back on to miss a penalty at the end of the half after Jerome Johnston was clattered.

Devlin’s left-footed effort shaved the bottom of the keeper’s left-hand post and bounced wide.

It was a big moment, because to go in behind at that stage would have been a huge psychological blow to Glen – and fuelled Kilcoo with belief that they could not be denied a third Ulster club title in a row.

Instea