By Niall Gartland

TYRONE ladies star Meabh Corrigan was in buoyant form after last Sunday’s nine-point win over Donegal at Lifford and understandably so.

Victory signified that this weekend’s round two clash against Armagh is now a mere precursor to a much more consequential clash against the Orchard County later in the month on Ulster final day.

For Meabh and the majority of her colleagues, it will be a first ever appearance in an Ulster Senior Championship final at intercounty level, so you really can’t overstate the significance of Sunday’s unexpectedly comfortable win over Division Two champions Donegal.

“We came down here with that in mind – it was a big prize on offer and we were really up for the game. The way it fell, Armagh played Donegal last weekend and Armagh won, so it was all on the line for both ourselves and Donegal. There was a lot at stake for both teams, a first Ulster final for nearly all of us on the Tyrone team.

“It’s our first year back at senior level in a while, so we really wanted to show our worth and get to the final – it’s what we spoke about so hopefully we can go that one step further.”

When Tyrone and Donegal met in the league, they fell to a 3-9 to 1-7 defeat at Aghyaran. The Red Hands made amends in style on Sunday, surging into a 2-5 to 0-2 lead at the break and they never looked in any danger of relinquishing their lead.

Corrigan said: “They didn’t just beat us in the league – they walked all over us. They totally deserved that win in the league, but equally we were really disappointed and it made us reflect on ourselves, with this game in mind. We went out to get to a senior final, but also to right a few wrongs. I think a few people wrote us off after that game, and rightly so. We knew that wasn’t the Tyrone team we want people to think about, so I think we showed that as well.”

The Errigal Ciaran star also praised her colleagues for holding firm in the second half with goals from Chloe McCaffrey, who bagged a hat-trick, and Sláine McCarroll ensuring that Donegal never gained any sort of foothold in the contest.

“We knew we couldn’t take our foot off the pedal, and we said that at half-time: it’s nil-nil again, because we know what Donegal can do when you switch off. We did a good bit of analysis on them and knew what they were capable of – they would have punished us if we stepped off, so it’s credit to the girls that everyone stayed switched on.”