Favourites Kilcoo and Errigal Ciaran clash in Ulster decider

The Ulster Club Senior Football Championship concludes on Sunday with favourites Kilcoo taking on Errigal Ciaran in the final.

Having impressed in the earlier rounds, Down champions Kilcoo are much fancied to clinch a third title while Tyrone kingpins Errigal Ciaran are hoping to end a 22-year wait for their third provincial triumph.

In addition to the Seamus McFerran Cup, the prize for victory on Sunday will be a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals in early January.

Here is all you need to know about the Ulster Club final.

When, where and how to follow

The final takes place on Sunday at 15:30 GMT at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.

The match will be shown live on TG4 while you can follow live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.

Who will the winners play?

The winners of Sunday’s game will face the winners of the Munster Club final between Loughmore-Castleiney (Tipperary) and Dr Crokes (Kerry) in the All-Ireland semi-finals on the weekend of 4/5 January.

What about Storm Darragh?

The fast-approaching Storm Darragh has already caused the cancellation of several events in Northern Ireland this weekend.

While the Ulster Club final is still scheduled to go ahead as planned, BBC Sport NI will provide an update if the situation changes.

How did Kilcoo get here?

As recently as 2022, Kilcoo were the best team in Ireland. They won the Ulster title in 2019 and 2021 and claimed a memorable All-Ireland triumph in January 2022 when they stunned Dublin’s Kilmacud Crokes in the final with a late Jerome Johnston goal.

Since then, while nobody has been able to knock them off their perch in the Mourne County, they have suffered some disappointing defeats at provincial level. In 2022-23, they relinquished their Ulster title to Derry champions Glen, losing 1-12 to 1-6 in the final.

Last season – their first under the management of former Donegal star Karl Lacey – their Ulster wounds deepened when they crashed out of the quarter-finals at the hands of Monaghan champions Scotstown.

This year, however, they have bounced back. Having sealed a sixth straight Down title, the Magpies proved too strong for Cavan’s Crosserlough in the Ulster quarter-final before smashing five goals past Scotstown in a redemptive semi-final success.

Given that emphatic result, Kilcoo are seemingly peaking at the perfect time as they close in on another Ulster title.

What about Errigal Ciaran?

Kilcoo’s journey back to the Ulster final has taken two years. For Errigal Ciaran, it’s been 22 years.

Inspired by a young Peter Canavan, their first Ulster title arrived in 1993. While further Tyrone triumphs followed in ’94, ’97 and 2000, they had to wait until 2002 before ascending to the Ulster summit for the second time.

Canavan, again, was to the fore in ’02, scoring four points in the final to help Mickey Harte’s side hold off Enniskillen Gaels in horrendous conditions in Clones.

So perhaps it is fitting that Canavan’s two sons – Darragh and Ruairi – have played such a pivotal role in driving Errigal Ciaran back to their first Ulster showpiece in 22 years.

Managed by Tyrone’s three-time All-Ireland winner Enda McGinley – a member of the 2002 team – Errigal Ciaran denied Trillick back-to-back titles in the Red Hand County’s famously competitive championship.

Buoyed by avenging their 2023 Tyrone final loss, they edged past Donegal champions St Eunan’s in Ulster preliminary round, beat Antrim’s Cargin in the last eight and just about downed 14-man Clann Eireann of Armagh in the semi-final.

Who should I look out for?

The aforementioned Canavan brothers will be key to Errigal’s chances. In fact, the Canavan family accounted for all but one of their 14 scores against Clann Eireann. Ruairi starred with a cracking nine-point haul, Darragh scored three while their cousin Tommy chipped in with another.

The quality in this Errigal panel extends beyond the Canavans, though. Peter Harte, a stalwart at inter-county level for the Red Hands, has been a typically steady presence, Joe Oguz and Ben McDonnell are notable names while in Niall Kelly they have a thou-shall-not-pass defender who produced a stunning goal-saving block against Clann Eireann.

Kilcoo, as you would expect, are littered with proven operators at this level. Even in his late 30s, Down manager Conor Laverty remains a key part of the panel while All-Ireland final goalscoring hero Jerome Johnston is still an effective attacking out.

Regular free-taker Paul Devlin, however, is battling to be fit. Having struck 0-7 against Crosserlough, he was withdrawn just prior to throw-in before the Scotstown game with Lacey saying he is “doing everything he can” to make the final.

What have they said

Kilcoo boss Karl Lacey on the threat posed by Errigal Ciaran:

“Our heads are down again and we know our preparation has to be really, really high going into this final against Errigal Ciaran who are a well-coached, well-drilled, high experience with some really good individual players. Our preparations need to be the best.”

Errigal Ciaran defender Niall Kelly on being underdogs:

“I wouldn’t say the pressure’s off. There’s always pressure to perform. We know the challenge that’s ahead of us. Kilcoo have been there and done it for numerous  years now and they’ve won Ulsters and the All-Ireland as well. We just have to try our best on the day.”