Ulster Club SFC: 'Glen-Errigal Ciaran thriller a fitting end to whirlwind quarter-final weekend'
With a host of inter-county stars on show, an expectant crowd and the television cameras rolled into Celtic Park, it would have been easy for Glen and Errigal Ciaran's Ulster Club quarter-final to be swallowed up by the hype. 
We didn't have to wait long to discover that wasn't going to be the case.
On pressure-packed occasions such as this, with a place in a provincial semi-final on the line, it is easy for players to tread carefully and engage in risk-averse football, driven by a desire not to throw it all away. 
But in Derry, we had three goals inside the opening 15 minutes of a memorable encounter: two from Glen, one from Errigal. 
re were some truly wonderful snapshots, too, from Errigal Ciaran stalwart Peter Harte's improvised goal-line clearance to Ruairi Canavan's sumptuous dummy that preceded a sensational score.
wo teams, throwing everything they had at it, showcasing the best of club football. It was a joy to behold, even if the frantic press box note-taking left one reaching for the paracetamol before hitting the road back to Belfast.
And all this came at the end of a whirlwind weekend of Ulster club football in which Enniskillen Gaels and Cargin prevailed in penalty shootouts while All-Ireland champions Kilcoo moved one step closer to completing a provincial hat-trick with a deserved win over Ballybay.
quarter-final results keep alive the mouthwatering possibility of a Glen-Kilcoo decider, a showpiece the Derry side will undoubtedly relish having been edged out by the Magpies in last year's semi-finals. 
Enniskillen and Cargin may well have something to say about that, of course, and given Ballybay's surprise win over Crossmaglen in the preliminary round, predicting a Glen-Kilcoo showpiece would be ill-advised. 
For Errigal, it was a return to the Ulster stage for the first time since 2012. Glen, however, were here 12 months ago, and having been turned over by the Tyrone champions on several occasions to trail by four at half-time, Malachy O'Rourke's side regained control upon the resumption to win 3-10 to 1-12.
Central to Glen's comeback was the imposing figure of Conor Glass. While the Derry star was shadowed incessantly by Joe Oguz in the first half, Glass still produced an almighty shift alongside the equally impressive Emmett Bradley in the Maghera club's engine room. 
Glass has been instrumental in Glen's rise to the summit of Derry football since his return from Australia, and having ended a vibrant Errigal side's Ulster dream for another year, the 25-year-old is hoping to push his side closer to a maiden provincial triumph. 
"There's serious motivation in this team to push on to the next level," Glass told BBC Sport NI. 
"We feel like we have the team and the coaching staff to do so. We've put ourselves in a good position but all we can do is focus on Cargin in two weeks' time."
While Ballybay joint-manager Jerome Johnston's decision to step aside for the Monaghan champions' quarter-final with Kilcoo to avoid going against his three sons has generated plenty of discussion, O'Rourke had his own unenviable situation to grapple with at Celtic Park. 
While he dons the Glen badge for matchdays these days, O'Rourke both played for and managed Errigal Ciaran once upon a time, having transferred to the club in he 1990s. 
And just last month, O'Rourke could be seen with his Errigal Ciaran coat on at Healy Park as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for the club's 1997 Tyrone title-winning campaign.
"You don't like doing it," O'Rourke said of preparing Glen to beat the club that gave him so many happy memories. 
"It's something you'd prefer not to do, but that's just part of football and you have to get on with it." 
After a chaotic first half and with the players having exhausted heir energy reserves, a low-key finish appeared was always a possibility. 
kfully it didn't turn out that way. As the clock ticked into stoppage time after Conleth McGuckian's black card for Glen, Ruairi Canavan's rasping right-footed drive cannoned off the crossbar. 
was kept alive by Joe Oguz, whose pass across the Glen goal was palmed in by substitute Eoin Kelly, only for referee Paul Faloon to rule it out for a square ball. 
It was the kind of head-spinning, bodies-flying-everywhere climax the match deserved, and there is a sense that negotiating it will serve only to strengthen Glen's belief that a first Ulster title is on the horizon. 
"That's the way it often is in these Ulster Club games," added O'Rourke. 
"There's an awful lot of shadow boxing and different things going on throughout the game, but it often does come down to that last five or 10 minutes.
"It's about holding the nerve and realising that there are a lot of things that are going to happen, teams have purple patches at different times. 
"You have to keep your wits about you. The boys are gaining more experience of being in those situations and it probably stands to them."
Discussing Glen's win would not be complete without mentioning Michael Warnock, who took to the field just hours after his the death of his grandfather, for whom there was a minute's silence prior to throw-in at Celtic Park. 
While the grief would be too much for many to bear, Warnock was insistent on facing Errigal Ciaran.
"There was no decision to be made, I was always going to play," an understandably emotional Warnock said. 
"He would have wanted that and I would want that if God forbid in 60 years' time it was me and my own grandson, I'd want him to play.
"Hopefully he's happy with the result."
Warnock went on to say that life revolves around football. Weddings, holidays, you name it. Football is always at the forefront for what Warnock calls Glen's "group of brothers". Every decision they make is centred on the betterment of the team. 
It's what makes this Glen team such a formidable unit, and it's part of the reason they will be hard to stop in what is turning out to be an enthralling Ulster Club Championship. 