Derry lift 13th Ulster Minor title

Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship Final:
Derry 1-11 Cavan 0-11

Derry did most of the hard work in the first half and held on to secure a 13th Ulster minor football title – and a first since 2002 – at Clones on Sunday.

The Oak Leafers led by 1-8 to 0-5 at the break, Tiarnan Flanagan scoring the only goal of the game in the 28th minute, and although Cavan pushed them hard after the break, the goal was the decisive score.

Derry had shocked hot favourites Donegal in the Ulster semi-final and lived up to expectation in the decider, Shane McGuigan top-scoring with five points from play to help Derry to their first provincial minor title since 2002.

Cavan wing-back Dillon Raythorne kicked two points from play in the opening three minutes, but that was the only time the Breffni county led in the game.

Derry kicked the next four unanswered scores, two from impressive corner-forward Shane McGuigan, and one each from midfielder Patrick Kearney and captain Conor Glass. Darragh Gannon replied for Cavan with a free but Kearney added a second long-range point for Derry.

Shane McGuigan was on fire up front for Derry and scored two more left-footed points, one a special score from out near the wing, to help put the Oak Leafers 0-8 to 0-5 ahead as half-time approached.

Derry then added a killer goal just before the break, McGuigan’s passing out to Tiarnan Flanagan whose low shot beat Cavan goalkeeper Fergal O’Rourke at his near post to stretch their lead to 1-8 to 0-5 at the interval.

Patrick Kearney kicked his third point from play soon after the break. Derry goalkeeper Callum Mullan-Young then pulled off a smart point-blank save from Cavan midfielder David Brady, who moved in to full-forward.

Cavan half-time sub Conor Smith kicked two points and Brady nailed a ’45’ to keep the Breffni challenge alive.

However McGuigan kicked his fifth point from play to settle Derry and a three-point deficit was as close as Cavan could get, with both teams now progressing to the All-Ireland MFC quarter-finals.

Scorers for Derry: S McGuigan 0-5, T Flanagan 1-0, P Kearney 0-3, C Glass 0-1, B Grant 0-1, S Downey 0-1

Scorers for Cavan: D Gannon 0-3 (2f), D Raythorne 0-3, D Brady (0-2, 1f, 1 ’45’), C Smith 0-2, T Donohoe 0-1

DERRY: C Mullan-Young; N Keenan, C McGrogan, C Maunsell; O Duffin, M McEvoy, E Concannon; P Kearney, J Doherty; P Coney, S Downey, C Glass; T Flanagan, B Grant, S McGuigan. Subs: F Higgins for Grant (37), F Kearney for Flanagan (54), N McAtamney for Coney (58).

CAVAN: F O’Rourke; P O’Reilly, D Monaghan, L Fortune; D Raythrorne, S Fortune, D Wilson; D Brady, C Brady; D Gannon, P Leddy, R O’Neill; D Kennedy, T Donohoe, R Fitzpatick. Subs: R Clarke for Leddy (HT), C Smith for Fitzpatrick (HT), L Cooper for Fortune (42), S Smith for O’Neill (55), E Cooney for Kennedy (57).

Referee: Paul Faloon (Down)

Report by Orla Bannon, courtesy of GAA.ie