Cavan advanced to EirGrid Ulster U20 semi-final
Cavan welcomed neighbours Monaghan to a sunny Kingspan Breffni this afternoon and emerged deserved victors 1-13 to 2-4 in the EirGrid Ulster Under 20 Championship quarter-final.
The Breffni men saw a five-point lead cut back to a single point in the first half but their superior possession and defensive work rate saw them limit their opponents to only one score in the second half to seal the win.
Monaghan began the game the better of the two sides, taking a two point lead after seven minutes, courtesy of points from play from Dean Connolly and Ryan Mohan.
Cavan got on the scoreboard after eight minutes with an Oisin Brady point from play and the highly influential Patrick Lynch struck his first free of the day to level after 14 minutes.
Tactical switches and tenacious tackling to force turnovers saw the Breffni men take control for the next ten minutes and hit six points without reply, with Lynch providing three frees and two from play.
However, Monaghan kept pressing towards the half time whistle and were rewarded with a goal for Seán Jones and point for Andrew Woods in the 31st minute to leave Cavan ahead at the break – 0-8 to 1-4.
The second period began in tight fashion with only two scores in the first 14 minutes. One of those scores was an Aaron Mohan goal on nine minutes that saw Monaghan take the lead 2-4 to 0-9. That was to prove as good as it got for Seamus McEnaney’s men though, as Cormac O’Reilly levelled things up on 16 minutes.
After that Cavan never looked back. Two frees from Lynch and a point from play from Cian Madden stretched the lead to three points. Victory was sealed by Tiarnan Reilly’s goal in the 29th minute. Cavan saw out the final few minutes to go forward to the semi-final next weekend where they will face Tyrone.
