Derry U20 footballers start Ulster Championship with victory over Down

Down 1-9, Derry 2-14

Derry’s Under 20 footballers got their Ulster Championship campaign off to a convincing start with an emphatic eight point, Section A victory over reigning champions, Down, in Pairc Esler on Saturday.

It was a repeat of last year’s final but the heat wasn’t on either side given the new round-robin format, and the sparse crowd in Pairc Esler reflected that. Derry dominated from start to finish and had four points on the board before Down got their first. The Mourne side did fight back and level the game but a point and a goal late in the half saw Derry lead 1-5 to 0-4 at the break and they pushed on in the second period to score a victory manager Hugh McGrath believes could prove crucial as the group unfolds .

“I think in this group, given how tight and how difficult it’s going to be, it’s always good to get off to a good start,” explained the Derry manager, “For us it’s about amalgamating a lot of underage groups that have had quite a bit of success together. I think we’ve done that fairly successfully today but it will only matter if we carry that forward, perform against Tyrone, perform against Monaghan and then do the same against Antrim at the very end.”

Derry came at Down from throw-in, but they were unable to break down a strong defence, forced to recycle around the ‘D’ until Niall O’Donnell found a gap and finished over the bar, with a converted free and a mark from Oisin Doherty following soon after.

Down had a chance to get their side of the scoreboard moving when Senan Carr burst forward and found Rafferty, but the latter’s effort fell short and Conleth McGrogan replied with one at the other end to put Derry four to the good.

A couple of wides for the visitors preceded Down’s first point midway through the half, with sub Dara Mussen setting up his Burren teammate Eoin Loughran who sent the ball between the sticks.

Derry were reduced to 10 men on 19 minutes when McGrogan was black carded for a challenge on Loughran and after the restart Luke Quinn narrowed the margin to two points with Carr then converting a free and Mussen a well-taken point to square the match at 0-4 each with 25 minutes on the clock.

Doherty made sure Derry would restore a four-point lead at the break however, when he sent a free over the bar and, in the second of the four minutes stoppage time, a good team move saw Eoin Higgins lay off to Doherty for a fine finish to the net.

Derry began the second half in the ascendency once more, with Higgins pointing in the first minute before, after Mussen was off target, Doherty found the target again, giving Derry a 1-7 to 0-4 lead.

Traded scores between McGrogan and Loughran kept the six point margin intact but a brace of frees from Higgins added to Derry’s tally and while Loughran cancelled those scores out, time was ticking and it increasingly looked like there was no way back for Down.

Indeed the Oak Leafers made the game safe on 46 minutes when Johnny McGuckian cut through the Down defence with ease and stroked into the net before another Doherty point gave Derry an insurmountable 2-11 to 0-7 lead.

Cunningham was sent off with a second yellow, leaving Down with 14 men for the last 10 minutes, but it mattered little by that stage. Derry continued to take their points and could have had another stoppage time goal. Before that, a high pointed effort by Down’s Ryan Quinn dropped short where David Ruddy picked it up and hit the net.

It was too little, too late for the home side and it was Derry who ended the game with a bit of drama when Higgins hit the right hand post with a point effort. The rebound fell to Doherty who went for goal but hit the other post and Ronan Walls latched onto that rebound, his shot pounding off the crossbar.

It made no odds. Derry were off and running, even if McGrath isn’t totally convinced about the advantages of potentially topping the group and securing the direct route to the last four.

"Possibly not,” replied the Oak Leaf when asked if topping the group was a bigger incentive than simply qualifying, “Top goes through to the semi-final and then they have a bit of a break. If you have a few knocks that can be a good thing but for momentum – especially at this age – I think sometimes it can be more advantageous having an extra game.

"That comes with its own difficulties, in that you could lose but for cubs at this age they need as many games as they can get at this level together as a group. So, yes, we still go out with the aim to win every game and we’ll aim to top the group but if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen, we’ll fight again.”

Down: Jack Mulgrew; Dan Rafferty, David Ruddy (1-0), Mark McSwiggan; Cian Cunningham, Finn Murdock, Luke Quinn (0-1); Tom McCarroll, Senan Carr (0-3, 2f); PJ McKeown, Ronan Kelly, Eoin Loughran (0-4 , 1f); Nathan Rogers, Emmet Rodgers, Matthew Murray. (Subs): Dara Mussen (0-1) for Rodgers (12mins), Ryan Quinn for McKeown (33mins); Micheal Murdock for N Rogers (46mins); Tom Gilroy for Mussen (46mins); Brian Grant for Quinn (52mins).

Derry: Callum Armstrong; Fionn McEldowney, Conal Heron (0-1), Rory Small; Conleth McGrogan (0-3), Dara McPeake, James Murray; Ruairi Forbes, Tommy Rogers (0-1); Cahir Spiers, Niall O’Donnell (0-1), Johnny McGuckian (1-0); Rory McGill, Ryan McNicholl, Oisin Doherty (1-5, 1m, 2f). (Subs): Eoin Higgins (0-3, 2f) for O’Donnell (10mins), Shea McCann for McGill (38mins), Cathoir Bradley for McNicholl (48mins), Odhran Murphy for McGuckian (52mins), Ronan Walls for Murray (52mins)

Referee: Mark Loughran (Tyrone)