Brilliant Derry U20s begin Ulster Championship with emphatic Armagh win
Ulster Under 20 Football Championship
Derry U20s got their Ulster Championship campaign off to a flying start as two early goals from Eamon Young helped sealed an impressive 17-point win away to Armagh.
The Oak Leaf county built a strong lead early on, and kept the Orchard men at arm's length throughout the contest. Armagh were first on the board through an Aaron O’Neill point, but Derry set out their stall for the evening with two goals in the opening 10 minutes. The first came when the hosts were overturned in their own defence which allowed the impressive Jude Bryson to play Young in on goal. The Newbridge man made no mistake, slotting the ball under Michael Finnegan and into the net.
The second goal – which arrived after further points from Johnny McGuckian and James Sargent – was once again buried by Young, this time coming after a well-worked one-two with Luke Grant.
Armagh were reeling, and Derry tagged on six more points before Barry O’Hagan’s side got back on the scoreboard, with Oisin Doherty taking centre stage by notching five of them.
Callum O’Neill stemmed the tide with a two-pointer, before points from Faughanvale's Bryson and Newbridge's Doherty were answered by Armagh's Aaron O’Neill.
However, Damian McErlain’s side remained well in control, and they took a resounding 2-15 to 0-4 lead into the changing rooms following further scores from Bryson (2), McGuckian and converted frees from the stars of the show, Young and Doherty.
Derry continued to make their mark on the scoreboard in the early exchanges of the second half, with Danny McDermott and Tommy Rogers adding their name to the scoresheet, either side of a Doherty free.
As the second half wore on, Aaron O’Neill hit two two-point frees for Armagh and finished with a tally of 0-7, Conall McGeough hit a two-pointer and Diarmaid O’Rourke and Callum O’Neill both found the target.
But Derry kept things ticking over on their end, and managed out their lead to the finish line with further points from Fionn McEldowney, Sargent and substitutes Sean Young and Ger Dillon – with Dillon hitting 0-3, to round out an impressive night’s work for Derry, but a night to forget for Armagh.
Armagh: Michael Finnegan; Aodhan McGrane, Ryan Nugent, Paddy Lynch; Ryan Duffy, Ryan Martin, Diarmuid O’Rourke (0-1); Shea McCann, Jack Loughran; Aaron Haughey, Michael McSorely, Callum O’Neill (0-3, 1tp); Eoin Kane, Aaron O’Neill (0-7, 2tpf), Jack Lavery. (Subs) Conal McGeough (0-2, tp) for Loughran (HT), Eugene McEntee for McGrane (HT), Oran Callaghan for McCann (HT), Padraig O’Keefe for Kane (43), John Joe Hughes for Haughey (49).
Derry: Karl Campbell; Rory Small, Conleth McGrogan, Fionn McEldowney (0-1); Luke Grant, Patrick McMullan, Ruairi Forbes; Tommy Rogers (0-1), Danny McDermott (0-1); Eamon Young (2-1, 1f), James Sargent (0-3, 1’45), Johnny McGuckian (0-2); Jude Bryson (0-3), Ryan McNicholl, Oisin Doherty (0-8, 1tp, 3f). (Subs) Ger Dillon (0-3, 2f) for McDermott (41), Cahir Spiers for E Young (50), Sean Young 0-1 for Bryson (50), Cathaoir Bradley for Doherty (50), James Murray for McGrogan (60).
Referee: Mark Loughran (Tyrone).