Derry Minors defeat Cavan to secure home Ulster Championship semi-final
Ulster Minor Football Championship, Round Two
Derry minors secured a home Ulster Minor Football Championship semi-final after Don Mullholland's first half goal proved the catalyst for a hugely impressive eight point victory over Cavan at Find Insurance Owenbeg on Saturday.
Mulholland followed up to net from close range in the 12th minute after a great run and shot by Tadhg Bradley and the goal provided an early lead Kieran Glackin's young chargers would never relinquish throughout a game that was closer than the eventual eight point margin of victory suggests.
Derry led by 1-09 to 0-4 at half-time but Cavan – with tall midfielder Exceedingly Imade and play-maker Jake Brady excellent – were never out of the running, bringing it back to a four point margin inside the final 10 minutes and missed chances to be even closer.
But when the questions were posed, Derry had the character and quality to respond. Moments like Gabriel Gormley's sublime 50m two pointer which stretched the lead back out to six with five minutes left were crucial; but only so because of Conor Sargent's superb defending against Daire McCrystal seconds earlier which stopped the game becoming a one score tie.
Pol McPeake emerged off the bench when his team needed him to send over another two-pointer, this time a free, to finally kill off a Cavan side who will have more to say about this championship through the qualifying route but this was Derry's day. And livewire forward Tadhg Bradley was one of the major reasons for that.
Bradley, son of Oak Leaf legend, Paddy, was superb throughout. He scored 0-3 from play, including Derry's critical opening score of the second half which helped stem a Breffni surge since half-time. Bradley's energy and movement was top class throughout, but there were plenty of other top class performances.
Goalscorer and captain Mulholland was another to stand-out, and not just for his contribution of 1-2. Full-back Sargent was a rock while Dan McEldowney at corner-back was a non-stop outlet for the young Oak Leafers when the Cavan pressure came.
Oak Leaf boss Glackin had made three changes from the side that defeated Down in the opening round, Tadhg Scullion, Conor O'Kane and the fit again Bradley coming in with Fionn McGilloway, Neil McDermott and McPeake making way.
With both sides anxious to continue through the 'front door' of the championship the opening 10 minutes were more shadow boxing than championship but with Derry one up the tie sprang to life on 12 minutes when Bradley picked up possession and accelerated past two defenders before firing a fierce low shot Cavan keeper Darragh Eccleston did well to save.
Unfortunately for the Breffni No. 1, Mulholland was following up and tucked the ball home for a 1-02 to 0-1 lead. Further scores from Lorcan Higgins and keeper Michael Doherty, the latter's a lovely two point free, saw Derry 1-05 to 0-1 ahead and in charge of a game that always felt tighter.
A Derry breach allowed Cavan keeper Eccleston to show he too was adept from the two point range but further scores from Bradley, Tomas Devlin, Mulholland (f) and Gormley saw Glackin's team in command at the break at 1-09 to 0-4.
A fired up Cavan re-emerged for the second period and pinned their hosts back, forcing two turnovers inside the opening three minutes but they could never quote translate their pressure to scores. And any time Derry managed to escape the high press the freedom of Owenbeg awaited in the Cavan half.
Brady's 1-01, scored inside 60 seconds at the game's three quarter point, did have the home support sweating. The goal came after a fine bit of fielding from Imade on the Derry kick-out and a flowing Cavan move that Brady fired home for 1-11 to 1-06 on 45 minutes.
But Cavan couldn't push on. Or rather Cavan weren't allowed to push on by a Derry team with plenty of running power and pace in attack. And that proved decisive. Trailing by four on 52 minutes, Cavan pressed but Derry outscored the visitors by 0-5 to 0-2 over the game's final 12 minutes to bring home a victory they fully deserved, McPeake's free accounting for his team's final three points of a very satisfactory afternoon for Derry.
Derry scorers: Don Mulholland 1-2 (1f), Michael Doherty 0-2 (1tpf), Lorcan Higgins 0-2, Tadhg Bradley 0-3, Gabriel Gormley 0-3 (1tp), Pol McPeake 0-3 (1tpf, 1f), Tomas Devlin 0-1, Donnacha Collins 0-1.
Cavan scorers: Exceedingly Imade 0-2, Darragh Eccleston 0-2 (1tpf), Simon Kolimar 0-1, Oliver Clarke 0-1, Jake Brady 1-1, Jay Graham 0-2 (1f).
Derry: Michael Doherty, Tadhg Scullion, Conor Sargent, Dan McEldowney, Connail Campbell, Joey Mullan, Dara McKaigue, Gabriel Gormley, Darah McKenna, Donnacha Collins Lorcan Higgins, Conor O'Kane, Tadgh Bradley, Don Mulholland, Tomas Devlin. (Subs) Pol McPeake for C O'Kane (inj), 37; Jarlath McCartney for T Scullion, 54mins; Ultan McCloskey for D Collins, 57mins; Declan McEldowney for T Devlin, 59mins; Neil McDermott for T Bradley, 62mins.
Cavan: Darragh Eccleston, Jack Fallon, David Liggan, Andrew Smart, Simon Kolimar, Daire McCrystal, Conor McCabe, CJ Fitzpatrick, Exceedingly Imade, Hugo Morgan, Oliver Carke, Oisin Smith, Jack Forde, Jake Brady, Jay Graham. (Subs) Adam Smith for J Forde, HT; Charlie Reilly for C McCabe, HT; Zach Byrne for H Morgan, 43mins; Finaly McCaul for D McCrystal, 55mins; Ben Stafford for J Brady (inj), 60mins.
Referee: Eoin Murphy (Fermanagh)