Round-up: Saturday's Electric Ireland Ulster MFC action

Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship

Derry 1-8 Cavan 1-5

Donegal 3-13 Fermanagh 1-4

Tyrone 2-7 Down 1-7

Armagh 2-9 Antrim 0-2

The Electric Ireland Ulster minor football championship got underway on Saturday with Derry and Tyrone picking up hard-fought wins over Cavan and Down respectively, while Donegal and Armagh each had something to spare in their clashes with Fermanagh and Antrim.

Storm Kathleen played a key role in each of the games, but particularly in the contests at Dunmoyle (Errigal Ciarán GAA) and Owenbeg, where the home sides scraped narrow victories.

It looked like Down were managing the game well in Tyrone, as they came through the first quarter just 0-2 to 0-1 behind, with plenty of possession as well. Lorcan McMurray was on target with both scores for the home side, but it was a different picture at half-time after Darren McAnespie pounced on a loose clearance to fire in a goal, while McMurray doubled his tally as well to make it 1-6 to 0-2.

That lead was out to nine points when Liam McGeary added a second Tyrone goal, capitalizing on the rebound after Callum Travers blocked Darragh Devlin’s attempt, but Down rallied from there and reduced the lead to two going into stoppage time.

Paul McGovern kicked two second half points and then helped set up a goal for Liam Blaney, while two Cormac Small points reduced the gap further, before Shea McDermott’s score against the run of play for Tyrone clinched their 2-7 to 1-7 win.

A highly-rated Derry team were pushed to the wire by Cavan in Owenbeg too, eventually prevailing by the same margin, 1-8 to 1-5.

Neither side managed the wind well in the opening ten minutes but Derry then found their form with a run of scores from Ger Dillon, James Sargent and Dylan Rocks.

Shane McCabe’s penalty levelled the game however and even after Derry shot the next four points to lead at the interval by 0-7 to 1-0, Cavan would still have felt very positive about their chances with gale force winds set to assist their cause after half-time.

Instead, the margin was pushed out to six by the midway point in the second half. Rúairí Biggs kicked a point, then added a goal when a James Sargent free was held up in the wind.

Cavan piled on the pressure in the final quarter and they did outscore Derry by 0-3 to 0-0 in that time, the pick of the points a curling effort from Odhran Madden, but they’ll look back with regret at Oisín Maguire’s effort on goal that crashed off the crossbar with five minutes to play as the crucial swing moment.

The wind was just as strong at Donagh in Enniskillen, but whether aided or hampered by the breeze, Donegal simply had too much class for their hosts.

The sides traded early points before Donegal struck a tone-setting goal in the ninth minute, Conor McCahill and Eoghan Bán McNelis involved before Paddy Ward got his fist to a pass floated across the goal and found the net.

Three Daire Chapman frees and an outstanding score from Tadhg O’Brien were Fermanagh’s only scores in the first half, and a second goal from Ward – also off the fist – put Donegal in complete control by the interval.

It was one-way traffic in the second half with Conor McCahill adding a third goal and two points from play each for Turlough Carr and Donnacha Ó Baoighill, all before Thomas Cathcart struck a late consolation goal for Fermanagh, leaving the score 3-13 to 1-5 at the long whistle.

Likewise at Crossmaglen, Antrim never caused Armagh any real problems and the Orchard County ran out 2-9 to 0-2 winners.

Keelan McEntee, Daithi O’Callaghan, Shea Loughran and Sean Woods all struck good first half points for Armagh, with Caomh Agnew the goalscorer as they led by 1-6 to 0-1 at the break.

In a second half that saw both sides work hard but rack up a lot of errors in the conditions, Daithi O’Callaghan delivered Armagh’s second goal, setting them up nicely for what looks like a decisive clash with Cavan at Kingspan Breffni next time.