EirGrid Ulster Under 20 Football Championship Quarter-Finals

TYRONE 2-11 DOWN 1-12

CAVAN 1-13 MONAGHAN 2-4

Cavan and Tyrone joined Fermanagh and Derry in the semi-final lineup of the Ulster U-20 football championship after they accounted for Monaghan and Down in local derby clashes at their respective home venues.

Tyrone looked very comfortable in the early stages of their clash with Down at Healy Park, with Darragh Canavan rattling the net after just six minutes of play. Points from Tiarnan Quinn (2) and Seán Óg McAleer helped them into a 1-5 to 0-1 lead after 25 minutes, before a Seamus Loughran point stemmed the tide.

That reprieve was short-lived however as Mark McKearney finished off a wonderful team move to help make it 2-6 to 0-2 at the break.

Down gathered themselves after half time and points from Conor Clarke, Declan McClements, Seamus Loughran and then two from Liam Kerr closed the gap to five points with 20 minutes still to play in Omagh.

The sides continued to trade scores, with Tiernan Quinn, Canavan and Michael Conroy all on target for Tyrone, and Liam Kerr and John McGeough raising white flags for the Mourne County.

The uneasiness among the Tyrone crowd and the excitement in the Down following reached fever pitch when Conor Clarke found the net immediately after a Ryan McEvoy point to cut the gap to the bare minimum, but a late Rúairí Gormley point wrapped up a 2-11 to 1-12 win.

Cavan were far more comfortable in their 1-13 to 2-4 win over Monaghan, as they produced a polished and efficient performance in warm sunshine at Kingspan Breffni.

Monaghan began the game with intent and purpose, taking an early two-point lead thanks to points from play from Dean Connolly and Ryan Mohan. Cavan settled into the contest in the ninth minute through an Oisín Brady point and that was followed by an equalising score from Patrick Lynch.

What followed was a period of real Cavan dominance as they took over in the tie, suffocating the Monaghan attack and grinding their way to a six-point lead. Lynch shot five of those points, two from play, but they were reeled in just when it looked as if they might pull clear and win with ease.

A goal for Seán Jones and point for Andrew Woods in first half injury time left Cavan ahead by the bare minimum at the break, 0-8 to 1-4.

The second half saw Cavan completely shut down their neighbours with an incredible defensive display, holding their visitors to just a single score over the half hour.

There were very few scores of any variety in the third quarter, one of which was Monaghan’s solitary flag, a goal from Aaron Mohan that gave Monaghan their first lead since the opening minutes. That was to prove as good as it got for Seamus McEnaney’s men though, as Cormac O’Reilly tied the game up in the 47th minute and from then, it was all Cavan.

Two frees from Lynch and a point from play from Cian Madden gave them some breathing room before a late goal from Tiarnan Reilly killed any lingering sense of hope for the Monaghan men. Cavan will now face Tyrone in next weekend’s semi-final, with the winners set to face the victors of the Derry vs Fermanagh contest.