Tyrone turn on second-half power to retain Ulster minor title

Derry led by two points at the break but Tyrone overwhelmed their opponents in the second half

Logan O'Connor score 1-1 for Tyrone in the Ulster minor final against Derry. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Ulster MFC final: Tyrone 2-16 Derry 1-12 

All-Ireland champions Tyrone turned on the power in the second half to retain their Ulster minor title at O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny.

They were second best to an energised Oak Leaf side in the opening half, but a transformed Red Hand outfit overwhelmed their opponents after the break, but both sides advance to next weekend’s All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Derry plundered a goal from a stroke of good fortune after less than three minutes, midfielder Conor O’Kane rolling the ball to the net from close range following a defensive mix-up.

Winning clean and broken possession in the middle third through Gabriel Gormley and Connail Campbell, they ran at the Tyrone defence to pick off scores through Tomás Devlin and Don Mulholland.

The Red Hands struggled to get into the game, but kept in touch through Matthew F Daly and Charlie Meenan.

And they came alive with a Conan Canavan fisted goal in the 14th minute, with the same player raising an orange flag from a free in response to Neil McDermott’s two-point free.

It was the Oak Leafers who finished the half strongest, tagging on points through McDermott and skipper Mulholland to take a 1-7 to 1-5 lead into the interval.

Tyrone were ahead within three minutes of the restart, Matthew J Daly landing a two-pointer, before Logan O’Connor nudged them in front for the first time.

Now the holders were slicing holes in the Derry defence, bringing four terrific saves from goalkeeper Michael Doherty, who denied Canavan twice, Vincent Gormley and Corry.

The challengers couldn’t get out of their own half, and further scores from Ruairi O’Neill, Canavan and McGuckin had the champions six clear. And they were out of sight when Logan O’Connor palmed home their second goal at the end of the third quarter McDermott and substitute Roco Devlin pulled back Derry scores on rare raids, but an assured Red Hand side was totally in control, adding further points through Canavan, Conor Fyffe and Matthew F Daly.

Derry could find no way past a Tyrone defence in which Aodhan Corry and Ciaran McCrystal were outstanding, but did finish with a two-point free from substitute Pol McPeake deep into stoppage time.

Scorers for Tyrone: C Canavan 1-4 (1f, 1tpf) L O’Connor 1-1, C Meenan 0-3 (1tp), MJ Daly (tp), MF Daly 0-2 each, B Óg McGuckin, A Corry, C Fyffe, R O’Neill 0-1 each.

Scorers for Derry: C O’Kane 1-0, N McDermott 0-4 (1f, 1tpf), D Mulholland 0-3 (3f), T Devlin, P McPeake (tpf) 0-2 each, R Devlin 0-1.

TYRONE: Ronan O’Neill, T McCarron, J Maguire, C McCrystal; MJ Daly, A Corry, C Fyffe; T Gallen, C Meenan; L O’Connor, B Og McGuckin, Ruairi O’Neill; C Canavan, MF Daly, V Gormley.

Subs: C Shevlin for Ruairi O’Neill (43), C McKeown for Gormley (57), C McKee for McGuckin (59), F Quinn for O’Connor (61), J Muldoon for Meenan (63) 

DERRY: M Doherty; D McEldowney, C Sargent, D McKaigue; C Campbell, J Mullan, J McCartney; G Gormley, C O’Kane; D Collins, L Higgins, N McDermott; T Devlin, T Bradley, D Mulholland.

Subs: R Devlin for Collins (35), U McCloskey for McCartney (40), D McKenna for O’Kane (43), C McDonnell for McDermott (51), P McPeake for Devlin (51) 

Referee: N McGeown (Armagh).