Minors' comeback comes up just short against Tyrone

Ulster Minor Football Championship

Tyrone 1-10

Cavan 0-12

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni

Cavan went down by a point against Tyrone in this afternoon’s Ulster Minor Championship opener in what was a real game of two halves.

Cavan trailed by five, 0-8 to 0-3, at the end of a forgettable first half and when Tyrone banged in a goal in the 43rd minute to lead by seven, a comeback seemed unlikely.

But Seanie Smith’s lads were a completely different team in the final quarter as they dominated and, by the closing stages, Tyrone were hanging on desperately. Cavan, though, had left themselves too much to do and the visitors hung on to win by the minimum.

Playing against a stiff breeze and a packed Tyrone defence, Cavan struggled for scoring opportunities in the opening half. Too often, the Blues lost their shape and lacked any sort of focal point in the full-forward line, with the result that they had no option but the run the ball – a fatal tactic against a mass Red Hand rearguard.

Cavan were turned over repeatedly and blocked down at least four times in that opening half, failing to register a score from play. Meanwhile, Tyrone, who had two of the Omagh CBS Hogan Cup-winning side, had their dander up – but yet, there was still a sense that Cavan hadn’t truly tested them and when they did, they were a match for the away side.

Tyrone opened the scoring through wing-back Brian Gallagher from their opening attack but Cavan soon levelled with a Ben O’Hara free.

Already, the pattern was clear; Tyrone left star man Ruairi McCullagh and Darragh Donaghy up and packed the defence, looking to hit Cavan on the break. When the Blues did advance, they were faced with a wall of white jerseys and it was difficult to see, even at this early stage, how they could engineer scores.

Cavan were also going long on their own kick-out and struggling to get hands on the ball there too. Tyrone moved two clear through McCullagh (free) and, when Aidan Hegarty intercepted the kick-out, Liam Corry fired over.

Hegarty and captain Conor O’Neill both scored and when Tyrone stole another Cavan kick-out and McCullagh curled in off the left, the O’Neill County held a 0-6 to 0-1 lead.

After a poor Tyrone kick-out, Darragh Noonan won a free which Jake Whyte converted but Tyrone replied swiftly with two points from wing-back Conor Devlin.

Cavan rounded off the first-half scoring when sweeper Cormac McAvinney, who had a fine game, intercepted; the lively Joshua Shehu had no option but to carry the ball, with no options in front of him, and he eventually won a free which Whyte sent over to leave it 0-8 to 0-3.

Wind-assisted, Cavan were more purposeful on the restart. Although Jamie Concannon pointed for Tyrone, frees from O’Hara and Whyte cut the deficit.

Disaster struck, though, when a good Tyrone move was finished to the net by Donaghy; at 1-9 to 0-5, that seemed to be that.

But Cavan showed terrific spirit. O’Hara won a free and Noonan, who along with the likes of full-back Jensen Tynan, Fiachra Brady, Eanna Ward, Aaron Shekleton and Odhran Madden took the fight to Tyrone in the final quarter, knocked it over to get the scoreboard ticking again.

The Tyrone goalkeeper over-carried and Whyte again converted to leave four in it and when danger man McCullagh picked up a second yellow card in the 49th minute, Cavan went for it.

Brady, with a lovely point, grabbed Cavan’s first score from play before sub Arijus Metlovas, who made a big impact off the bench, sent over a 45.

Tyrone were denied a goal by a Noonan block but had the consolation of a pointed free but Cavan kept coming. O’Hara scored from 40 metres and then Shekleton split the posts from similar range with the outside of the boot to leave two in it.

By now, just one of Tyrone’s starting forwards was still on the field as Cavan kept the pressure on and were rewarded with a superb score from the right wing by Odhran Madden, the fourth of the Madden brothers to play minor championship football.

Cavan pressed hard in the closing stages but ran out of time as Tyrone held their discipline and forced a couple of turnovers which helped them see it out.

Cavan will take a lot of positives from this game. The new format means they will advance to the quarter-finals regardless of results in the four-team group; if they play like they did in the final quarter here, they should put it up to anyone, although their first-half showing was well below-par and where the game was lost.

Cavan: Liam Bell (Knockbride), Philip Shannon (Butlersbridge), Jensen Tynan (Ramor United), Cormac McAvinney (Kinngscourt Stars), Luke Allison (Butlersbridge), Éanna Ward (Arva), Fiachra Brady (Gowna, 0-1), Ben Smith (Ballyhaise), Aaron Shekleton (Kingscourt Stars, capt, 0-1), Joshua Shehu (Cavan Gaels), Ben O’Hara (Ramor United, 0-3, 2f), Ciaran Caldwell (Castlerahan), Odhran Madden (Gowna, 0-1), Jake Whyte (Cootehill Celtic, 0-4f), Darragh Noonan (Killygarry, 0-1f)

Subs: Jamie Clarke (Castlerahan) for C Caldwell (ht), Arijus Metlovas (0-1, 45) for B Smith (45), Charlie Fallon (Killygarry) for J Whyte (60)

Tyrone: Ronan Bradley, Blaine Lynch, James Rafferty, Jamie Concannon (0-1), Conor Devlin (0-2), Conor O’Neill (0-1), Brian Gallagher (0-1), James Corry (0-1f), Nathan Farry, Darragh Donaghy (1-0), Ruairi McCullagh (0-2, 1f), Leo Hughes, Liam Corry (0-1), Aidan Hegarty (0-1), Sean Corry

Subs: Liam McGeary for L Corry (45), Conal Morgan for B Lynch (51), Conor Holmes for D Donaghy, Eoin O’Neill for S Corry (both 56), Turlough Muldoon for A Hegarty (60)

Ref: Darren O’Hare (Down)