Armagh overpower Cavan in one-sided U20 clash

Cavan suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Armagh at the Athletic Grounds on Wednesday night, going down 2-25 to 0-10 in Round 2 of the Dalata Hotel Group Ulster U20 Football Championship.

The writing was on the wall from early on. Although Jack Dobson opened the scoring for Cavan, Armagh quickly seized control, reeling off five unanswered points to take a firm grip on proceedings.

A Dobson free ended a 13-minute scoring drought for Chris Conroy’s side, but Armagh continued to dominate and began to make full use of the two-point arc. Diarmuid O’Rourke struck for a two-pointer, while Aaron Haughey landed over two from distance to raise further orange flags, as the hosts stretched their advantage.

Dobson added another free for Cavan and Darren Noonan, who had been fouled for two earlier scores, split the posts himself, but those were to be their final contributions of the half.

Armagh finished the opening period strongly, with Fergal Boylan raising a green flag and Armagh adding four further points from play. The game was effectively over with the scoreboard reading 1-17 to 0-4 at the break.

Cavan made a brighter start to the second half, with Dobson converting a two-point free with the aid of the breeze, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished.

Armagh continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over through Haughey, Eoin Duffy, Liam McGeary and Boylan, maintaining complete control throughout the second period.

Cavan’s remaining scores came from Aaron Shekleton, Jenson Tynan, a free from Darragh Noonan and a point from substitute Jake Whyte, but they were never able to make any meaningful inroads.

The result leaves Cavan needing to avoid defeat in their final group game away to Down in Páirc Esler next week, with a victory guaranteeing at least a quarter-final place.