Sports DNA

Armagh 0-13 Derry 2-24

By Shaun Casey (Sideline Eye)

Armagh suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Derry in the opening round of the u20 Ulster Championship on Wednesday evening. The Oak Leafers, who won the last two Minor All-Ireland titles, were just too strong on the night.

Two early goals saw the Orchard County go on the back foot almost instantly and Derry pushed on from there. Barry O’Hagan’s side improved after the turnaround, but the gap was much too large to close.

Armagh got things up and running with a quick Aaron O’Neill point inside the first sixty seconds, but Derry then took control. Eamon Young rattled off two goals either side of points from Johnny McGuckian and James Sargent.

Oisin Doherty then hit four on the bounce, including the games first two-pointer, while Sargent landed a 45. Doherty nailed a free before Armagh claimed their second score, a two-pointer from captain Callum O’Neill.

Jude Bryson and Doherty both split the posts before Aaron O’Neill added his second of the evening. Derry hit a further 0-5 on the bounce to claim a 17-point half time advantage, 2-15 to 0-4 at the break.

Midfielders Danny McDermott and Tommy Rogers raised white flags either side of a Doherty free. Aaron O’Neill slotted over a long range free, worth two-points, but Derry replied at the other end through Fionn McEldowney.

Substitute Conall McGeough raised an orange flag for the Orchard County while Sargent claimed his third of the day. Callum O’Neill swapped scores with Sean Young before Aaron O’Neill landed his second two-point free.

Diarmaid O’Rourke and Ger Dillon (free) cancelled each other out while Dillon did likewise with Aaron O’Neill. Dillon added the final score of the night, seeing Derry 17-points clear when the final whistle sounded.

Armagh: Michael Finnegan, Aodhan McGrane, Ryan Nugent, Paddy Lynch, Ryan Duffy, Ryan Martin, Diarmaid O’Rourke 0-1, Shea McCann, Jack Loughran, Aaron Haughey, Michael McSorley, Callum O’Neill 0-3 (1tp), Eoin Kane, Aaron O’Neill 0-7 (2tpf), Jack Lavery. Subs: Conall McGeough 0-2 (1tp) for J. Loughran, Oran Callaghan for S. McCann, Eugene McEntee for A. McGrane. Padraig O’Keefe for E. Kane, John Joe Hughes for A. Haughey.

Derry: Karl Campbell, Rory Small, Conleth McGrogan, Fionn McEldowney 0-1, Luke Grant, Patrick McMullan, Ruairi Forbes, Tommy Rogers 0-1, Danny McDermott 0-1, Eamon Young 2-1 (1f), James Sargent 0-3 (1f), Johnny McGuckian 0-2, Jude Bryson 0-3, Ryan McNicholl, Oisin Doherty 0-8 (3f 1tp). Subs: Ger Dillon 0-3 (2f) for D. McDermott, Chair Speirs for E. Young, Sean Young 0-1 for J. Bryson, Cathaoir Bradley for O. Doherty, James Murray for C. McGrogan.