By 
Derry 1-15
Tyrone 1-12
DERRY finished strongly to consign Tyrone to defeat in tonight’s Division Two encounter at Celtic Park.
Managed by Loughmacrory native, Ciarán Meenagh, the Oak Leafers rattled off the final three points of a gripping contest to clinch the spoils of victory.
Inspired by powerhouse individual performances from Conor Glass, Conor Doherty, Ethan Doherty and Gareth McKinless, Derry turned the screw late on – though it must also be said that Tyrone spurned a few late chances at eating into the deficit.
The home side enjoyed a sprightly start with quickfire scores in the opening minute from Conor Doherty and Lachlan Murray, who showed searing pace before fisting the ball over the bar.
Tyrone got their opening score of the day via Mattie Donnelly, but Murray looked extremely dangerous down the other end of the pitch and made it 0-3 to 0-1 when he got on the end of a sweeping passing move with another palmed effort.
The Red Hands upped their game at the back though, with Cormac Quinn forcing two big turnovers before Ethan Jordan converted his first of the day from the dead ball.
Conor Glass made it 0-4 to 0-2 before another point from Ethan Jordan, this time confidentally converting a ’45’ that was never going anywhere other than over the bar.
It was high-octane, free-flowing stuff and there were further points exchanged, including a magnificent two-pointer from Conor O’Neill that curled beautifully between the sticks, and a lovely effort from the influential Ben Cullen.
Tyrone then made it 0-8 to 0-6 when Conn Kilpatrick teed up Darragh Canavan, though Derry hit back with a well-worked score finished off by Brendan Rogers.
The first goal of the game arrived with 27 minutes on the clock when the Tyrone defence was momentarily exposed and Conor Glass stormed through before unleashing a powerful shot to the net.
Tyrone had the final say of the half though, when Ethan Jordan showed superb initiative from a scoreable free to play a quick footpass to Ciarán Daly, who picked his spot superbly.
Derry’s woes late in the half were compounded when Lachlan Murray was black carded while a decent goal chance came to nought when Conor Glass’s effort was comfortably saved by Morgan.
Tyrone held a 1-8 to 1-7 advantage at the interval and the opening exchanges of the second half were cagey and stop-start.
Shane McGuigan got the scoreboard moving again in the 35th minute, knocking over a tap-over free for the Oak Leafers.
Tyrone edged two in front when Michael McKernan fired over a sublime two-pointer with the outside of his boot in the 43rd minute. Then, in a frantic spell, an outstanding diving block from Brian Kennedy stopped what looked like a certain goal when Murray burrowed through.
Derry were looking dangerous and Paul Cassidy almost ghosted in for a goal, his effort drifting narrowly wide with just over 20 minutes remaining.
The referee called it back for a foul and McGuigan made no mistake, leaving a single point between the teams.
Derry were in the ascendancy in the middle and drew level through Conor Doherty, though Tyrone’s Eoin McElholm got the next score of the evening to ease the pressure.
A fantastic two-pointer from Brendan Rogers gave Derry the lead but it wasn’t long before the sides were level again, Jordan converting a free as the clock ticked into the final 15 minutes.
A combination of last-ditch defending and an alert Niall Morgan snuffed out another goal-chance, but Derry edged 1-13 to 1-12 in front when McGuigan was fouled and converted the resulting free with 60 minutes gone.
Sub Conor McAteer fired over a point from play with his first touch after industrious play from Ethan Doherty, who was very effective throughout.
Derry then went three ahead on the scoreboard after a fine point from Shane McGuigan and the game was starting to creep beyond the Red Hands with fewer than five minutes remaining.
A scattering of wides hindered Tyrone’s cause as injury-time approached and Derry maintained their three-point cushion right to the very end, in doing so securing two important league points at Celtic Park.
Teams
Derry: Shea McGuckin, Diarmuid Baker, Ruairi Fobes, Conor McCluskey, Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan, Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty, Matthew Downey, Paul Cassidy, Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan, Matthew Downey, Lachlan Murray. Subs Niall Toner for Matthew Downey, Conor McAteer for Niall Loughlin
Tyrone: Niall Morgan, Cormac Quinn, Aidan Clarke, Joey Clarke, Ben Cullen, Michael McKernan, Ronan Cassidy, Brian Kennedy, Conor O’Neill, Darragh Canavan, Conn Kilpatrick, Ciarán Daly, Eoin McElholm, Matthew Donnelly, Ethan Jordan. Subs: Peter Teague for Brian Kennedy, Matthew Og McGleenan for Conor O’Neill, Lorcan McGarrity for Ethan Jordan, Frank Burns for Michael McKernan
