Late scoring spree helps Tyrone U20s topple the Orchard County

Tyrone 3-15  Armagh 1-11

FLEXING their attacking muscles down the home stretch, Tyrone Under-20s surged clear of Armagh in this lively Ulster Championship quarter-final to set up a showdown with Derry this Wednesday evening.

The reigning champions blitzed the spirited Orchard boys with three goals in the last quarter on a wet night in Dungannon, Conall Sheehy, Eoin McElholm and sub Noah Grimes with the crisp finishes to the back of the net.

It provided a stunning finale after Armagh for much of the night threatened to topple the reigning Ulster and All-Ireland champions.

They had led 1-11 to 0-11 approaching the three quarter mark, looking the more cohesive and tenacious of the two sides for long spells but despite their shortcomings on the night, the Red Hands clearly aren’t going to meekly surrender their crowns.

The hosts held their opponents scoreless in the final fifteen minutes, while racking up 3-4 at the other end, though also capitalising on the black card meted out to pivotal Armagh attacker Aaron O’Neill.

That was one of several calls by referee Michael Moore which had the opposition bench going apoplectic as the match began to drift away from them, and the abuse directed at the official from the sideline also saw Tyrone awarded a free in front of the posts which Ruairi McCullagh converted.

He finished with seven points to his name (five frees), while his Loughmacrory clubmate Eoin McElholm weighed in with 1-2, though mention must also go to defenders Ben Hughes, Caolan Donnelly and Conor Devlin who got to grips with their task as the tie unfolded.

Having hoisted over the opening score for Armagh, John Joe Hughes then found the back of Conor McEneney’s net in the seventh minute, nipping in to fist home Aaron O’Neill’s delivery. The Tyrone keeper was injured during this collision and was eventually replaced at half-time by Conan McGarvey.

A well- taken Shea McDermott score and fisted Conor O’Neill effort got Tyrone off and running

but by the quarter hour mark they had fallen four in arrears- 1-4 to 0-3- O’Neill and Conal McGeough splitting the posts for Armagh, with Liam Og Mossey replying for the home side.

The champions then shook off their early complacency to shift through the gears, hitting five points on the spin. McElholm slotted two over typically silky scores, while McCullagh knocked over a free, and then released Matthew Quinn to drill over from close range. With McCullagh turning sharply to register another the Red Hands had eased in front 0-8 to 1-4.

However Armagh came on strong again in the closing stages, with Hughes twice on target (one free) to take a narrow lead into the break.

The impressive McGeough extended their advantage on the restart, but at the other end the Armagh keeper Shea Murphy was called into action to keep out Conan Devlin’s soccer style attempt.

Two quick fire scores from McCullagh (one free) drew Tyrone level but a monster of a Two Pointer from Aaron O’Neill and Calum O’Neill effort had Armagh three up again.

That remained the gap as McCullagh and Hughes swapped pointed frees, but when impressive sub Eoin Donaghy put Conall Sheehy away to thump a goal high into the Armagh net, it signalled a massive shift in momentum.

With Aaron O’Neill then black carded soon after, the Armagh challenge unravelled, as McElholm, McCullagh (free) and Donnelly helped Tyrone seize the initiative with scores.

McElholm then put the issue beyond doubt as he drilled a lot shot into the net off the far post, Donaghy crafting the opening, and another goal tucked away by sub Noah Grimes left the holders home and hosed.

Scorers

Tyrone: Ruairi McCullagh (0-7,5f), Eoin McElholm (1-2), Noah Grimes (1-1), Conall Sheehy (1-0), Shea McDermott, Conor O’Neill, Caolan Donnelly, Matthew Quinn, Liam Og Mossey (0-1 each)

Armagh: John Joe Hughes (1-4,2f), Aaron O’Neill (0-3, 1tp), Conal McGeough (0-2), Calum O’Neill, Ryan Duffy (0-1 each)

Teams

Tyrone: Conor McAneney, Fiachra Nelis, Ben Hughes, Conor Devlin, Callum Daly, Joey Clarke, Caolan Donnelly, Conan Devlin, Conor O’Neill, Conall Sheehy, Eoin McElholm, Matthew Quinn, Shea McDermott, Ruairi McCullagh, Liam Og Mossey. Subs used: Conan McGravey for C McAneney (h-time), Eoin Donaghy for Conan Devlin (45mins), Noah Grimes for S McDermott (49), Sean McCann for F Nelis (59), Sean Broderick for C Daly (59)

Armagh: Shea Murphy, Eugene McEntee, Shea McCann, Patrick Lynch, Jack Lavery, Aaron Haughey, Diarmaid O’Rourke, Ryan Martin, Sean Burke, Calum O’Neill, Ryan Duffy, Conal McGeough, John Joe Hughes, Eoin Kane, Aaron O’Neill. Subs used: Aodhan O’Kane for E McEntee (h-time), James Austin for E Kane (45mins), Jack Loughran for R Martin (48)Sean Woods for P Lynch (59)

Referee: Michael Moore (Down)