Tyrone Under-20 hurlers cruise into Ulster Shield Final

Tyrone 5-16 Armagh 0-8

SHEA Monroe bagged a hat-trick for the second game running as Tyrone U20 hurlers booked their spot in the Ulster Shield final with a thumping victory over Armagh on Saturday at Garvaghey.

The Éire Óg Carrickmore lad pounced for three goals but he had plenty of help from his teammates, most prominently his club colleague Aidan Woods who had an absolutely fantastic game, scoring six points across the hour.

The Red Hands laid the platform for victory in the first-half, surging into a 2-7 to 0-6 lead, after which there was only ever going to be the one winner as they had a stiff breeze at their backs for the remainder of the contest.

Tyrone looked sharp from the word go, Monroe weighing in with 1-2 without reply to build up an early lead before Armagh retorted with a couple of frees.

The home side kept their foot on the pedal though, Aidan Woods growing in influence and knocking over a couple of fine points, while Michael Coyle and Francie Hurson were rock solid down the other end of the pitch.

Monroe added another goal, again showing his poacher’s instincts, but Armagh kept the leaders honest with a scattering of frees in the twilight of the first-half.

Still, Tyrone were in the ascendancy and it was virtually one-way traffic for the entirety of the second-half.

Liam Griffiths and Conor Doherty landed points, as did the on-song Aidan Woods to compound their advantage, before piecing together their third goal of the day, this time finished to the net by Pierce Mullin.

With 20 minutes remaining, the game was as good as over and Tyrone showed their long-range shooting ability with wonderful efforts from distance by Hurson and Corey Bell.

The final ten minutes was a procession, Pierce Mullin getting his final score of the contest after a lovely pass from Griffiiths, Ruairi O’Sullivan got his name on the scoresheet with an excellent effort and it was fitting that Shea Munroe rounded off a fine day’s work in every respect by completing his hat-trick.

Next up, they will take on Donegal in the Ulster Shield final, a game they will be approaching with confidence after overcoming the same team in the group stages

Teams

Tyrone: Odhran McMurray, Cillian Kerr, Cormac McCrystal, Michael Coyle, Ruairi O’Sullivan, Francie Hurson, Conor Doherty, Kevin Hughes, Fionn Corry, Aidan Woods, Corey Bell, Eunan Campbell, Liam Griffiths, Pierce Mullin, Shea Monroe. Subs: Donnacha Mór O’Neill for Campbell, Senan Monroe for Kerr, Darragh McPhillips for O’Sullivan, Ayaz Taggart for Woods, Cillian Early for Woods, Ciaran McKenna for Hurson and Conor Kerr for Corry

Armagh: Ruairi Grimes, Ronan Gaffney, Eoin Bell, Michael Bird, Eoin Garvey, Caoinn Hughes, Conor McVeigh, Conor Fox, Ruairi Grimes, Conor Carabine, Darren McMullan, Ryan Taylor, Miceal Rice, John Joe Gormley, Dara Harney