U20 coach McNulty wary of the Oak Leaf threat

TYRONE Under-20s back-to-back Ulster and All-Ireland dreams faces its stiffest test yet on Wednesday night when they tackle a red hot Derry side in the provincial semi-final at Owenbeg, but coach Diarmaid McNulty is relishing the challenge.

Having left Armagh trailing in their wake courtesy of a devestating late scoring burst in last week’s quarter-final in Dungannon, the holders will head across the Sperrins confident that they are up to the task.

The Oak Leafers racked up some eye-catching tallies in topping their section, which afforded them a bye into the last four, while Tyrone lost out on first place in their group to Donegal. Nonetheless Diarmaid McNulty insists that his troops must confront the test that awaits them head on.

“Derry have gone really well on that side of the draw and scored some outrageous points and goals. They have a really strong squad, with the Maghera boys back in too after winning the Hogan Cup. They are going to be a serious threat but we are looking forward to the challenge.

“ Knockout football is where you really see where you are at. It’s a great test of the boys going to the next level.”

Tyrone trailed Armagh by three points in the early stages of the quarter-final but dug deep to preserve their hopes of retaining their Ulster title, hitting three goals down the home stretch. McNulty was delighted with their response.

“We were lucky to go in at half-time only a point down. Even at the start of the second half we were sluggish. There was just a couple of turnovers and a bit of hard work turned it. We got a great goal from Conal Sheehy and that just gave us life. Once we got that we took off and really drove on in the last ten minutes.

“ O’Neill, Hughes and Conal McGeough at No 12 who got a Colleges All-Star this year were a real threat up front for Armagh. But we knew they had some quality players. It took us a while to get our hands on them.

“ They had a knockout game the week before to get through their group and you could see that stood to them. They knew if they didn’t win last week they were out so they were up to the pitch of knockout football a bit earlier in the match than us. We definitely can’t afford to start as sluggish again next time.”