Tyrone v Cavan
EIRGRID ULSTER U21 FOOTBALL QUARTER-FINAL: CAVAN 0-10 TYRONE 2-10
By Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni Park
Two goals in the final quarter made the difference as Tyrone deservedly advanced from this Ulster U21 quarter-final at Breffni Park.
The All-Ireland champions took a while to assert themselves but, over the hour, were the better, more cohesive side.
Tyrone led 0-6 to 0-5 at the end of a suprisingly open first half, a feature of which was some dreadful shooting by both sides, particularly Cavan. The hosts kicked nine wides in that opening half hour and despite defending well – they coughed up just three frees – they looked panicked in front of the posts.
Early on, though, Cavan were flawless. Two frees from goalkeeper Liam Brady and a fine point from play from wing-forward Pierce Smith saw them race into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after nine minutes before Tyrone opened their account with a free from Cathal MacShane.
The Red Hands, unusually, were playing route one stuff, raining high ball on the Cavan full-back line, and the tactic didn't bear much fruit in the opening half.
A point from Liam Galligan was cancelled out by a brilliant individual score from Mark Kavanagh as nerves began to show and the sides traded a succession of wides.
Long-range points from MacShane and Padraig McGirr tied matters seven minutes before half-time before Cavan hit the front again after full-forward David Brady did well to tee Galligan up again.
Tyrone, though, finished the half better with MacShane sending over two more from play to see them hold the edge at the break.
The winners, though, were much the better side in the second half. Cavan created plenty of chances but squandered most of them – they kicked a shocking 16 wides in total and dropped three short – as a result of wayward shooting and impressive Tyrone defending.
Goalkeeper Brady converted a free at the start of the second half but two points from Lee Brennan (one a 45) nudged Tyrone into the lead and then they struck for the crucial first goal, captain Frank Burns laying off for Byrne to coolly side-foot to the roof of the net.
Feargal Logan's charges suddenly looked dangerous every time they attacked and although Cavan replied with a good point from Niall Clerkin, Tyrone were purring and they added a point from David Mulgrew and then decided the game when Burns dinked the ball over the top for Ben McDonnell to bundle home.
A late MacShane effort was sandwiched by Cavan consolation scores from Jack Doyle and Tom Hayes but, by that stage, it mattered little. Tyrone march on.
Scorers for Cavan: L Brady 0-4 (4f), T Hayes 0-2 (1f) L Galligan 0-2, N Clerkin 0-1, P Smith 0-1
**Scorers for Tyrone: **C MacShane 0-5 (1f), B McDonnell 1-0, C Byrne 1-0, L Brennan 0-2 ( 1 '45), P McGirr 0-1, D Mulgrew 0-1, M Kavanagh 0-1
CAVAN: L Brady; M Magee, B O'Connell, B Fortune, C Bradley, B Kelly, N Clerkin, K Monahan, M McKenna, P Corrigan, L Galligan, P Smith, D Brady, T Hayes, C Daly. **Subs: **D Monahan for Kelly (h/t), O Carolan for Corrigan (36 mins), B Magee for K Monahan (40 mins), D Wilson for Bradley (48 mins), J Doyle for Galligan (50 mins), T Galligan for Smith (53 mins).
TYRONE: S Fox, C McCann, P Teague, S Hamill, C Byrne, S Loughran, P McGirr, C MacShane, B McDonnell, M Kavanagh, F Burns, M O'Neill, L Brennan, R Loughran, S Fox. Subs: D Gallagher for McGirr (25 mins), B Coleman for Loughran (40 mins), E Murray for Byrne (57 mins), D Mulgrew for O'Neill.
