Tyrone defeated Down in the Dalata Ulster U2O Football Championship. Team Captains Joey Clarke and Eoin Murray pictured with referee Niall McKenna before throw-in. Photo by Tyrone GAA
Dalata Ulster U20 Football Championship
Tyrone 3-15 Down 0-11
Donegal 1-18 Fermanagh 1-8
All-Ireland champions Tyrone got the defence of their provincial and national titles off to a positive start with a 3-15 to 0-11 win over Down at Burren.
Ten different players go their names on the score-sheet for a Red Hand side starting with half a dozen of last year’s triumphant team.
Down dominated the opening 10 minutes, going four clear, with three of their points coming from play from attacking goalkeeper DJ Farrell, who sent over a two-pointer.
But the defending champions began to get on top at midfield through Conor O’Neill, and scores from Noah Grines, Darragh Donagh, and Ruairi McCullagh closing the gap, before O’Neill smashed home a 17th minute goal to give them the lead.
Scores from Eoghan Travers and Barra McEvoy brought the Mourne lads level, and they went in at the break deadlocked on 0-7 to 1-4.
Tyrone stepped up the tempo in the third quarter, with senior panellist Eoin McElholm coming off the bench to nail a couple of scores, and they were well on their waY when Liam Og Mossey netted their second goal.
Down were chasing the game, managing just a couple of points from Travers and Callan Morgan, and the Red Hands sealed the win with a third goal, this time from substitute Michael McElhatton six minutes from the end.
Donegal proved too strong for Fermanagh at Brewster Park, where they carved out a convincing 1-18 to 1-8 victory.
Fermanagh got off to the perfect start with a well taken Mattie McDermott goal after just four minutes, and while the visitors responded with points from Conor McCahill Shane Callaghan and Mark McDevitt, with a ’45, the Erne lads kept them at bay through McDermott and Kealan Fitzpatrick.
But Donegal started to pull away in the closing ten minutes of the half, picking off tidy score through Conor McGinty, Max Campbell, Turlough Carr, and Seanan Carr, and a Sean Martin goal sent them in at the break with a 1-10 to 1-4 lead.
McCahill was the shooting star of the second half, sending over a string of delightful scores as Tir Chonail kept their hosts at arms length.
Callaghan also landed a couple of points to set the seal on a comfortable ten points success.
