The Cavan minor footballers pictured before their Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship victory over Derry.
Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship
CAVAN 1-12 DERRY 1-7
DONEGAL 3-10 MONAGHAN 3-8
TYRONE 2-19 FERMANAGH 0-3
Cavan made a flying start to their Electric Ireland Ulster MFC campaign with an impressive win over holders Derry at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Early points were traded between Danny Brady and Derry’s Tony O’Hagan and Kian Maynes, before the Oak Leafers went ahead with a Daithi McCloskey goal on 12 minutes.
The home side hot back with a Mark Reilly goal to go level on 1-4 each in the 21st minute, before Cathal Scullion and Daire Hull pushed Derry ahead again.
Michael Smith pulled back a point, but it was the visitors who led by 1-6 to 1-5 at the interval.
But Cavan stepped up the tempo with a strong final quarter, and a string of points from Cian McConnell, Nathan Quigley, Faolan Graham, Michael Smith and Sam Maguire saw them win comfortably, conceding just a point in the entire second half.
Donegal survived a late Monaghan fightback to get off to a winning start at Letterkenny, holding on for a 3-10 to 3-8 success.
The game’s first two scores were goals, Tristan Nugent netting for Monaghan after just two minutes, before Matthew Enright fired home at the other end.
Donegal led by 1-6 to 1-4 at the break, and added a second goal through Kelvin McLaughlin, with Thomas Lenehan and Christopher O’Donnell tagging on points.
And they were cruising when Conor Farrell blasted home goal number three, before the Farney county hit back with late goals from Harry Hamill and Harry Treanor. However, the home side held on with backs to the wall.
Tyrone had little difficulty in seeing off Fermanagh at O’Neills Healy Park, where they finished as convincing 2-19 to 0-3 winners.
The Red Hands eased ahead with scores from James Mulgrew, Eoin Long, Aodhan Quinn and Peter Garrity, before striking for a goal, netted on 18 minutes by Garrity.
Mulgrew and Garrity added further points, and an Eoin Long goal just before the break sent them in with a commanding 2-11 to 0-1 lead.
And they completed the job in a low-key second half with scores from Thomas Meenan, Odhran Curran, Mulgrew and Long.
Armagh had to work hard to get the better of a determined Antrim side at Crossmaglen.
The Orchard led by 1-6 to 0-3 at the interval, but were hauled back by the visitors, before grabbing a second goal to get over the line on a 2-9 to 0-10 score-line.
