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Belfast Telegraph
7 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Tyrone kids ready to land double delight in All-Ireland Under-20 decider, insists boss Paul Devlin
Having won the Ulster Minor Football Championship title on Sunday by beating Cavan in the Final, Tyrone's sights are now firmly fixed on the All-Ireland Under-20 title. That's the prize on offer at the Athletic Grounds, Armagh on Wednesday night (7.30pm) when the Red Hands go toe-to-toe with Louth in what promises to be a compelling decider. Louth may have lived dangerously in booking their place in the Final – they managed to edge out Mayo by a mere point (2-12 to 0-17) at the Semi-Final stage – but this has not impacted their confidence in any way as they focus on Wednesday evening's showdown. Having conquered Kerry in their Semi-Final, Tyrone are raring to go again, and their pace, cohesion and finishing skills look certain to come under the spotlight on the inviting acres of the Athletic Grounds. Tyrone's Ruairi McCullagh jostles with Kerry's Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich during the Red Hands' Semi-Final success Tyrone manager Paul Devlin has watched his side gain in confidence and fluency to such an extent that they relish Wednesday night's contest despite their recent endeavours. 'My lads have been putting in a huge effort and they are ready for the fray,' points out manager Devlin. 'Obviously Louth will be fired up, too, given that the county has won the Leinster Championship for the first time in over 60 years.' While the Tyrone attack has flourished with Ruairi McCullagh and Eoin McElholm particularly prominent, a defence in which Ben Hughes, Joey Clarke and Callum Daly have epitomised rigid defiance has frustrated successive forward divisions. Yet Louth are not without their own beacons of strength. Sean Callaghan and James Maguire more often than not reign supreme at midfield, while Pearse Grimes Murphy, Shane Lennon, Adam Gillespie and Tadhg O'Donnell can form a lethal cutting edge up front. Louth manager Fergal Reel is convinced that the self-belief which has inculcated his side has allowed them to flourish but not to the extent that they stray from their game-plan. Indeed, the team's finishing has served them well to date, although they may find that limitations will be imposed on their creative skills on Wednesday by a Tyrone rearguard that has shown it can subdue opponents. For all that, it promises to be an all-action, supercharged contest between two teams who are keen to write their own particular chapters in GAA history. Read more
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Win over Kerry returns Tyrone to All-Ireland under-20 decider
All-Ireland Under-20 Football semi-final: Tyrone 2-14 Kerry 0-14 Tyrone's twin striking force of Ruairi McCullagh and Eoin McElholm reeled off 1-13 to inspire the All-Ireland under-20 football champions to another final appearance as they edged out Kerry at O'Moore Park in Portlaoise. But it was a defensive tour de force, with Ben Hughes, Joey Clarke and Callum Daly at its heart, that inspired this latest win for a county chasing a third title in four years. Now it's Mayo or Louth who will stand in the way of a Red Hand bid for another title in a couple of weeks time. 'I know we've had a lot of talk all along about great forwards, but people can see we have some fantastic defenders,' said Tyrone manager Paul Devlin. READ MORE 'They just found it hard to break us down right through, but I want to give a lot of credit to Kerry. 'They have some great players but they couldn't break down our fantastic defenders.' Tyrone's Eoin McElholm with Kerry's Daniel Kirby. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Both sides had goal chances in the opening 10 minutes, with McElholm denied by Michael Tansley's brilliant save, while at the other end, Ben Hughes executed a terrific block on Evan Boyle as he pulled the trigger. But it was Tyrone who were making the most of chances created in an evenly contested opening quarter, going 0-5 to 0-1 ahead with McCullagh landing a 45, a free and a point from play, the others sent over by McElholm. It was McElholm who smashed home a brilliant 18th-minute goal to give them a massive boost, but Kerry began to rain ball down on full forward Tomas Kennedy, who won a string of frees that Paddy Lane tapped over. They closed the gap to two, thanks to a couple of Kilian Dennehy gems, but a second goal, blasted to the top corner of the net by Noah Grimes on the half-hour, sent the Red Hands in with a 2-8 to 0-9 interval lead. Kerry's Eddie Healy dejected after the game. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Eddie Healy, Daniel Kirby and Donagh O'Sullivan gave the Munster champions a midfield platform from which to push forward, but time and again they were frustrated by a well organised defence in which sweeper Callum Daly was exceptional and skipper Clarke equally effective. The two front men maintained Tyrone's relatively comfortable lead, but Kerry fought back to cut the gap with another couple of Lane frees, before Kennedy narrowed it down to three. The danger was there, but the champions defended collectively to weather the storm and closed it out with another volley of scores from McElholm and McCullagh. TYRONE: C McGarvey; F Nelis, B Hughes, Conor Devlin; C Daly, J Clarke, C Donnelly, Conan Devlin, C O'Neill; C Sheehy, E McElholm (1-0-4, 1f), M Quinn; N Grimes (1-0-0), R McCullagh (0-1-7, 4f, 1tpf, 1 45), L Óg Mossey. Subs: S Broderick for Conor Devlin (23 mins), S McDermott (0-0-1) for Grimes (48), E McDonagh for Sheehy (51), D Donaghy for Mossey (58). KERRY: M Tansley; A O Beaglaoich, G Evans, M Lynch; L Evans, D O'Connor, B Murphy; E Healy (0-0-2), D Kirby (0-0-1); C Collins, E Boyle, K Dennehy (0-0-3); P Lane (0-0-6, 5f), T Kennedy (0-0-1), D O'Sullivan. Subs: R Carroll (0-0-1) for Collins (42 mins), E Daly for Boyle (46), J Murphy for O'Sullivan (55), J O'Sullivan for Kirby (57), O Ferris for Lane (58). Referee: B Judge (Sligo).
Irish Daily Mirror
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tyrone vs Donegal LIVE score updates from Ulster U20 Football Championship final
The final of the Dalata Hotel Group Ulster U20 Football Championship final sees holders Tyrone take on Donegal in Owenbeg this evening. The sides have already met in the group stages with Donegal claiming an impressive 3-16 to 0-17 win in Ballybofey thanks to goals from Mark McDevitt, Conor McCahill and Dylan Mulholland. That defeat forced the holders into the quarter-finals and Paul Devlin's side were behind at half-time against Armagh in Dungannon before pulling away to win by 10 points. The Red Hands faced Derry in last Wednesday's semi-final in what was a repeat of last season's provincial final. Once again, Tyrone came out on top with a 3-12 to 0-19 win in Owenbeg. However, Donegal were facile 4-19 to 2-7 winners over Cavan in the other semi-final and Gary Boyle's men are seeking a first provincial title since 2017. The winners of tonight's game will face Munster champions Kerry in the All-Ireland U20 semi-final next month. Tomás O'Se's side completed a four-in-a-row in Munster with a 2-15 to 1-10 win over Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Monday night. We'll have team news and any late changes ahead of throw-in at 7.30pm. Callum McCrea is fouled but advantage is played with Conor McGinty landing Donegal's opening point after 11 minutes Cian McMenamin lands awkwardly on his ankle and that's an early injury blow for Donegal. David Monaghan is in after nine minutes Noah Grimes fists the ball over the bar after good work from Conan Devlin and Ruairi McCullagh Caolan Donnelly plays a one-two with Ruairi McCullagh in an attempt to get in around the back of the Donegal defence, but the ball is put out for 45. McCullagh converts for the game's opening point after five minutes Referee Kevin Faloon (Armagh) gets the game under way! Tyrone have suffered a blow ahead of throw-in with the news that goalkeeper Conor McAneney, their penalty shootout hero in last season's final, is out. Conan McGarvey starts in nets with Fiachra Nelis coming in for Shane McCaul at corner-back. As expected, Finnbarr Roarty starts for Donegal with David Monaghan dropping to the bench while Donal Gallagher and Kevin Lynch have been added to the substitutes. Tyrone Evs Draw 15/2 Donegal Evs Here's our Starting XV for tonight's Ulster U20 Football Championship Final. Ulster U20 Championship Final Tyrone v Donegal Owenbeg Throw-in: 7.30pm Tickets are available to purchase online, visit Donegal defender Finnbarr Roarty is set to feature in two Ulster finals in the space of 11 days after Jim McGuinness gave him the green light to play in tonight's U20 decider against Tyrone. With Mark Curran, Caolan McGonagle and and Eoghan Ban Gallagher sidelined through injury, the Glenties clubman has grabbed his opportunity with both hands, delivering a string of assured performances in the Donegal defence in recent weeks. His involvement with the seniors has restricted his game-time with the U20s, but he came off the bench to score a point in their 4-19 to 2-7 rout of Cavan in last week's semi-final in Ballybofey. Speaking following last Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final win over Down in Clones, McGuinness insisted he'll not stop Roarty from playing in the U20 final. 'He (Roarty) will of course (be involved) - you only get a couple of years to play in it and that's the reality,' said McGuinness. 'You're a senior player then, so it's very important, I think it's very important for younger players to play with their peers and experience that. Once it's gone, it's gone very, very quickly. 'So, yeah, we would be certainly in favour of releasing Finnbarr - hopefully for three or four games if that's what it takes to try and win an All-Ireland. 'They're a good side, we had maybe 10 or 11 of them in training with us all winter and there's some nice players in there. 'They've played Tyrone already, but I think it's well set up for Tyrone in many respects - they'll be coming under the radar even though they've won two All-Irelands 'That's up to our boys to try and be ready for that and hopefully Finnbarr will be a big part of that.'
