Pierce Blessing leads the way as Armagh hold off Cavan U-20s
Ulster U-20FC Round Armagh 2-9 Cavan 2-7
A general view of the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Armagh earned their second victory of the U-20 Ulster Championship when they held off Cavan after a dramatic final few minutes at the Athletic Grounds. Two first-half goals were the key scores for Barry O’Hagan’s side, who led by six-points late on.
Cavan rallied and a fortunate goal from wing forward Barry Donnelly brought them back into contention late on, but they couldn’t close the two-point gap. Darragh Lovett and Tadgh Grimley traded scores at the start of the game before Odhran Carragher pointed for Armagh.
Callum O’Neill and Grimley tagged on further scores before Cavan rattled the net for the game’s first major as the Breffni men hit their hosts on the counter and worked the ball to Lovett who made no mistake.
Armagh grabbed a goal of their own when O’Neill played through Pierce Blessing, who was dragged down. Captain and full back Gareth Murphy stood up to power the ball past the keeper and restore Armagh’s advantage.
Lovett pointed a free before Blessing raised a green flag. Ruairi O’Brien’s initial effort was blocked down, but Blessing was the quickest to respond. Ben McGahan pointed for Cavan before Rhys Stevens denied a second goal for the visitors with a sublime save.
Ryan Duffy and Blessing both raised white flags before the short whistle sounded, with Armagh ahead at the break, 2-6 to 1-3. Two Brendan O’Hagan points added to Armagh lead, but they were matched by Lovett and Cian Keaney at the start of the second period.
O’Neill and Keaney traded scores while Daire Madden’s goal attempt was punched over by netminder Stevens. Cavan did get a second three-pointer moments later, with Barry Donnelly firing the ball to the net after another stop on the line by Stevens.
Cavan tried desperately hard to work another goal that would win the game but were denied by some heroic defensive work. Armagh remain tied at the top of the table alongside Donegal, with both teams winning their opening two matches.
Scorers – Armagh: P Blessing 1-1, G Murphy 1-0 (pen); T Grimley, C O’Neill, B O’Hagan (1f) 0-2 each; R Duffy, O Carragher 0-1 each. Cavan: D Lovett 1-3 (2f), B Donnelly 1-0, C Keaney 0-2f, D Madden, B McGahan 0-1 each.
Armagh: R Stevens, E Magee, G Murphy, O Carragher, F O’Brien, B O’Hagan, C O’Neill, Tadgh Grimley, P Blessing, P O’Keefe, R O’Brien, R Duffy, F Boylan, C McGeough, M Burnett. Subs: A O’Neill for F Boylan, C Campbell for C McGeough,
Cavan: L Phillingham, O Daly, C Brady, F Shehu, K McCabe, E Hartin, B McGahan, E Crowe, R Tobin, M Smith, O McCrystal, B Donnelly, M Smith, D Lovett, L Reilly. Subs: D Edwards for M Smith, D Madden for O McCrystal, C Keaney for L Reilly, M Costello for R Tobin, Jensen Tynan for K McCabe
