Football

Armagh U20s aiming to spring surprise on champions Tyrone

Tyrone's Conor Quinn celebrates his goal with Sean Og McAleer during the 2019 Eirgrid Ulster Under 20 Football Championship final between against Derry. Picture by Philip Walsh.
Tyrone's Conor Quinn celebrates his goal with Sean Og McAleer during the 2019 Eirgrid Ulster Under 20 Football Championship final between against Derry. Picture by Philip Walsh. Tyrone's Conor Quinn celebrates his goal with Sean Og McAleer during the 2019 Eirgrid Ulster Under 20 Football Championship final between against Derry. Picture by Philip Walsh.

Champions Tyrone begin the defence of their Ulster Under 20 Football Championship crown today at the Athletic Grounds, scene of last year’s title triumph.

Opponents Armagh are plotting an ambush and a surprise win over a Red Hand side that has several prominent survivors from the 2019 squad.

Both counties have had to juggle their available personnel in the face of an unfortunate calendar rescheduling which has seen the series clash with both schools and universities competitions.

But Orchard boss Peter McDonnell and his counterpart believe they have arrived at a point of compromise which has enabled them to field their best possible team.

That’s despite last week’s postponement of key MacRory Cup ties which have been re-fixed for this afternoon.

Tyrone, with a core of players who starred in last year’s success, which culminated in a big win over holders Derry in the final, will go in as favourites.

Skipper Antoin Fox anchors a solid defence, while midfielder Joe Oguz is a powerhouse around the central area and highly effective going forward.

Darragh Canavan is expected to return from injury for his first game of the season, and that could also provide a timely boost for senior manager Mickey Harte.

Tiernan Quinn and Ethan Jordan are others who can create and execute scores for the defending champions.

Armagh have their own ace attackers, including skipper Justin Kieran, now in his third season playing at this level.

Full back Paul Martin is a rock that can be depended on, while Tiernan Kelly and Niall McCorry will look to give the Orchard a foothold around midfield.

Up front Cian McConville is a man with the ability to unlock the Tyrone defence, and with support from James McCormack and Tomas McCormack, he could provide the secret of success for the Armagh lads.

Armagh boss McDonnell was also in charge last year when his side lost a remarkable first round game to Derry.

The Orchard were ten points up at one stage, but the Oak Leafers grabbed five second half goals to turn an epic around.

“We almost pulled off a surprise last year, but didn’t manage it,” he said.

But he’s looking forward to setting out on another unpredictable journey.

“You have youngsters who have expectations of having a wonderful career, there’s a freshness about it, and it’s a very age group to work with.”

McDonnell admitted it has been difficult to find a balance in the availability of players due to the earlier timing of the competition.

“It moves to point of conflict from club to schools and colleges,” he said.

“The easiest thing here is to be a manager the toughest thing is to be a player that’s at school and have to make a choice. It’s very difficult to balance the two.”

Tyrone boss Paul Devlin is wary of his counterpart’s quiet confidence that there’s a performance in them that could topple the defending champions.

“We had a super team that went to Armagh two years ago, probably as good a youth team as Tyrone has ever produced, but we didn’t get over the hurdle,” Devlin recalled.

“We have had some great battles with Armagh over the years. The lads grew up with each other, they know each other pretty well.

“But I’m sure Peter will unearth two or three players this year that none of us know a pile about, the same way as ourselves.”