Armagh were last night celebrating an historic victory after lifting their first Ulster Under-21 Football Championship title. And what better way to do it than by defeating the reigning All-Ireland champions with an heroic defensive performance in the frantic closing stages. It was senior star Barry Duffy who grabbed the only goal of the game, and how important his first-half strike was to prove.
Full forward Duffy stunned Derry with an opportunist goal after just six minutes. They confidently attacked the champions' defence, with McEntee kicking two superb long-range points. Noel McParland also split the posts from distance, and two Peter Loughran scores opened up a seven-point lead.
But Derry, playing into a considerable breeze, finally found some fluency: Gavin Diamond converted a free and Cassidy hit a point. Armagh, who led by 1-6 to 0-4 at the interval, increased their advantage through Peter Loughran just after the restart.
Darren Conway, Francis Glackin and Cassidy all found the target for Derry to leave just a goal between the sides. A brace of points by Benny Murray reduced Armagh's lead to the minimum.
Derry: S O'Kane, M Kelly, N Farren, M Coll, P McFlynn, F Crossan, C McNally, G Doyle, P Diamond (0-1), F Glackin (0-1), B Murray (0- 2), D Conway (0-1), B Kearney (0-1), J Cassidy (0-3), G Diamond (0-1). Subs: N McCusker for Coll, E Muldoon for Doyle, P Murphy for Conway.
Armagh: P Hearty, B McArdle, T McEntee, K McElvanna, S O'Hare, P Watters, J Toal, A O'Neill, J McEntee (0-2), P Oldham, P Loughran (0-3), P McKeever (0-1), N McParland (0-1), B Duffy (1-0), D McAuley (0-1). Subs: S McDonnell for McParland
Referee: G Lynch (Fermanagh)
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