Tyrone take advantage of Donegal sending offs to make final

Tyrone 1-15 Donegal 2-8

Tyrone capitalised on Donegal indiscipline to reach the Ulster Under-21 final in a game of two halves at Celtic Park in Derry.

Donegal were reduced to 13 when they lost Stephen McMenamin and Bruce Waldron in a six-minute period between the 44th and 50th minutes.

They were made to pay the price as Tyrone took control. Tyrone had led by a point when Donegal were reduced to 13 but they hit six points without reply to seal their place in the final. A late penalty goal from Stephen McBrearty for Donegal only put a better gloss on the scoreboard.

The sides had exchanged goals within four minutes of each other at the start of the second half, Ryan Coleman for Tyrone and Conor Doherty finishing well for Donegal.

Donegal were completely on top in the opening half on a perfect night for football, but they had just a two-point advantage at the break, 0-6 to 0-4. They had three bad wides in the opening three minutes.

Tyrone had the opening two points but, thanks to Stephen McBrearty, Donegal eventually got the scoreboard ticking. The Tyrone defence was under pressure and they lost Ben McDonnell to a black card on 17 minutes.

TYRONE: S Fox; C McCann, P Teague, S Hamill; C Byrne, S Loughran (0-1), M O'Neill; C McShane (0-2, one free), B McDonnell; M Kavanagh (0-2), F Burns (0-1), D Mulgrew; L Brennan (0-5, three frees), R Coleman (1-2), S Fox (0-1).

Subs: M McKernan for Teague (14 mins); J Harkin for McDonnell (BC, 20 mins); R McGlone for O'Neill (53 mins); S O'Donnell (0-1) for Kavanagh (58 mins); R McGeary for Fox (BC, 59 mins).

DONEGAL: D Rodgers; C Morrison, K Gillespie, J O'Brien; E Ban Gallagher, C O'Donnell (0-1), E McGrath; C McGonagle, S McMenamin; C Bonner (0-1), C Thompson (0-1, free), A McClean; S McBrearty (1-5, 1-0 pen, three frees), M Carroll, J Brennan.

Subs: C Doherty (1-0) for Brennan (32 mins); M Coyle for Bonner (37 mins); B Waldron for McGonigle (BC, 43 mins); C Mulligan for McClean (45 mins); A Neely for O'Donnell (53 mins); J Scally for O'Brien (57 mins).

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).

Monaghan 2-16 Armagh 0-9

Monaghan left Armagh floundering in their slipstream in this Ulster Under-21 football semi-final at Páirc Esler in Newry.

The Farney side dominated the second half, during which they scored 2-7 and indeed could have had much more.

Armagh simply had no answer to their opponents’ pace, precision and power, their feeble challenge petering out as the second half, during which they managed only three points, ebbed to a close.

Monaghan enjoyed a 0-9 to 0-6 interval advantage but went on a second-half scoring spree.

Substitute Fearghal McMahon fired home a 47th-minute goal from a penalty; Francis Maguire added a second following a defensive mix-up and Conor McCarthy and Barry McGinn continued to embellish the scoreboard with points.

Delighted Monaghan boss Ciaran McBride will now meet his native county Tyrone, whom he served so well at senior level in the past, in the provincial decider on Wednesday next.

MONAGHAN: C Forde (0-2, one free, one 45); B Kerr, M Murnaghan (0-1), K Loughran; D Ward (0-1), J Mealiff, N Rooney; N Loughman, A Lynch (0-1); R McAnespie, B McGinn (0-4, one free), D Meegan; M O'Dowd, C McCarthy (0-4, two frees), A Treanor.

Subs: F McMahon 1-2 (1-0 pen, one free) for Treanor (33 mins), F Maguire (1-0) for O'Dowd (40 mins), C Rice for Ward (54 mins), B McBennett (0-1) for Meegan (57 mins), M McCarville for Lynch (57 mins), A Kieran for Mealiff (60 mins).

ARMAGH: B Hughes; G McCabe, A Rushe, J Cosgrove; C McConville (0-1), S Heffron, J McElroy; D McKenna, O O'Neill (0-2, one free); P Quinn, J Rafferty, C Boylan; C McKenna (0-3), S McPartlan, C Martin (0-2).

Subs: J Freeman (0-1) for Quinn (12 mins), R Finn for Heffron (BC, 21mins), J Og Burns for Rafferty (27 mins), A Conlon for McPartlan (46 mins), P Savage for McKenna (50 mins).

Referee: Ronan Barry (Down).