BY RONAN SCOTT

r.scott@gaeliclife.com

ON Wednesday, Down retained their Ulster U21 title. The record book will show that they were one point winners in the final, but what that number won't show is how close this year's Ulster U21 championship was.

I harbour the notion that many fans don't bother with the U21 competition, the irony is that in many ways it is a far greater spectacle than the senior or minor competition.

Wednesday's final was proof of that.

Minor football is famous for it's unpredictability, but U21s are mature enough to keep their heads. Similarly, senior football tends to be negative with both teams trying to spoil each other's game.

That doesn't happen in U21 football. Both teams attack with vigour and both teams defend as if their lives depend on it.

So it was on Wednesday night. I have to admit that the final wasn't as good as the Tyrone Down semi-final, which was an end-to-end spectacular, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a brilliant advertisement for the U21 championship.

The stand at Casement Park was packed, naturally enough when you have a provincial final that involved two neighbouring counties.

I actually witnessed a steward putting his shoulder to the door at the back of the stand, presumably because the fans were packed in there like sardines.

However, the first ten minutes or so were not promising. Neither team played any style of football and the conditions were slow. High winds and heavy ground meant that there wasn't much pace to the game.

Down enjoyed the first period of dominance, their half back line of Joseph Murphy, John Fitzpatrick and Timmy Hanna drove the team forward. Unlike Armagh, they supported each other when in possession and short passing and clever running helped them push forward.

But the game swung towards the Orchard lads when they upped the pressure. For the first 20 minutes it seemed that they couldn't get their hands on the ball but then they started tackling and caught Down in possession. David McCumiskey at half back deserves credit, but the stand out player in defence was Crossmaglen's Paul McKeown. He might have been named at corner back but he appeared to be everywhere.

Armagh's two goals were the result of pure opportunism. Unable to break through the Down defence by running at them, they changed tack and used the long ball to solve that problem. Their two majors came from the midfielders and half forwards pressuring the Down defence out of possession. Then they pumped long diagonal balls into the area. The first found Shane Carroll who despatched to the net. The second hit Forker whose shot came off the post only to land in front of Kieran Hoey who made it right.

Armagh were in front by four at half time but no one expected them to pull away, such was the closeness of the two teams.

What stood out in the first half, for me, was Armagh's tackling and pressure in defence, while Down's ability to maintain possession was their biggest attribute.

During the first half Down won the midfield battle, but in the first period of the second half Stephen Harold and Kieran Toner were better for Armagh. The champions flooded midfield which didn't give either Harold or Toner much space, but they persevered and their ball-winning ability helped to give Armagh the upperhand during the first period of the second half.

Down hit two points but frees from Carragher and Forker kept Armagh ahead. While in the first half Down were the better passers, in the second half Armagh showed brilliance on the ball and moved it quickly out of defence. At that stage one would have been forgiven if they had said that Armagh were about to get out of sight. Those same people didn't see Down beat Tyrone.

When faced with the Red Hands almost impenetrable defence a fortnight ago, Down kept plugging away. Conor Poland came into his own in this period. At one stage the cornerforward took possession on the '45 and as an Armagh player bore down on him he moonwalked backwards and sold a dummy that had the Orchard lad on his backside. From that point til the end, Down reeled in their opponents.

The turning point came in the final two minutes. How fitting that their goal came from the two St Malachy's Castlewellan 18-year-olds, Poland and Paul Devlin, who won an All-Ireland vocational schools title last weekend.

Poland took a high catch inside the 45 and that led to Devlin hitting the back of the net. Armagh didn't give up but Down held out.

As a neutral I think both teams would have been worthy winners.

But Down, with two U21 titles to show and a game against Mayo tomorrow, they must now push this success on to senior level.

What this all means

The biggest story from Down's victory is that they managed to win back-to back U21 titles in what must go down as one of the toughest years of the competition.

Last year they outclassed Derry in the final. This year they were not as comfortable. Down had to rely on hunger to push them through to victory against a very talented Fermanagh outfit, a brilliant Tyrone side and then, against a tough Armagh team.

So what you can read from that is that this generation of players know how to win, whether it be ugly or classy.

U21 titles are nice but what the Mourne fans need is success at senior level. Since 1999 they have won one Ulster and two All-Ireland minor titles, and three Ulster U21 titles. The talent from 1999 trickled through to the senior team, but without any success at Ulster.

Will the same thing happen to the players who won the Minor All-Ireland in 2005 and who went on to win this year and last year's Ulster U21 titles? Possibly.

There are quite a few players to watch out for, barring Paul McComiskey who has already impressed at senior level. Conor Poland and Paul Devlin are only 18 but they stood out in this year's U21 championship. Similarly, Peter Fitzpatrick and Michael Magee were expected to be outshone by Armagh's midfielders on Wednesday, but they were outstanding.

However, on a negative note, Down had problems in defence, particularly under the high ball. That is not good news for the senior team who are also still struggling to find a solid defensive formation.

For Armagh, there is good news to be taken from the disappointment of losing the U21 final. Stephen Harold at midfield caught the eye. While Down probably won the war, Harold was more impressive than senior county star Kieran Toner.

Up front, Stefan Forker's performance on Wednesday night suggests that those who have been critical of him in the past should take a second look. He hoisted over five points against Down and was part of a three-man full forward line that caused Down endless problems. Yet it was Shane Carroll who stood out most in that trio, not only because he scored the goal but both his pace and movement were very classy.

The final word of praise has to go to Paul McKeown. It is always easy to single out Crossmaglen players for praise, but McKeown is hard not to admire. He may not be very tall, but he makes up for that with tremendous, skill, pace and heart. On a number of occasions it was he who pulled the strings for Armagh both in defence and attack. Of all the Armagh players on Sunday it was McKeown who stood out as the lad who could be a future senior county star.