DERRY...................3-7 TYRONE.............. 0-10
TYRONE minors got their Ulster league campaign off to a disappointing start when they lost out to Derry at Celtic Park on Saturday. The final score line of 3-7 to 0-10 doesn't do justice to Raymond Munroe's men who battled back from an eight point deficit at the break to within a point of their opponents only to be hit with two late goals.
No doubt the Tyrone management will take heart from the way that their charges fought their way back into contention and the young Red Hands will feel that they perhaps could have won the game had they made better use of their adequate possession during the third quarter.
Derry had a strong wind at their backs in the opening half and they took the lead inside twenty seconds through Lee Moore. Ardboe's Kyle Coney got Tyrone off the mark in the sixth minute from a free but when Derry struck for a goal through Paul Heaney it put them 1-3 to 0-2 in front at the end of the opening quarter, Patrick Doherty Tyrone's other marksman also from a placed ball.
Tyrone had ample possession in the opening half hour but they failed to add to their tally while Derry chalked on points from Moore, Paddy Hargan Aidan Herron and Gavin McGeehan and by the interval things were looking good for them as they led 1-7 to 0-2.
From the restart Tyrone took the game to their opponents as they now had the elements in their favour but too often they took the wrong option when it came to shooting instead of trying to work the ball into a better position. It took Tyrone fourteen minutes to open their second half account via a Doherty free but then they hit a real purple patch.
Midfielder Martin Rodgers fired over three points in a row with Kyle Coney on target twice as they started to make their pressure count on the scoreboard. In the 24th minute a crucial decision went against Tyrone when a Conor O'Neill goal was ruled out for a square ball infringement which looked to be a harsh enough decision.
A Coney free reduced the deficit to the minimum but then disaster struck for Tyrone when they failed to clear the ball out of defence and Moore pounced for an opportunist 26th minute goal, the hosts first score of the second half.
As the game slipped into injury time a Doherty point still give Tyrone some degree of hope but all that was wiped out moments later when Moore grabbed another major following a mistake in the Tyrone defence.
Next up for Tyrone minors is a home tie with Louth on Saturday March 24th.
MATCH STATS
The Scorers...
Derry: Lee Moore 2-4, Paul Heaney 1-0, Paddy Hargan 0-1, Aidan Herron 0-1, Gavin McGeehan 0-1
Tyrone: Kyle Coney 0-4, Patrick Doherty 0-3, Martin Rodgers 0-3
The Teams...
Derry: Andrew Warnock, Mickey McKinney, Brendan Henry, Declan Bell, Chris McKaigue, Christopher McWilliams, Liam Morrow, Paul Heaney, Carlos McElhinney, Paddy Hargan, Lee Kennedy, Aidan Herron, Lee Moore, Gavin McGeehan, Darren Donnelly. Subs: Neil Forrester for Hargan, Stephen Cleary for Herron, Emmett Green for Morrow, Caolan O'Boyle for McElhinney, Niall O'Kane for Donnelly
Tyrone: Mickey O'Neill, Paul Martin, Aidan Gervin, Chris Foley, Mark O'Connor, Cathal McRory, Matthew Brady, Martin Rodgers, Mark McKenna, James Carlin, Kyle Coney, Paddy McNeice, Conal McGarrity, Patrick Doherty, Conor O'Neill. Subs: Ronan McNabb for Foley, Kevin Mossey for McRory, Micheal Gallagher for Brady, Ryan Pickering for Carlin, Simon O'Neill for O'Connor
