Derry players celebrate with the Ulster Championship. Pic by Harry Murphy/ Sportsfile
Ulster Senior Football Final
Derry 1-15
Armagh 0-18
After Extra time
Derry won 3-1 on penalty kicks
For the first time since 1976, Derry have won back-to-back Ulster titles, and it was achieved it in the most dramatic fashion that has ever been seen.
After a pulsating eighty plus minutes, it was down to penalty kicks for the first time ever to decide a senior provincial crown and after Derry keeper Odhran Lynch produced three outstanding saves to deny Rian O’Neill, Aidan Nugent and Ethan Rafferty, Ciaran McFaul stepped up to fire home the winning penalty to send the large Derry crowd in dreamland.
Callum Cumiskey was the only successful Armagh taker while Shane McGuigan and Conor Glass also converted for Derry, leaving Paul Cassidy the only Derry player who didn’t convert.
It was a slow burner of a game but when the contest warmed up in the second half the sold-out crowd were treated to a classic.
Derry briefly held a three-point lead but that was as much as ever separated the sides.
Brendan Rogers gave Derry the perfect start with an opportunist goal and that major gave the Oakleafers an advantage that they held until the dying seconds, but Rian O’Neill’s late free made sure that we went the full distance.
It was all going Derry’s way until the final seconds when a stray pass was picked up by Ross McQuillan who was fouled by Rogers.
Rogers was black carded and Rian O’Neill kicked his fifth-point of the day to tie the game in the 74th minute. And before time was up, Rory Grugan came within inches of winning it in normal time, but his effort from a mark dropped short and into the hands of Odhran Lynch. And for the second year in succession the Ulster final was headed to extra time.
McQuillan kicked Armagh into the lead for the first time in the tie and Ethan Rafferty looked to had won it for Armagh when he kicked Armagh two-points in front with three minutes remaining. But Derry showed their class and Lachlan Murray thought he had won it for Derry, but alias there was still time for Rian O’Neill to convert a free to send the match to penalties.
After a very cagey opening, Derry drew first blood in the fourth minute.
After gaining possession straight from the throw in, Derry worked the ball to Shane McGuigan who stroked over the opening score with a rare right footed effort.
Armagh response was immediate.
Conor Tubitt kicked wide after winning a free, but Rian O’Neill made no mistake with placed ball effort after a Derry player had been adjudged to have touched the ball on the ground.
Then came Roger’s goal.
Eight minutes had elapse when Paul Cassidy’s effort dropped short and Ethan Rafferty’s clearance was met by the fist of the Slaughtneil man and the covering Armagh defenders could only look on in vain as the ball trickled into the net.
After Benny Heron and Ethan Rafferty exchanged wides, Rogers kicked Derry’s third and his second score of the game in the 16th minute.
Too close to call
While all of Derry’s scores were coming from play, Armagh had to rely on their scores coming from placed balls. Jarly Óg Burns kicked a mark after he took a great pass from O’Neill and when Conor Grugan kicked a free in the 18th minute, there was again just one point between the sides again.
Rogers brought his tally to 1-2 by the 23rd minute before Conor Glass and Heron combined to set up McGuigan for his second.
There was now a three-point gap between the sides, the biggest gap of the half, but after taking full advantage of a poor Derry kick out, O’Neill kicked Armagh’s first score from play just short of the half hour mark.
In the closing stages of the half Gareth McKinless and O’Neill both added to their respective teams’ tallies and at half time the game was delicately poised with just one-point between the sides with the scoreboard reading Derry 1-5, Armagh 0-7.
Derry wasted no time in working the scoreboard operator at the start of the second half.
Glass won the throw in and after the ball was moved quickly through the hands of Ethan Doherty, Conor Doherty and Niall Toner, Loughlin fisted the ball over the bar to push Derry’s lead out to two-points.
Ciaran Mackin split the posts with scorching drive as Armagh brought it back to a one score game. As the game opened up, more scoring chances were being presented for both sides.
After Toner kicked a free for Derry, Conor O’Neill responded for Armagh. Then it was the turn of McGuigan and Glass for Derry, while Stefan Campbell marked his introduction from the bench with a point before goalkeeper Rafferty split the posts with an expertly taken point.
With the game on a knife-edge, Armagh battled their back to within a point before being presented with a golden opportunity which led to Rogers black card and Rian O’Neill kicking the free that saw the game go into extra time. And beyond!
Teams:
Derry: Odhran Lynch, Christopher McKaigue, Niall McEvoy, Conor McCluskey, Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless (0-1), Padraig McGrogan, Brendan Rogers (1-2), Conor Glass (0-1), Paul Cassidy, Ethan Doherty, Niall Toner (0-2F), Benny Heron, Shane McGuigan (0-7 3F), Niall Loughlin (0-1).
Replacements: Ciaran McFaul for Heron (47), Lachlan Murray (0-1) for Loughlin (60) Padraig Cassidy for Conor Doherty (63), Heron for Murray (ET), C Doherty for Padraig Cassidy (ET), Loughlin for McGrogan (73), Murray for Heron (73)
Yellow Cards: McKaigue (80+2)
Black Cards: Rogers (70+3)
Armagh: Ethan Rafferty (0-2), Conor O’Neill (0-1), Aaron McKay, Aidan Forker, Ciaran Mackin (0-1), Greg McCabe (0-1M), Jarly Óg Burns (0-2 1M), James Morgan, Shane McPartland, Jason Duffy, Barry McCambridge, Rory Grugan (0-2F), Andrew Murnin, Rian O’Neill (0-5 2F, 1 ‘45’), Conor Turbitt.
Replacements: Stefan Campbell (0-2) for Grugan (44), Aidan Nugent for McPartland (44), Ross McQuillan (0-1) for McCambridge (59), Callum Cumiskey for Forker (ET), Connaire Mackin for Conor Mackin (77)
Yellow Cards: Forker (51), McKay (56), R ONeill (57), Oisin Conalty for Murnin (63), Grugan for Duffy (70)
Referee: Mr David Gough (Meath)
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