Lavey power into Ulster Junior Hurling Final

Erin’s Own Lavey powered past the challenge of Armagh’s Cú Chulainn to secure their place in the Ulster Junior Hurling Championship final, defeating the Orchardmen on a scoreline of 0-21 to 2-6 in Carrickmore on Saturday afternoon.

The game was nip and tuck in the first period, but a second-half surge saw the Derry junior champions stretch nine points clear by the end. Despite being ahead from the first minute, Lavey couldn’t shake a very spirited performance from their Armagh opposition, but their class proved decisive, with a final-quarter burst propelling them into next week’s final.

The eighteen-time Derry senior champions had already brushed aside Cavan’s Cootehill Celtic to reach the Ulster semi-final and were firmly in control of proceedings in Carrickmore on Saturday, leading from the off.

Two first-half goals from Oisin Hughes and Jordan Murtagh kept the Armagh side in touch, with Lavey 0-12 to 2-3 ahead when the halftime whistle sounded.

The Derry men pushed on after the turnaround, with Conor Melaugh chipping in with a series of scores, while Fintan Bradley and Ryan Magill demonstrated their accuracy in front of the posts from frees.

Lavey shot out of the traps from the throw-in to rattle off three early scores but were matched by the intensity of the Orchardmen, with the scoreboard reading 0-3 to 0-2 by the tenth minute. The Derrymen began to pull away, only for Oisin Hughes to rattle the back of the net to make it 0-5 to 1-2 on the quarter-hour mark.

Martin Convery’s men responded with a range of well-taken points, though Jordan Murtagh kept Cú Chulainn in the contest with his goal just before the interval, closing the gap and keeping the Armagh men in touch as they went in three down, 0-12 to 2-3.

Despite their dominance, the Derry side struggled to pull away early in the second half, with just three points separating the sides by the forty-second minute. However, a flurry of scores soon pushed the gap to six with fifteen to play.

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As Cú Chulainn failed to make an impact on the scoreboard, Lavey pushed on and rattled off five of the last six points to seal safe passage into the Ulster final.

Martin Convery’s troops will now face Donegal’s Burt next weekend, with a 1:30 p.m. throw-in at Celtic Park.

Erin's Own Lavey: Eoin Mulholland, John McGuirk, Brendan Laverty, Aidan Toner, Ryan Farren, Eoin Scullion, Tiernan Melaugh, Ryan McGill, Fintan Bradley, Charlie Curley, Conor Melaugh, Ryan Mulholland, Aimon Duffy, Thomas Lynch, Riain Collins.

Cú Chulainn: Adam Murtagh, Oisin Richards, Brian Bell, Fiachra Moore, Connor Devlin, Conor Cartmill, Caolan McReynolds, John Donnelly, Jordan Murtagh, Ciaran Duffy, Stefan McPartland, Lee Murtagh, Oisin Hughes, David Ryan, Aaron Cullinane.

Referee: Joe Dornan (Down).