Derry U20s keep final hopes alive with fine performance

The Derry U20s kept their hopes of reaching the final two of the Ulster Under-20 Hurling Cup alive with an assured display against Wicklow on Sunday afternoon at Owenbeg Centre of Excellence.

It was an impressive twelve-point winning margin as the Oakleafers eased past the Garden County on a 1-18 to 1-6 score line.

The Oakleafers have faced their share of adversity in the newly restructured premier tier of Ulster hurling, suffering an opening-night defeat to Tyrone as well as a round-three loss to Antrim. Yet Ryan O’Neill’s men have shown considerable grit and resilience to remain firmly in the hunt for a place in the decider.

Victories over Donegal and Wicklow in rounds two and four have set up a final-day, winner-takes-all showdown with Down in Ballycran next Saturday. Even if they fall short of sneaking into second place, the Oakleafers will still have the All-Ireland B Championship to look forward to at the end of March, a competition they won in 2023.

Kevin Lynch’s clubman O’Neill was delighted with how his side has grown into the competition. He believes the new format has accelerated both collective development and individual progress, with the group building week on week and travelling to the Ards Peninsula full of confidence.

He points to last weekend’s narrow defeat to Antrim as a key benchmark. With the Saffrons widely regarded as favourites to lift the title, and potential contenders beyond Ulster in the Leinster under-20 championship, Derry took significant encouragement from pushing them to the limit.

“We put up a really good performance against Antrim last week, and we felt like we should have gotten something out of it,” he said. “We really felt like we left it behind us, but it gave us something to work on in training during the week.

“Wicklow are a big, strong, physical team, but we got to grips with them early on. We’re really pleased with how the boys are playing week in, week out. We’re starting to get on the ball more, our movement is getting better, and they are really enjoying their hurling at the minute. We’re improving every week with the games coming thick and fast.”

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O’Neill was particularly encouraged by the depth shown within the panel.

“We’re delighted with where we’re at. We got to use all of our subs again today and put 1-18 on the board, but we should’ve gotten a lot more scores, and that’s something we’ll have to work on.”

Attention now turns to Ballycran, where Derry face a Down side sitting two points ahead and boasting a superior scoring difference after easing past Tyrone 6-19 to 3-12 on Sunday afternoon. The equation is clear, but belief within the Derry camp is high. Confidence is flowing through the dressing room, reflected in how the young Oakleafers are playing as they continue to grow into the campaign.

“Down will be a massive challenge next weekend. We’ll be travelling to the Ards Peninsula, but it’s a game we’re relishing. The boys are looking forward to it,” O’Neill added. “There’s a chance we can qualify for the Ulster final, but we’ll just keep plugging away and taking it game by game.

“We’re going into that Down game full of confidence. For the group we have, it’s really good development for them and for hurling in Derry overall. The lads are loving it; they’re working hard and taking everything on board."

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“The boys are all having great fun, and we’re buzzing after today.

“We came out of it with a clean bill of health and no injuries, so roll on next week. We’re really looking forward to it.”