Tyrone reel in Cavan to claim Ulster U20FC crown

Tyrone recovered from a difficult first half at Brewster Park to lift the Ulster U20 Football Championship title with the narrowest of victories over Cavan.

The Breffni side should have had a more comfortable lead at the interval than the one-point advantage they turned around with, and they were made to pay the price by a resurgent opponent.

Ruairi Canavan's seven converted frees made all the difference in the end as the Red Hands moved on to the All-Ireland series.

Darragh Lovett and Fionntan O’Reilly shot Cavan into an early lead as they established control, thanks largely to the industry of Evan Kelly and Brian O’Rourke around the middle.

It was full-back Brian Conway who got the Red Hands off the mark in the seventh minute, but the lively and elusive Lovett was causing problems, angling over his second, before an O’Reilly free made it 0-4 to 0-1 by the tenth minute.

Canavan ignited Tyrone’s challenge with a couple of converted frees, but they were soon on the defensive again, with O’Rourke’s fielding and the promptings of wing-backs Niall Carolan and Cormac McKeogh keeping Cavan on the front foot.

O’Rourke powered over two magnificent scores to bring Cavan confidence to a new level, but a narrow one point interval lead, 0-6 to 0-5, was a somewhat disappointing reflection on their first-half dominance.

Tyrone stepped up the intensity after the restart and while Lovett and O’Reilly added Breffni scores, Ruairi McHugh and Canavan responded, with the latter bringing the sides level in the 42nd minute with his fifth converted free.

Now Cavan found themselves on the back foot, and dropped additional men back to frustrate their opponents.

But the pressure from a Tyrone side with renewed energy was mounting, and they went ahead for