ARMAGH 2-12 DERRY 0-10
IF ever it was needed to show just how far Armagh hurling has progressed in the past year, last Wednesday night's semi final in Casement Park showed it, writes Niall McDonald.
In years gone by, Armagh would have looked at the sight of a Derry jersey and been intimidated, but it was a different story as Armagh not only beat Derry, but did so with a confidence and swagger not normally associated with Armagh Hurling teams.
This is the second Ulster hurling final that Armagh have competed in this year, after the minors played against Antrim in June, and coupled with the success of the senior hurlers it has been a successful year.
Captain Nathan Curry, already a Nicky Rackard winner this year, believes the work done by the clubs and the underage structures is paying dividends.
"It has been a great year, and it just shows the amount of work that has been going on within the county, both at club level and behind the scenes over the last couple of years," said Curry.
"We are now starting to reap the rewards of all this work, and hopefully we can push forward in this competition and also in the Christy Ring next year."
Playing with a sprinkling of established senior hurlers and county minors, Armagh began the brightest, notching up a 5-0 lead after only 10 minutes. Derry didn't seem to know what had hit them as Armagh won every battle throughout the field.
Derry managed their first score in the 15th minute through Patrick Henry, but Armagh replied in style, with two goals in three minutes.
A long ball into the forward line was picked up by the impressive Conor Coulter, who turned his man, raced towards the goal and smashed the ball past the helpless Darryl McDermott in the Derry goals.
Another long ball was broken down by Coulter into the path of Michael Lennon, who pulled the ball into the net.
At this stage Armagh were leading 2-5 to 0-1 and were in complete control. The teams traded points with Armagh going into the break with a 10 point lead, which could have been more but for some poor shooting from the Orchard County.
The second half began in similar fashion, with Armagh completely on top as they added to their lead from Martin Moan, Martin Maguire, substitute Conor Corvan and Man of the Match, Conor Coulter, to leave 13 points between the teams.
Derry, led by Patrick Henry, did begin to play good hurling in the final minutes, scoring eight points to Armagh's two, but by that stage the game had been won for Armagh, who doggedly defended their goals to make sure Derry never had the chance of a three pointer.
Fittingly it was Conor Coulter who finished off the scoring, with a point from play.
Armagh now go forward to play Antrim in the Ulster final tomorrow (Wednesday) in Casement Park, and while it will be a hard task Paul Kelly believes that there is a good mix in this years team.
"The players who play on the senior team stood up to the plate this evening, and the players who weren't on that squad really showed up well too," he said.
"Armagh hurling has seen an improvement this year, certainly in terms of results. We have got to sustain that and improve on that with our performances next year, and with this team we need to see if we can improve on that performance and put up any sort of challenge to Antrim.
“Obviously, there is meant to be a big difference between the teams, but we have to go back to the drawing board, and do the best we can for our county."
ARMAGH: Patrick Kelly, Ryan Comiskey, Paul Gaffney, JJ Hughes, Stephen McNaughton, Nathan Curry, Donal Carvill, Kieran McKernan (0-4), Martin Maguire (0-1), James King, Michael Lennon (1-0), David Carvill (0-1), Fintan Woods, Conor Coulter (1-4) and Martin Moan (0-1). Subs used: Conor Corvan (01) and Paul Monaghan.
DERRY: Darryl McDermott, Ciaran Mackle, Lee Hawkins, Dean Flanagan, Sean Cassidy, Dara McCloskey, Colm Murphy, Bliadhan Glass, Gearoid O'Neill, Alan Grant (0-1), Cailean O'Boyle (0-2), Patrick Henry (0-6), Conor McSorley, Paidi Kelly and Conor McElhinney. Subs used: Brian Óg McGilligan , Patrick Cleary (0-1), and Christopher Crossan.