St Paul’s Minor Tournament

quarter-final

Lavey v Drumloman Gaels

Saturday, Colaiste Feirste, 4pm

WHATEVER happens to Lavey in this year’s Ulster Minor Tournament, they might get their chance again as this is an exceptionally young squad.

Manager Michael Hasson says that 13 players on his panel will be back again next season, but it wouldn’t be a major surprise if they achieve great things this time around given their obvious pedigree.

Lavey lost last year’s Paul McGirr final to Carrickmore in what legendary commentator Michaél O’Muircheartaigh described as a game as ‘one of the best games of underage football I have ever witnessed’. They lost out by 2-12 to 1-13, and many of the players on show will be hoping to go one step further in the tournament at St Paul’s, including Enda Downey, his brother Matthew, and James McGurk. Matthew, incredibly, has another three years left at minor level while they also had five players on the Derry U17 team.

Last year’s minor team also reached the county final, where they lost by a point to Bellaghy. They finished with seven U16s on the pitch so the future is bright for this club that’s definitely putting in the hard yards at underage level.

They’ll be favourites to overcome amalgamated Cavan side Drumloman Gaels this weekend, but one thing that’s made life a little difficult for them is the fact they have so many dual players.

Hasson commented: “It’s eight weeks since our county final – we actually won the minor football and hurling double and that’s been difficult as there’s a big crossover between the two teams.

“We gave the lads a few weeks’ rest after the final and then we got back at it, playing a couple of challenge matches.

“It’s important to us that the lads don’t get burn-out. Four players that started the county were playing in the U14 team last year. We’ve trained hard the last six to eight weeks but we’ve also given them their time off. There’s two or three injuries but hopefully they’ll clear up.”

Derry have produced the most St Paul’s champions by a distance, leading the roll of honour with 16 titles (Tyrone lag way behind with four). Underage football in the county is incredibly strong at the moment, with teams like Swatragh, Magherafelt, Glen, Bellaghy and Lavey all doing well, so it’s hard to tell who’ll be leading the way at senior level in a few year’s time.

Hasson says that their main priority is bringing players through to the senior team, but he’ll be happy if they pick up an Ulster title along the way.

“That’s probably our aim at underage, to get lads up to play senior football and if you ask any of them, that’s their goal. Any success we get along the way is great because it gives them a taste for more.”