Derry’s Eoghan Bradley found plenty of possesion in the forward line against Tyrone

Ulster Minor Football Championship semi-final – Armagh v Derry – Sunday, Clones 12 noon

THE challenge for every county minor manager is keeping young players grounded in the face of potential success.

Many, many minor teams have fallen foul of their own over-inflated ambition. Young men can be ambitious, but immaturity can wreck any team’s season.

Derry manager Damian McErlain says that one of the most pleasing aspects of his team’s win over Tyrone in the quarter-final was how they conducted themselves in the aftermath.

“There was no celebrating after the Tyrone match which was really impressive,” McErlain said.

“They are all playing to keep their place, and they know that in order to keep their place that they have to stay focused.”

Derry fans would have forgiven them for hooting and hollering at the victory. Beating Tyrone is a rare treat for Derry people these days, but more importantly, the Red Hands were a fancied team having enjoyed a great run to the minor league final.

“They are a very well grounded group. They work incredibly hard,” McErlain said.

“They have seen what happened last year, and what is possible. They know there is a place in the final up for grabs, and then a chance to go on to the All-Ireland series.

“After last year they know what can be achieved.”

This group obviously believe that they can retain the Ulster minor title, and on the evidence of their performance, it is a real possibility.

Derry were very impressive in their semi-final win over Tyrone. They looked strong in the first half, though they went in at the interval trailing by eight to seven. In the second period they kicked on and the introduction of subs Lorcan McWilliams and Seamus Higgins helped them to stretch their lead.

Over the 60 minutes they had some star players in Larry Kielt and Eoghan Bradley in attack. Gearoid McLoughlin was solid in defence as well.

“Everybody played really well. Our work rate was very good. So was our support play. We used the ball well.”

But as every manager says, there are always aspects of a performance that can be improved upon.

“We could have scored more,” McErlain pointed out.

“There are lots of things that we could work on.”

McErlain said that this Sunday’s game will be the first match of the year that he can select from a full and injury free squad.

“That should be a bit of a lift for us,” McErlain said.

“It will be the first time that we have not had anybody injured.”

Derry’s opponents this weekend are Armagh who beat Cavan by 2-14 to 1-12 in their semi-final.

The Orchard’s Minor league run included a 1-16 to 1-10 defeat at the hands of Tyrone in the semi-finals. That may suggest that Derry should have the beating of Paul McGrane’s Orchard county minors.

“Armagh are going to present a fierce challenge,” McErlain said.

“They are a strong side. We are two teams who have not played each other before. Armagh are a talented side. They have good forwards and they try to get the ball in quickly. Their forwards are two-footed and can win their own ball. They are physically strong.”