All-Ireland U-20

Championship semi-final

Tyrone v Dublin

Saturday, Cavan, 2pm

Neil Kilpatrick stresses that their Ulster Under-20 Championship winning panel welcome the call-up of fresh faces to the squad even if it stiffens the competition for places.

Seven players have been drafted into the Red Hand pool for this Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final clash with Dublin, the first match for Tyrone since they annexed the provincial crown back in March.

Rising young Edendork star Kilpatrick played an integral role in their march to Ulster glory back in the springtime operating at wing-half back, catching the eye with his high energy levels and adventurous sorties from deep.

However he is well aware that those past impressive displays will not guarantee a starting jersey this weekend.

“Everybody is fighting for their spot. There were seven new lads brought in to freshen things up and because we had a couple of injuries. They are not coming in just to make up numbers.

“The new boys will definitely be pushing for a starting spot and it will make those lads who were in before training that bit harder to secure our spot.”

This is the second time that Tyrone u-20s have undergone a week of intensive preparations for this meeting with Dublin. Seven months ago the rug was pulled out from under their feet just days beforehand, with the scheduled St Patrick’s Day showdown at Croke Park cancelled due to lockdown.

Kilpatrick is just relieved now that the fixture will belatedly go ahead all being well.

“The whole thing (lockdown) kicked off a couple of days before we were due to play Dublin at Croke Park on St Paddy’s Day in the semi-final.

“That was a big blow but given there were doubts at stages even if the competition would finish we are just pleased now to have this chance to play them a lot later in the year.

“We haven’t been training together over the last couple of months but we have been working on and off. We have all been doing our own individual programmes to come back stronger.

“Hopefully we will be able to put it up to them now down in Cavan next Saturday.”

One of the key ingredients of Tyrone’s successful Ulster campaign was the evident camaraderie which existed within the squad, a tight bond which they relied upon at times during some rocky moments against Armagh, Antrim and Donegal.

Neil feels that ‘brotherhood’ still exists all these months later.

“Obviously those new boys were brought in and we kicked off training with them on board too. We have been going three nights a week. We are just trying to get a bit of togetherness back into the squad because we had built up a great bond before we had to break up.

“It was disappointing at the time missing out on Croke Park but I have a plan to be there in a couple of years so hopefully this just delays things. I just have to work towards it and see if I can make my mark in the future.”

All-conquering Dublin have swept all opposition aside at senior level over the last ten years and Kilpatrick expects their Under-20 team to be fuelled with similar lofty ambitions.

“Any Dublin team have to be respected because of what the County has achieved over the past decade or so. They have a lot of strong players who will be keen to make their mark.

“But we are dark horses and quietly confident. We have belief in ourselves so we just have to get stuck into them fifteen on fifteen and see what way it goes.”

By Niall Gartland

TYRONE U-20 boss Paul Devlin insists they’ve nothing to fear from Dublin in Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final – pointing out that this same crop of players won the inaugural U-17 title at national level three years ago.

Opponents Dublin were beaten by Cork in last year’s final, but there’s been a significant turnover in personnel with highly rated forward Ciaran Archer the only remaining starter from last year.

Incredibly, every other player on the team will be eligible for selection next year as well, as it’s effectively an u-19 development squad. That possibly makes things a little easier for Tyrone, but we all know how strong Dublin football is at the moment. Devlin, however, says there’s no reason to be fearful.

“Dublin are producing a lot of quality players, but they’re coming up against a good Tyrone outfit that won the All-Ireland u-17 title three years ago.

“These lads are keen to push their way up the ladder, and there’s no better way to get the attention of the senior management than playing in games like these.”

He also says the decision to bring in seven new players has really upped the ante in training ahead of Saturday’s match.

Devlin attended every Tyrone club championship match under the sun over the past couple of months as he trawled the county for talent, and the fresh recruits (some a little less ‘new’ to the scene than others, admittedly) have already made a serious impression behind the scenes.

Called up to the set-up are Mark Hayes, Oisin McCann and John Rafferty (all Killyclogher), Ardboe’s Oran Mulgrew (younger brother of senior intercounty player David), Dungannon’s Conal Devlin. Errigal Ciaran’s promising young forward Odhran Robinson, and Carrickmore’s Rory Donnelly.

Devlin commented: “We wanted to bring in a balance of players, there’s three defenders, a few forwards, and Oisin McCann is really adaptable and can play midfield or half-forward.

“A few of them were asked in at the start of the year and couldn’t commit for one reason or another, like Conall Devlin and Odhran Robinson, but they’re all available now.

“For obvious reasons there’s been an unavailability of challenge games, so we needed competitive players in the camp so we could play intense games in training and that’s been a big bonus for us.”

So Devlin has a lot to ponder when selecting the starting line-up ahead of Saturday; Odhran Robinson, for instance, shot the lights out for Errigal Ciaran during the club season, but Devlin says it isn’t always easy for young players entering the county set-up for the first time.

“Odhran’s going very well, but I don’t think he’s really been involved in development squads, and it isn’t always easy to get into a new group. It takes a while to get to know the lads but he’s doing everything right in fairness.”

On the injury front, there’s some good and bad news for Tyrone fans. Centre-half forward Darragh Canavan fractured his wrist before the onset of the club championship, but he’s made a full recovery, while there is also hope that skipper Antoin Fox, who’s been desperately unfortunate with injuries, could make an appearance against the Dubs.

On the flipside, Eunan Devlin, who wasn’t far off a starting berth earlier in the year, is definitely out with an Achilles’ problem, while Errigal Ciaran’s Joe Oguz (knee) and Caolan Slevin (shoulder) are also ruled out.

Commenting on Canavan’s timely return to the field of play, Devlin said: “Darragh’s firing on all cylinders. He had a break which gave him the time to get well-mended and he’s been going full pelt in training.

“It was unfortunate he missed out for Errigal during the championship but we are thankful that he’s back in time for ourselves.”

That’s without mentioning a fourth Killyclogher player on the set-up, highly-rated forward Matthew Murnaghan who has worked his way back to full fitness and played every minute of Killyclogher’s Division One final victory over Dromore.

Devlin said: “Matthew’s training away as well, he’s well-recovered. What you have is a fitter Matthew Murnaghan than you had seven months ago.

“That’s the good thing about the break, and the lads have also gained a lot of experience playing in the club championships.”

By Barry O’Donnell