Derry swept to a fifth All-Ireland Minor Football Championship title with victory over Monaghan at the Box-It Athletic Grounds, playing out the final 20 minutes with 14 players and resisting their opponents' revival.
In front of a crowd of 13,754, the first ever all-Ulster decider was dominated by the Oak Leafers as they got the better of their northern rivals for the fourth time this season.
Monaghan, making a first appearance in the final since 1939, trailed from an early stage. Even when Derry had wing-back Cahir Spiers dismissed on a straight red card on 40 minutes, they were unable to break free of their opponents’ stranglehold.
Johnny McGuckin and Conall Higgins led the Derry attack with menace and penetration, while Tommy Rogers, Cahal McKaigue and James Sargent gave them power and thrust around the middle.
McGuckin’s darting runs were a constant threat to Monaghan right from the opening moments, when he sent Higgins in for a shot at goal that went narrowly wide.
Playing into the wind, Derry held the ball and carried with power through the middle, easing ahead through Higgins and Ger Dillon.
The Farney lads struggled to break free of the tenacious tackling of Fionn McEldowney and Finbar Murray, and a number of turnovers saw attacks break down
Max McGinnity and Matthew Finn hit back with Monaghan scores, but by the 17th minute they trailed by 0-06 to 0-02, thanks to Ger Dillon’s accuracy from frees.
Sargent charged through the middle to fire in a shot which was superbly saved by Jamie Mooney, but Monaghan recovered their composure to narrow the gap to just two at the break as Finn thumped a 52-metre free between the posts to make it 0-08 to 0-06.
Higgins delighted the Oak Leaf followers with a cheeky dummy and stylish score, with Dillon converting his fifth free for a four-point advantage, but they suffered a setback when Spiers was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Tomas Quinn on 41 minutes.
But Derry had the answer to all possible challenges and regrouped to set up a defensive cordon fashioned from steel and sweat.
And they punished their opponents on the counter-attack, outscoring them by 1-03 to 0-02 in the remainder of the game, with Sargent grabbing the only goal in 48 minutes when he palmed to the net from Oisin Doherty’s assist after Dillon had claimed possession on the halfway line.
Higgins pushed the lead out to eight points, and for Monaghan, forced to shoot from distance, the frustration mounted as a string of efforts flew wide of the posts.
McGinnity and Finn did find the target, but as they went route one the Derry defence and goalkeeper Karl Campbell stood firm.
As Monaghan committed all 15 men forward, they were caught on the counter-attack with an unguarded goal on a couple of occasions, but Donnachadh Connolly and Tommy Mallen scrambled back to cut out the danger.
It was damage limitation at this stage, for they lacked the penetration to cut through a mass of red shirts, and Derry’s second title in four years was in the bag.
Derry: K Campbell; F McEldowney, F Murray, L Grant; C Spiers (0-01), J Sargent (1-00), O Campbell; T Rodgers, C McKaigue; E Young (0-01), G Dillon (0-06, 6f), J McGuckin; R Small, C Higgins (0-03), O Doherty (0-02).
Subs: K Mullan for Doherty (55), J Boyle for Higgins (57), D McGuckin for Rogers (61)
Monaghan: J Mooney; D Connolly (0-01), C Greenan, C Meehan; A Stuart, T Mallen, J Lynch; M Carolan, S O'Connell; C Jones, M McGinnity (0-03, 3f), S Og McElwain (0-01); T Quinn, M Finn (0-04, 1f), L McKenna.
Subs: C Clerkin for Lynch (16), C Murphy for O’Connell (40), E McCaffrey for Stuart (49), M Maguire for Jones (49), J McCaughey for McGinnity (61)
Referee: S Lonergan (Tipperary).
