Derry 1-09 Tyrone 0-13
Gavin Potter broke Derry hearts with a winning point only seconds after Johnny McGuckian appeared to have rescued a draw for the Oak Leafers in Group A of the Eirgrid U-20 Ulster Football Championship at Celtic Park.
There was nothing between two counties who will be expected to be competing at the business end of this championship until Tyrone forged ahead with three scores in the final 10 minutes of normal time.
That lead forced Derry to throw caution to the wind and it looked like they had pulled themselves out of the fire when McGuckian cut in from the left and fired a brilliant high finish to tie the game when 63 minutes on the clock.
No one could have argued with a draw, but Tyrone weren't about to be denied and promptly went straight down the field, Potter getting on the end of the move to fist over a point that leaves the Red Hands in the box seat to top the group and take the direct route to the semi-final.
Derry had been forced to wait 10 days to return to action after their opening round victory over Down in Newry while Tyrone, boosted by the return of their Omagh CBS Hogan Cup contingent, arrived in Celtic Park having score a facile victory over Antrim and then drawn with Down, a game in which they shot 17 wides.
And there were indications that wayward shooting may dog them again early on when the Red Hands passed up a number of decent openings, a charge that could be levelled at both teams as the half progressed with nothing between them.
For the most part Derry were content to concede the Tyrone kick-out and meet the visitors inside their defensive half with Tommy Rogers the base of operations for Hugh McGrath's men. Out of possession he was a sweeper on the edge of the defensive 'D' and was always available to recycle ball when Derry probed an excellent Tyrone defence.
With the game's first shot not arriving until the fifth minute, it took until the eighth minute for either team to trouble the scoreboard as Cahir Spiers split the posts for the home side after good work by Ryan McNicholl.
Oisin O'Doherty doubled the lead with 10m minutes on the clock but Tyrone responded with a lovely Gavin Potter score to Paul Devlin's side off and running in the 13th minute.
From there, it was tit-for-tat, neither team able to take a stranglehold, the impressive Eoin Higgins extending Derry's lead only to see Conor Owens reply almost immediately for Tyrone. O'Doherty's second of the game had Derry 0-4 to 0-2 up on 20 minutes but it took Tyrone only three minutes to wipe the advantage out though scores from Oisin Gormely and Omagh CBS Hogan winning captain, Callum Daly.
A wonderful solo score from Ryan McNicholl looked to have edged Derry into half-time ahead but the last say of the half went to Tyrone full-back Joey Clarke who capped an excellent half with a lovely point to leave it 0-5 apiece at the break.
It took a great double block from Tyrone keeper Conor McAneny and Eoin McElholm to deny McNicholl a goal upon the restart and the Red Hands took full advantage of the escape as a brace of scores from Ronan Cassidy, one a free, took the visitors into the lead for the first time two minutes into the second half.
At that stage two points felt like a big lead but two Oisin Doherty frees, Derry's first of the day, had the Oak Leafers level once by the 44th minute.
A Rogers '45' was cancelled out immediately by Ronan Fox and when Shea O'Hare did likewise with Conleth McGrogan's wonderful point, the teams had been tied five times.
There remained nothing between them until Tyrone substitute Ruairi McCullagh fired over with six minutes remaining as Derry looked increasingly ragged as they chased the game. The task became bigger when Conor Owens won a turnover and extended Tyrone's lead to 0-11 to 0-9, another Red Hand substitute Noah Grimes then taking the lead out to three with a well worked mark.
Derry looked in trouble and just when they seemed to have clawed a point out, Potter struck but expect more from these two as the championship progresses.
Derry: Callum Armstrong, Fionn McEldowney, Conal Heron, Rory Small, Conleth McGrogan (0-01), James Murray, Danny McDermott, Ruairi Forbes, Tommy Rogers (0-01, 1 '45), Cahir Spiers (0-01), Rory McGill, Johnny McGuckin (1-00) Eoin Higgins (0-01), Ryan McNicholl, Oisin Doherty (0-04, 2fs).
Subs: Niall O'Donnell for R McNicholl, 53mins; Sean Young for C McGrogan, 55mins; Noah Grimes for C Owens, 57mins;
Tyrone: Conor McAneny, Joey Clarke (0-01), Ben Hughes, Conor Devlin, Shea O'Hare (0-01), Michael Rafferty, Callum Daly (0-01), Ronan Fox (0-01), Conor O'Neill, Cormac Devlin, Eoin McElholm, Gavin Potter (0-02), Ronan Cassidy (0-02, 1f), Conor Owens (0-02), Oisin Gormley (0-01).
Subs: Odhran Brolly for C Devlin, 48mins; Ruairi McCullagh (0-01) for O Gormley, 48mins; Paddy McCann for C Daly, 61mins;
Referee: Enda McFeely (Donegal)
Elsewhere in Group A, Monaghan also struck late to inflict a third defeat in as many games on Down.
The hosts led by a point at the break, after Darragh Mee's goal, but the Mourne men were ahead going into the final minute.
However, late points from Padraig Doogan-Burke, Stephen Mooney and Nicky Sherlock secured a 1-12 to 0-13 victory for Monaghan, who are now one point (4) behind leaders Tyrone, having played a game less.
In Group B, Paddy McElwee bagged 1-05 as Donegal had a comfortable 1-13 to 0-05 win over Fermanagh to secure their place in the knockout stages.
Armagh also have a 100% record after two games as they edged Cavan 2-09 to 2-07.
The Orchard County were in control for most of the game, leading by six points at the break, before Barry Donnelly's late goal set up a nervous finish at the Athletic Grounds.
The winner of the Donegal-Armagh clash on 10 April will progress directly to the semi-finals while the losers will join the victor from Fermanagh-Cavan, currently pointless, in the quarter-finals.
Sligo, who are looking for a third Connacht title on the trot, had to settle for a share of the spoils against Roscommon at Markievicz Park, where it finished 0-09 apiece.
A converted injury-time free saw the Rossies earn parity against Mayo in the opening round and they again left it late to ensure a share of the spoils against the holders, courtesy of Bobby Nugent splitting the posts from a placed ball.
Sligo, with wind advantage for the opening half, lead by 0-06 to 0-02 at the break. Eli Rooney and Rossa Sloyan kicked some fine scores, but Roscommon took advantage of the breeze at the start of the second period to kick six points on the spin to lead by two - 0-08 to 0-06 - after 48 minutes.
The hosts, however, responded, with Eli Rooney, Luke Marren and Ronan Niland pointing to put them back in front. Roscommon had the last say though and Nugent was calmness personified in clipping over the levelling score.
Elsewhere, Mayo were 0-16 to 2-06 winners over Galway at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
Early goals by Ronan Colleran and corner-back Darragh Costello had Galway flying. Mayo eventually settled and kicked five of the last six points in the opening half to trail by the bare minimum - 2-04 to 0-09 - at the break.
A brace of points from Fionn MacDonnacha extended Galway's lead to three by the 40th minute but that was the end of Tribes scoring.
Darragh Reilly, Niall Hurley and Finbar McLaughlin all raised three white flags to tie things up on 47 minutes. Mayo kicked on from there, despite John MacMonagle's red card, though Galway's Colm Costello subsequently received a black card.
Subs Oisín Cronin and Tom Lydon, along with with senior panellist Diarmuid Duffy, getting scores to ensure the hosts won by four at the finish.
