Derry will give us a real battle in Ulster U20 Final: Tyrone boss Paul Devlin

The Red Hands just managed to get the better of Monaghan in their Semi-Final by 2-9 to 0-14 while Derry edged out Donegal by 1-12 to 0-14 in a pulsating last four meeting.

The fact that the Semi-Final battles were so keenly contested convinces Devlin that the decider will be a close affair.

“While we are very happy to be in the Final we know we have had to get there the hard way,” said the Tyrone boss.

“We knew at the outset that there was little between the sides in this competition and that’s exactly how things have turned out.

“This Final promises to be a real battle with both teams anxious to earn the right to play in the All-Ireland Semi-Finals. Derry will present us with a particularly stiff task.”

Tyrone boast considerable firepower with Gavin Potter, Cormac Devlin, Ronan Fox and Eoin McElholm among their sharpshooters while Derry are also well served in terms of attacking armoury with Cahir Spiers, Ruairi Forbes, Patrick McGurk and Oisin Doherty ready to take the fight to Tyrone.

Doherty and Forbes have looked particularly sharp for Derry of late but may find the Tyrone defence difficult to penetrate. Ryan McNicholl and Ciaran Chambers are other key players who could have a big influence.

“There is no doubt that the standard of football at Under-20 level in Ulster has improved and I think we will see further evidence of this on Wednesday night,” added Devlin.

“We know that it’s important we get off on the right foot and maintain our concentration. Derry will have taken confidence from the progress they have made to date and they will certainly put it up to us.

“I don’t think there is much between the sides and this could be reflected on the scoreboard at the end of the game.”

Derry manager Hugh McGrath has watched his side display impressive form but is aware that Tyrone will ask big questions of his players.

“We know it is not going to be easy but these lads have come up through the under-age brackets and have been in this kind of situation before now. I know they will be giving it their all and you can’t ask for more than that. Tyrone have shown what they are capable of and they will be very keen to build on their recent form,” said McGrath.

“The players have put in a big effort to get this far and now they will want to finish with a flourish if they can. This has been a challenging competition no matter how you look at it but it’s great going in to compete in a Final. We like to think that we can progress from here but Wednesday night’s game will test our mettle.”

Both sides are hoping that they can flourish on the wide open spaces of the Athletic Grounds and the emphasis is likely to be on attacking football.