Donegal and Armagh wouldn’t historically be one of Ulster’s fiercest rivalries but come the Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship Final on Sunday, there’ll be no quarters given or taken.  We discuss the merits of both sides with one of Donegal’s greatest ever, the two time All Star winner Martin McHugh and Garrett Coyle, Coach at St.Macartan’s Monaghan, a man who knows most things about the minor game in Ulster.

The Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football final is a fantastic occasion, what does this mean for the teams?

Martin; From Donegal’s perspective, the 1992 All-Ireland was won for the older people of Donegal, the 2012 All-Ireland was for the young people and it has made a significant difference to the young people of Donegal. A lot of the players on the minor team are coming from strong soccer areas. From a GAA point of view it is great and we were in the three finals, the Under 21; minor and senior final. The Under 16 team is strong and Under 14 is probably the best we have ever had.  So, it’s a good time for football in the Hills and it will be an incredible occasion on Sunday.

From a neutral perspective as a Monaghan man who knows the minor landscape well, Donegal are arguably the favourites for the Electric Ireland Ulster Minor title. Is it a fair enough assessment?

Garret; Yes the word on the street at the start of the year was that Donegal and Tyrone were the two big teams this year. Donegal have performed well all year and contested the Minor league final and I know Declan Bonner has been working hard the past couple of years with this group of players and they are definitely favourites to win.

Both these teams can play but have used a sweeper in the Championship to date, how will the teams line out on Sunday?

Garret: When Armagh played against Cavan and Monaghan they had Kyle Mallon playing number 12, but he dropped back and has been an effective sweeper in front of the full back line. Armagh is fairly strong defensively and has a tenacious cornerback in Fergus Quinn and he’ll probably pick up dangerman Darragh O'Connor. Obviously Armagh’s two midfielders Jarlath Og Burns and Shane Conlon will go head to head with Caolan McGonagle and this battle will be a key factor in the outcome of the game.

Martin; I expect both teams to play a defensive game, not entirely what we want at this level and people might be giving out but it’s effective. Oisin O’Neill from Crossmaglen is another player to watch, he plays centre forward and is a good link man.  I agree with Garrett that Jarlath Og Burns could have a big bearing on this game; he was inspirational against Cavan with 14 clean catches in a row, so it is clear that he is very good like his Dad, one difference Jarlath Og has great feet!

From Donegal’s point of view I’m delighted Stephen McBrearty is likely to start, he was badly injured and has worked very hard to get back. He can play anywhere half back or mid field. He’s Patrick McBrearty’s brother and it’s great for the family and for my home club Kilcar to have two brothers, one on the senior team and one on the minor team.  He’ll work well with Lorcan O’ Connor and Jamie Brennan, two small players but both are very quick and have an eye for goal and I’m expecting them to cause problems for Mallon come Sunday.

So call it.  Who will be the 2014 Electric Ireland Minor Football Champions?

Martin; Declan Bonner has put a really good background team in place which you need now with every Gaelic football team. His experience of being a club manager as well as a senior inter county manager is serving him well and he is doing a great job with this team who are very well prepared. A lot of players are playing senior club football which will stand them in good stead. There are a lot of good players such as Michael Carr from Gweedore who can score from midfield. They have a lot of quality coming off the bench which makes a difference. The young lad Andrew McClean from my own Club who will probably play sweeper has been very effective, so it will be down to how the defences cope and it will be tight early on. Midfield will be very important and Donegal have two key players lined up. I think it will be a brilliant Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship final with Donegal getting over the line – just about!

Garret; The Armagh team are coming under the radar, they’ve slowly worked on their system of play and they’ve beaten two good teams to get here. They might give Donegal a rattle, if they stick rigidly to their game plan and everyone works together they could end up crossing the line but I agree that Donegal are favourites.  My brother, a priest, is the County Board Secretary in Armagh so if I go with Donegal I will probably have to prepare myself for the gates of hell. I better go with Armagh to win by the slenderest of margins!

ENDs

CaptionPictured are one of Donegal’s greatest ever, the two time All Star winner Martin McHugh and Garrett Coyle, Coach at St.Macartan’s Monaghan