Lavey 3-16 Eoghan Ruadh 0-12
LAVEY pulled away in the second half to see off Eoghan Ruadh on Friday afternoon to book their spot in Tuesday’s Ulster final in Ballinascreen.
Two second half goals from Patrick Birt cemented Lavey’s dominance after the Derry side turned the screw in the third quarter.
With James Sargent and Ryan McGarvey forming a strong defensive spine the three-in-a-row oakleaf champions never looked in any danger after four points without reply put Lavey 1-12 to 0-10 ahead after 41 minutes.
The sides were level four times in the first quarter before Lavey hit their first goal, finished to the net by Lorcan McDonnell after James Sargent had his initial shot blocked.
There were earlier goal chances with goalkeepers Matthew Price and Oisin Mulholland denying certain goals.
Patrick Birt pulled an excellent save out of the Dungannon ‘keeper with Mulholland somehow getting a hurl to Sheehan Fay’s shot after he forced a turnover.
Lavey were 1-7 to 0-8 ahead at half time before they took control of the third quarter, winning a litany of Dungannon puck outs to take control.
Connor Melaugh had the ball over the bar within seconds of the restart but two points from Cormac McErlean pulled the gap back to a point.
Rian Collins (2), Tiarnan Melaugh and Ronan Birt hit four Lavey points on the trot to give them a foothold in the game.
Without a goal, Dungannon weren’t able to force themselves back into contention and Lavey’s use of the ball gave them the variation to their play as the game developed.
After their layoff since winning the Derry title, they didn’t the game sharpness Dungannon had gathered from their two wins to lift the shield title.
With 10 minutes to go a James Sargent ball onto the area put Lavey on the front foot and when Eoghan Ruadh weren’t able to clear their lines, Patrick Birt finished to the net.
Ronan Birt won another Dungannon puck out with five minutes to play with Patrick Birt blasting to the net.
Scorers:
Lavey: R Collins 0-8 (6f), P Birt 2-0, L McDonnell 1-0, D Collins, C Melaugh 0-2 each, J Sargent (65), C Mulholland, T Melaugh and R Birt 0-1 each
Eoghan Ruadh: C McErlean 0-7 (4f, 2 65), S Fay 0-3, O Mullin and B Girvan 0-1 each