By Niall Gartland

TYRONE Minors put their unbeaten record on the line in a massively competitive Ulster Championship final against familiar foes Cavan, and their full-back Padraig Goodman was delighted that they managed to come out on the right side of a ding-dust battle at Brewster Park.

The Fintona lad was elated after the game, and while it’s all about the team, he can reflect with pride on his own performance on a day where Tyrone limited their opponents to a single point after the break en route to a 2-11 to 1-8 victory.

The Red Hands have now collected two pieces of silverware this season – the Ulster Minor league and championship titles – and they haven’t lost a single game since the very outset, which will surely steel the side with confidence as they look ahead to their All-Ireland quarter-final clash against Cork in less than a fortnight’s time.

Goodman said: “If you’re going the whole year unbeaten you want to keep it going, so I hope we can carry this form into the All-Ireland series, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we meet Cavan again – they’re a quality outfit and they really had us rattled. They’re so strong on kick-outs and have some really top-class players, so we’re just delighted to have won.”

Tyrone found themselves in somewhat unfamiliar territory as they trailed by two points at half-time, though Goodman points out that they also found themselves down in their semi-final win over Monaghan, so they knew they had it in the tank to prevail.

“We work on a lot of game situations in training – our trainings are so intense, and we came back against Monaghan as well, so we didn’t drop the heads.

“We came back and won the game and let’s hope we keep that going – I think we’re showing that we’re a tough outfit to beat.”

Goodman also had warm words for their management team, who have masterminded Tyrone’s 26^th ever success at this level. Gerry Donnelly is the team boss while the likes of Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan, now in his second season in the set-up, Ciaran Gourley and Galbally’s Sean Murphy also have a massive role to play.

“Every man plays his part, they’re all lethal. You learn so much from Niall as he’s a player playing the new game, and he’s always talking and encouraging on the sideline, and Seanie and Ciaran are brilliant as well.”