The summer of football is well and truly underway now with some outstanding clashes taking place this past weekend, and the Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship hasn't even gotten into its stride yet!
The competitiveness of this year's competition is already evident, as two of the major clashes had to be settled in extra-time when neither side could be separated in normal time. Tipperary continue to make progress year after year with another great display, while Derry are back on the march for an All-Ireland. Can they finally make the final step this season after losing last year's showpiece final?
Clare's Shane Meehan earned himself the first Player of the Week title of the 2018 Minor Football Championship, following a super display of talent against Limerick last week. Who deserves to get the gong this time around?
Kyle Shelly (Tipperary)
A thrilling back-and-forth game in Newcastle West saw the Premier County come out on top of a competitive Limerick side. The Treaty boys raced into an early lead but were pegged back when star man Kyle Shelly coolly dispatched a penalty in the 14th minute. Shelley had a great chance to score a second goal right before the interval, but he was denied by a great save by Kevin Walsh. As such, Limerick went into half-time with the most slender of leads.
That lead didn't last long at all, with the goal hungry Shelly bearing down on goal once more. The Moycarkey-Borris player found himself in an ideal position just eight minutes into the second-half, hitting the ball across the goalmouth with the laces and into the far corner.
Urchar 💥 Cúl den scoth ag Kyle Shelly @TipperaryGAA @TippfootballGAA
Top scorer Kyle Shelly with a great goal against @LimerickCLG
See the highlights of the dramatic @MunsterGAA minor football play-off Mon @ 20.00 on @SportTG4 @LmkFootballers @ElectricIreland pic.twitter.com/0jh0FhgeAZ— GAA 2022 (@GAA_2022_TG4) April 20, 2018
A score well worthy of winning any game, but this one wasn't over yet.
After managing just one score in 30 minutes of action, Limerick flung themselves onto the comeback trail and got back into proceedings with a Dylan Moloney free. Despite losing captain John Hayes to a second yellow card late on, Limerick managed to string four unanswered points together right at the death to take the game to extra-time.
An early lead in the first period of extra-time was as good as it got for Limerick though as Tipperary skipped ahead with two late points from Christy English and, you guessed it, Kyle Shelly. Whoever Tipp face in the Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship this year, they will have to have a plan for stopping this young man.
Karl Gallagher (Monaghan)
A clash of champions in which one side would face an early exit from the competition; a recipe for an absolutely delightful tie between Derry, last seasons Ulster winners, and Monaghan, the recently crowned League winners at U17 level.
Like Tipperary and Limerick, this game went the distance and then some, with the game having to be decided during extra-time. The one thing this match had that the Munster tie didn't was a score from a goalie. Monaghan's Ryan Farrelly took a short kick-out and ended up with the ball in his hands at the opposite end of the field before slotting it over to push his side even further ahead.
Ulster MFC (ET, 10'): Monaghan 2-12 Derry 0-14 Ryan Farrelly (from play after a short free!!)
— @monaghangaa (@monaghangaa) April 21, 2018
Somehow the Farney men would lose from that dominant position, but at least they are safe in the knowledge that Karl Gallagher is a player they can depend on for years to come.
Gallagher scored in every league game up to and including the final against Donegal, demonstrating the kind of consistency that is so badly needed at the highest levels of the game.
Grabbing two points from his half-forward position, Gallagher continued his run of scores in this absorbing game. His main attribute though is his creativity;he is the lightning rod for everything good this team does in attack. It's just a shame they're out so early.
Enda Downey (Derry)
If there's one way to describe this Derry team, it's never-say-die. At half-time they were trailing by seven points with just one score to their name. They somehow clawed that back to 0-12 to 1-9 to take the contest to extra-time.
Monaghan looked like they had finally shaken off their stubborn opponents as they raced into a four point lead, but the Oak Leafers wouldn't be denied on this occasion. A 75th minute penalty from Eoghan Hawe brought Derry within two, before Johnny McErlain drilled home the decisive score.
Derry win !!!! pic.twitter.com/MQYjirRj7g
— Derry GAA (@Doiregaa) April 21, 2018
Those two players may have taken the headlines, but it was Enda Downey who deserves all of the plaudits. Son of the great Seamus Downey, he chipped with three points at vital moments to get them in a position to mount a comeback in the first place. With Downey at the tip of a frighteningly good forward line, it is hard to see many Ulster teams stopping their attacking prowess in this year's Electric Ireland Minor Football Championship.
Have your say and cast your vote for the player of the week nominees on Electric Ireland's Facebook page by clicking here. All nominated players will be in with a chance of making overall team/player of the year at the 2018 Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Awards.
