Last year's beaten finalists, Cavan, went one step further this year when clinching the Ulster under-21 football title with a six point victory that sees them through to an All-Ireland semifinal meeting with Meath.

Cavan led 0-7 to 0-2 after a one-sided opening half, which was marred by the harsh dismissals of Cavan's Michael Reilly and Derry's Joseph Cassidy after an off-the-ball clash four minutes from the interval.

After dominating the opening half, Cavan looked vulnerable to the high ball on the resumption, with Fintan Martin and Ronan Rocks both lobbing shots off the bar in the opening four minutes. Indeed, Derry were back in contention after 42 minutes when Gareth Doherty pounced to score a goal.

However, Derry were never able to build on that breakthrough.