ESB Ulster Minor Hurling Championship First Round

Cavan v Monaghan, Saturday, 1.45, Kingspan Breffni Park

Monaghan will be hoping to get their Ulster Minor Hurling Championship campaign off to a winning start when they travel to Cavan on Saturday.

Monaghan had an encouraging Ulster Minor Hurling League Division Two, as wins over Donegal and Fermanagh booked their place in the final, where they only lost narrowly to Tyrone. Manager Brendan Murphy can also take heart from the high standard of last Sunday’s Minor Hurling Championship Final between Clontibret and Castleblayney, even though some of the players involved – Brian Greenan, Conor Boyle, Liam Savage and Patrick Finnegan – won’t be available due to their commitments with the county minor footballers.

Fergal Rafter, Gareth Brennan, Micheál Ó Mordha, Cormac McNally, Niall Garland and Conor Cahill should play key roles for Monaghan, with Rafter likely to assume most of the scoring responsibility.

On the club scene, the action this weekend is restricted to the Platinum Tanks-sponsored Reserve Football Leagues, while Tuesday sees the final round of the GRM Minor Football Leagues before the six-week exam break.