SENIOR TEAM BOOK THEIR PLACE IN ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Monaghan senior ladies booked their place in the Senior Ulster championship final with a win over Down on Saturday evening last, the final score Monaghan 5-12  Down 1-5.

Monaghan went into the Down game as hot favourites, but for the opening few minutes they look quite nervous and indeed they were guilty of a number of wides in the opening 5 minutes. Then on the 6th minute Ciara Mc Anespie found Caoimhe Mohan who rattled the Down net to score the first of her 4 goals. This was followed by a point from Ciara Mc Anespie to put Monaghan 4 points up.  Down started  to put pressure on the Monaghan defence but once again the excellent Christine Reilly defended magnificently. Caoimhe Mohan added her second goal of the day with 10 minutes gone . Down’s first score of the game came with 11 minutes gone with  Aileen Pyers scoring her first point of the game. Ellen Mc Carron got her name on the scoresheet as Monaghan’s confidence started to grow and with their lightning forwards causing problems for the Down defence. Two goals in quick succession from Caoimhe Mohan and Ciara Mc Anespie put Monaghan 4-2 to 0-2 ahead. Barbara Ward who was making her senior debut was unlucky not to get her name on the scoresheet when her shot came rattling back off the crossbar. Down added another point this time from Erin Robinson. Caoimhe Mohan then scored her first point of the day, and after an excellent run from Therese Mc Nally she added a second. Ellen Mc Carron finished off Monaghan’s scoring of the half with a fine point to leave the score at half time

Monaghan 4-5   Down 0-2

It was Down who opened the scoring of the second half with a goal. Margaret Treanor and Niamh Kindlon were introduced for Monaghan as Monaghan continued to pile on the pressure. Down brought numbers into their defence to try and halt Monaghan’s runs and it took Monaghan 10 minutes to score. Their first score of the half came from Natasha Mohan on the 11th minute. Indeed she added a second moments later. Caoimhe Mohan fisted over the bar to increase Monaghan’s lead to 4-8 to 1-2 . Down’s No 11 Orla Fegan added another point for Down. Therese Mc Nally responded with a fine point for Monaghan and a great individual point from Down’s full forward Aileen Pyers followed. Niamh Kindlon got her name on the scoresheet with a great point. Laura Mc Eneaney , Eileen Mc Elroy and Emma Byrne were all introduced for Monaghan. Caoimhe Mohan and Therese Mc Nally completed Monaghan’s scoring for the day and Down’s Aileen  Pyers added a last minute point from a free to leave the final score

Monaghan 5-12   Down  1-5

Monaghan now meet Tyrone in the Ulster final which will take place on July 10th. Unlike Monaghan, Tyrone had a very close and tough encounter taking extra time for them to see off the strong challenge of Donegal . Monaghan have had two comfortable games to date and will need to be in top form to see of the challenge of Tyrone, last year’s All Ireland finallists.

Tyrone scored 6 goals against Donegal, and Monaghan’s defence will have to be on top of their game. Edel Corrigan started in goals, and like Linda Martin the previous game never put a foot wrong. Last Sunday the defence were excellent, with Christine Reilly once again controlling things on the full back line, Her reading of the game was superb. She was ably assisted by Sharon Courtney and Grainne Mc Nally. The half back line once again played very well and attacked any chance they got. As usual, Amanda Casey and Cora Courtney worked tirelessly at midfield. Up front Monaghan’s speed once again caused problems for the opposition. Caoimhe Mohan scored 4-4 of Monaghan’s total but the whole forward line when given the chance showed just what a formideable set up they are.

All in all this was a good result for Monaghan but with the Ulster final just over 2 weeks away, a lot of work still has to be done. Tyrone will be out to stop Monaghan winning back to back Ulster titles. Monaghan will need to keep playing the football they are and hopefully they will bring the Ulster title back to Monaghan.

Line Out;  Edel Corrigan, Christine Reilly, Sharon Courtney, Grainne Mc Nally, Lavina Connolly,Nicola Fahy, Aoife Mc Anespie, Amanda Courtney, Cora Courtney, Therese Mc Nally(0-2), Ellen Mc Carron (0-2), Barbara Ward, Natasha Mohan (0-2), Ciara Mc Anespie (1-1), Caoimhe Mohan (4-4)

Subs Used  Margaret Treanor, Niamh Kindlon(0-1), Eileen Mc Elroy, Laura Mc Eneaney, Emma Byrne.

The county girls have a break for the next week or so as the club championships get under way. This weekend sees the start of the Junior and Senior championships and the county board wish all the clubs taking part the very best of luck.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEWS

Club football takes centre stage with the start of the Junior and Senior championships. New structures were put in place for both these competitions and they kick off on Friday evening.

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Donaghmoyne  V Truagh  – Saturday June 25th in St Mellans Truagh. 5.30pm

Defending champions Donaghmoyne get their championship campaign underway when they take on Truagh. They have met already in the league with Truagh coming out on top. Donaghmoyne will be going into the game without their star forward Catriona Mc Connell. Truagh are a very young talented team with their danger player Caoimhe Mohan who scored 4-4 for Monaghan last weekend , being a major threat up front. Donaghmoyne have been the top senior team in the county for the past number of years and they will not be giving up their title easy. They have a wealth of experience on their side but Truagh will have gained confidence from their league win over them and will push them all the way. A game not to be missed

Emyvale V Truagh – Wednesday June 29th in Tully Emyvale 7.30pm

Another mouth watering game between these two neighbouring clubs These two teams always serve up a great game of football and Wednesday should be no different. There is a wealth of talent on both teams and the result will go down to who perfoms best on the night.

JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Group 1

Inniskeen V Donaghmoyne B – Friday 24th June in Inniskeen 7.30p.m.

The first of the Junior championship games sees Inniskeen take on Donaghmoyne B. Inniskeen were very unlucky this past 2 years not to win this title and they will want to go one further this year. Donaghmoyne as ever will prove a hard hurdle to overcome . Even though this is their second team they still have an abundance of talent as was evident in the number of underage titles they won last year. Another game not to be missed.

Aughnamulllen  V  Seans Saturday 25th June in Aughnamullen 7.30pm

This will be close game to call. Seans only returned to senior football last year and have been progressing steadily. Aughnamullen are also building their senior team and both teams will be hoping to get their campaign off to a winning start.
Seans V Inniskeen  Tuesday 28th June 7.30pm

Seans have home advantage in  their round 2 game when they  take on Inniskeen. This will be a big step up for the Seans. Inniskeen will go into this game as favourites, but with the progress Seans have been making, they will push Inniskeen all the way.

Donaghmoyne B  V  Aughnamullen Thursday 30th June

Donaghmoyne have home advantage in this game and are always a difficult team to beat on their home territory. However, should they have to play any of their B team against Truagh, they could go into this team down a number of players which could be to Aughnamullen’s benefit.

Group 2
Latton  V  Emyvale B Sunday 26th June @ 3.30pm

Latton were moved back down to Junior this year. They have been rebuilding their team but with players of the calibre of Lavina Connolly and the Dempsey sisters they will be a hard team to beat. Diane, a former county star has come back to play this year and by all accounts has been in flying form. Emyvale will have a number of younger players making their championship debut and will give this game their best shot.

Emyvale B  V  Truagh B Tuesday 28th June

Once again the two North Monaghan neighbouring clubs have been drawn together. They are two very young teams who have served up some entertaining football in previous games. There has never been much between these two teams and I’m sure Tuesday will be no different. 

As you can see a great feast of football is in store over the coming week. This is what club’s have been training for all year and we wish all clubs the very best of luck

RESULTS

KILLANNY WIN U14 DIVISION 2 TITLE

Killanny 4-14   Inniskeen 5-2

Killanny were crowned the U14 Division 2 champions  when they beat Inniskeen. Killanny were narrowly beaten by Emyvale in this same final last year so it is a great achievement for them to come back this year and bring the title back to Killanny.

TRUAGH WIN U14 DIVISION 3 TITLE

Truagh emerged winners of the Division 3 U14 league after a highly entertaining and closely fought encounter against Tyholland. This was an excellent game of football by both teams with Truagh just edging ahead in the final few minutes

MAGHERACLOONE WIN DIVISION 4 TITLE

Magheracloone captured the Division 4 U14 league title beating a spirited St Brigids side. Once again like the other finals, both teams served up some entertaining football and deserve to take great credit.

On behalf of the county board I would like to congratulate all the U14 league winners and also the runners up. Football was the real winner so well done to all.

Division 1 U14 15  a side result

Emyvale 5-12  O Neills 1-5

There are a number of games still to be played in the U14 Division 1 league,but it looks like Monaghan Harps, Emyvale, Donaghmoyne and Scotstown have secured all semi final positions.

Next week, the Emyvale U14 team head to Cork to represent the county in the All Ireland Feile competition. We wish them the very best of luck.