Ulster Senior Football Championship Semi-Final

Monaghan v Down, Sunday, 2.00, Athletic Grounds, Armagh

 

A third Ulster Senior Football Championship Final appearance in six years is the prize on offer for Monaghan when they take on Down in Armagh on Sunday.

The first-round win over Antrim, while far from perfect, did at least give Monaghan a badly-needed boost and it showed that the players still have the heart and desire, as they finished strongly to turn a three-point deficit into a 1-12 to 1-9 victory.

Down have failed to hit the heights that saw them reach the 2010 All-Ireland final, but they are still very dangerous opposition for Monaghan. James McCartan’s side reached the Allianz National Football League Division One semi-finals and they saw off Fermanagh in their Ulster opener with five points to spare.

Monaghan need no reminders of Down’s potential after they were on the wrong end of a heavy defeat in Clones in the Dr. McKenna Cup in January, although the Farney men will expect to be much stronger this time around.

Even in the absence of Benny Coulter, who broke his ankle at the start of last month, Down can still on quality all over the pitch. Burren’s Donal O’Hare looks like starting to transfer his prolific club form to the county stage after he top-scored against Fermanagh, while the energetic Danny Hughes, playmaker Mark Poland and accurate free-taker Aidan Carr also provide options up front. Ambrose Rogers and Kalum King make up one of the most formidable midfield duos around, while Kevin McKernan, Conor Garvey and Brendan McArdle are as comfortable going forward as they are defending. The game may come too soon for injury victims Dan Gordon and Niall McParland, but Liam Doyle is pushing for a place.

Monaghan will be encouraged by the performances of experienced players like Dick Clerkin and Dessie Mone against Antrim, while Colin Walshe also put in his best display in the white and blue to date in 2012 and Stephen Gollogly showed in the second half what he has to offer. The impressive substitute role played by Kieran Hughes could see him handed a starting jersey for Sunday and Karl O’Connell will be expected to hold on to his starting berth after his dream debut four weeks ago. Tommy Freeman misses out on a starting place after a recurrence of his hamstring injury, but Paul Finlay has been named at full-forward and Darren Hughes makes a welcome return to captain the team.

This one will surely go down to the wire.

 

 

Monaghan: M Keogh; D Wylie, V Corey, C Walshe; Darren Hughes (Capt.), D Mone, K O’Connell; O Lennon, D Clerkin; P Dooney, S Gollogly, J Turley; K Hughes, P Finlay, C McManus.

 

Down: B McVeigh; D McCartan, B McArdle, G McCartan; D O’Hagan, K McKernan, C Garvey; A Rogers, K King; D Hughes, M Poland, A Carr; D O’Hare, C Laverty, C Maginn.

 

 

ESB Ulster Minor Football Championship Semi-Final

Monaghan v Down, Sunday, 12.15, Athletic Grounds, Armagh

 

Monaghan will be hopeful of booking their place in a first Ulster Minor Football Championship Final since 2008 when they take on Down in Armagh on Sunday.

After a solid Ulster Minor Football League campaign and an impressive first-round championship win over Antrim, hopes are high that Monaghan can qualify for just a third final in the last 30 years.

Down needed a goal from Jack Haughey ten minutes from time to see off Fermanagh in the first round by 1-11 to 1-8, but they did have nine scorers over the hour, which will be an encouragement to their double All-Ireland SFC-winning manager, Pete McGrath.

Down finished bottom of Group A of the Ulster MFL, two points and three places behind Monaghan, who beat them in the first round at Clones.

Monaghan have built their game around hard work and sticking to their system. Captain Pádraic Keenan, Ryan McAnespie, Fergal McGeough Conor McCarthy, Adam Treanor, Fergal Malone and Ryan Wylie are key figures for Monaghan. Jack Haughey, Declan Doyle, Ryan Wells, Ronan McAlinden and Joe McDermott are among the main men for Down, who were also assisted by late points from substitutes Donnacha McAleenan and Damien McKeown in seeing off Fermanagh at Brewster Park.

Down will provide a much sterner test for Monaghan than Antrim did in the last round, but if Colin McAree’s team can keep their nerve and produce another big performance, they have what it takes to book a place in the Ulster final.

 

 

Monaghan: C Forde; M Magee, B Greenan, B Hanratty; R Wylie, S Conlon, F Malone; D McAlister, S Buckley; A Treanor, J McElroy, P Keenan (Capt.); F McGeough, R McAnespie, C McCarthy.

 

Down: TBA