Power NI Dr. McKenna Cup Section A

Monaghan 1-12 Fermanagh 0-7                  16/1/13

 

 

Monaghan secured top spot in the Dr. McKenna Cup Section A with an eight-point win over Fermanagh in Inniskeen on Wednesday evening. A fairly dull first half developed into a shoot-out between the two number 13s – Monaghan’s Owen Duffy and Fermanagh’s Paul Ward – but Malachy O’Rourke’s men took over in the second half, hitting an unanswered 1-6 between the 50^th and 63^rd minutes. The introduction of experienced duo Darren Hughes and Paul Finlay (making his first appearance of 2013) helped Monaghan, who kicked 13 wides in total, to make their dominance count against a Fermanagh team who managed just one point from play.

Dermot Malone, who got the goal his performance deserved just past the hour-mark, impressed again for Monaghan, as did Fintan Kelly, Duffy and Dick Clerkin, while Fermanagh were far too reliant on Ward, who was their only scorer until Seán Quigley kicked a point from a free in the dying minutes.

It took 11 minutes for either side to get a score, when Monaghan eventually made their possession count with a left-footed point from Owen Duffy. Seán Quigley had a chance at the other end two minutes later when he caught a high ball in from Niall McElroy, but his shot at goal was saved by Monaghan keeper Rory Beggan, before Duffy tapped over a 13-metre free for a foul on Stephen Smyth to double the hosts’ lead.

A well-worked move involving Conor Galligan, Dermot Malone and Shane McQuillan almost created a goal for Kieran Hughes, but a combination of goalkeeper Chris Breen and Anthony McGuinness managed to scramble the ball out for a ’45. Fermanagh belatedly got off the mark on 23 minutes when Paul Ward converted a 25-metre free for a foul on Kane Connor, but Duffy quickly responded in kind after a foul on Malone. A foul on Damien Kelly allowed Ward to point another free for Fermanagh, but Duffy and Kieran Hughes combined to set up Dick Clerkin to split the posts. Malone then collected a Clerkin free and laid it off for Duffy to kick his fourth point and send Monaghan in at half-time leading by 0-5 to 0-2.

Fermanagh started the second half brightly, as Ward again found his range from a 30-metre free after a foul on Niall McElroy, before kicking the visitors’ first and only point from play. Monaghan hit back through Owen Duffy, who had been well-placed by Malone and although Ward tapped over a 20-metre free after Fintan Kelly had been harshly penalized for over-carrying, Kieran Hughes replied with a fine point on the turn. Fintan Kelly added a well-taken point a minute later, before Clerkin booted over from distance as Monaghan began to turn on the style. Paul Finlay’s first meaningful involvement was to play a clever pass to his club-mate Shane McQuillan, who marked his first start with an impressive point from the right wing.

Subs Finlay and Darren Hughes added fine points from play – the latter a long-range effort – and Monaghan put the result beyond doubt when a one-two between Malone and Finlay allowed the Castleblayney forward to punch the ball into the empty net. Fermanagh put a better look in the scoreboard thanks to close-range frees by Ward and Quigley in the closing minutes, but Monaghan still had eight points to spare at the final whistle. The draw between Derry and Antrim in Section C meant that Peter Canavan’s side still finished as best runners-up and will advance to the semi-finals against Tyrone, while Monaghan will take on Section B winners Down. Both games will be part of a double-header in Armagh, with Monaghan and Down first up at 2pm.

 

 

Monaghan: R Beggan; O Coyle, D Wylie, C Galligan; F Kelly (0-1), N McAdam, M McElroy; G McArdle, D Clerkin (Capt., 0-2); S McQuillan (0-1), P Donaghy, S Smyth; O Duffy (0-5, 2f), K Hughes (0-1), D Malone (1-0).

Subs: Darren Hughes (0-1) for McArdle (47 mins), P Finlay (0-1) for Smyth (49), K O’Connell for Galligan (60), D Hahessy for Malone, T O’Neill for Donaghy (both 67).

 

Fermanagh: C Breen; N Bogue (Capt.), A McGuinness, J Irvine; A Breen, D Kelly, M O’Brien; J Sherry, M McGrath; R Hyde, K Connor, N McElroy (Tempo); P Ward (0-6, 5f), Seán Quigley (0-1f), C McAleer.

Subs: S Carters for McAleer, N McElroy (Lisnaskea) for Connor (both H-T), S Lyons for A Breen, N Shannon for Hyde (both 51), B Owens for McGuinness (inj., 53)

 

Referee: S McNamee (Tyrone).