Monaghan u-17 Development squad booked their place in the Mc Guigan Cup semi-final on Saturday last after a succession of games with Armagh, Antrim and Down at a windswept Cloghan

This squad opened the day with a comprehensive win against an understrength Armagh side. The Monaghan boys showed no mercy early on as they took full advantage of the elements to surge into an early lead with goals from Clones man James Mealiff and the impressive Conor Marry of Doohamlet. Monaghan’s midfield pairing of Francis Hughes and Jamie Walshe ensured Armagh found it difficult to gain any foothold in the game and Shane Garland was rarely troubled throughout in the Monaghan goal.

Monaghan’s half back line of Eoin Mc Quaid, Eoin Mc Kearney and John Mulligan showed great adventure and broke forward at will in support of the attack and contributed to putting Monaghan in a dominant half time lead.

Monaghan made full use of their large panel at half time and introduced some fresh legs to combat the strong breeze.  In a show of composure and intelligent retention of possession Monaghan went on to dominate the second period and ran out comfortable winners with a large margin separating the teams at the finish.

Monaghan’s second game was an altogether different encounter against a well prepared  Antrim team, once more Monaghan began with the advantage of  strong breeze but a much tighter Antrim defence restricted Monaghan to just 5 points in the opening half, forcing some wayward shooting leading to a number of wides. At the other end Antrim recorded a crucial goal after a retaken penalty which had been brilliantly saved initially by Ballybay’s Adam Counihan. This left Monaghan trailing by a point at half time.

Facing into a stiff breeze at half time the task facing Monaghan would require a much improved showing. Within a minute of the restart, however, Barry Kerr lead the way for the Monaghan men with a trade-mark drive through the heart of the Antrim defence before kicking defiantly over the bar. This inspired his team mates and from that point on Monaghan looked the more likely. When Eoin Mc Quaid put Monaghan in font late in the game it looked like they would record their second win, Monaghan however spurned some good opportunities at this point and paid the price as Antrim managed to find an equaliser to force a draw. Best for Monaghan in this encounter was Andrew Mc Phillips and Cremartin’s Barry Kerr with their leadership and determination shining through.

This result meant qualification for the semi-final would hinge on the final round of fixtures with Monaghan facing Down. Score difference would be the deciding factor, and Monaghan attacked the Down goal with great gusto from the outset. With a much changed line-up including Aghabog’s Fergal O’Hanlon and Scotstown’s Jamie Mc Carey in attack with both men moving well. Patrick O’Neill caused great trouble for the Down defence and Corduff’s Gavin Mc Eneaney worked tirelessly at wing forward. With Monaghan running out comfortable winners they secured their place in the last four of the competition where they will face Donegal on Saturday.

Full Squad.

Shane Garland (D’Moyne), Adam Counihan (Ballybay) , Daire Hannon (Monaghan Harps), Shane Lambe ( A’Mullen) Andrew Mc Phillips (Rockcorry), Caolán Mc Kenna (Scotstown), Eoin Mc Quaid (Clones) Eoin Mc Kearney (Ballybay), John Mulligan (Monnaghan Harps), Francis Hughes (Clontibret), Jamie Walshe (Doohamlet), Conor Marry (Doohamlet) Barry Kerr (Cremartin) Killian Mooney (Killeevan) James Mealiff (Clones) Paddy O Neill (Ballybay) Aiden Ward (Seans) Cormac Duffy (Ballybay), Cormac Boyle (Clontibret), Fergal O Hanlon(Aghabog), Gavin Mc Enaney (Corduff), Seán Russell (Inniskeen) Jamie Mc Carey(Scotstown) and Stephen Kerr(Emyvale).