Hughes' minor hurlers lose to Donegal
May 02, 2013Donegal 2-7
Monaghan 0-5
There was to be no Ulster minor hurling double for Monaghan as a stronger, slicker Donegal proved too adept for them in the Shield final that was played in adverse weather conditions in the Tyrone Training Centre at Garvaghy on Friday evening last, a biting near gale force wind turning the event into something of a lottery. Monaghan's disappointment at being defeated though was further compounded when full forward Donal Meegan picked up a serious injury some twenty minutes into the second half and after play had been held up for almost 25 minutes as he was treated on the pitch he was removed by ambulance to hospital where he was later diagnosed as having suffered a collapsed lung. The Monaghan first aid people were helped in their efforts by a qualified paramedic who was among the Donegal supporters and he is to be complimented on his assistance in what was a very worrying situation. Goal chances eventually decided the outcome of this contest, Donegal creating a number of chances and capitalising on two of them while Monaghan were unlucky in being unable to capitalise on any from a few that they created themselves. At the end of a nip and tuck first half Donegal led by 0-5 to 0-4 but the concession of two goals in the early stages of the second-half and then the lengthy hold-up for the injury to Donal Meegan left Monaghan chasing the game. That said though Monaghan put up a great battle with Noel Flood and Conor Boyle in defence making life extremely difficult for the opposition and the midfield pairing of Aodh Curran and Cathal McAnespie battling to the end against the Donegal pairing who enjoyed a considerable height advantage. In attack Donal Meegan proved the main threat until his injury but overall the Monaghan forwards were given very little space or time by a well drilled Donegal rearguard.
Teams and Scorers: Donegal: Dylan Laverty, Francis Lennon, Daniel Wilson, Tomas Gillespie, Sean Curran, Donal McLoughlin, Colm Kelly 0-2, Gavin McGrath 0-1, Conor Grant, Eddie Lynch, Jack O'Loughlin 0-2, Stephen Nelson, Jamie Brennan 2-1, Jack Brennan, Aidan Stokes. Subs: Tomas Clare for Jack Brennan, Paul Nelson for S Nelson, Oisin Rooney 0-1 for A Stokes, Barry Gallagher for C Grant.
Monaghan: Mick O'Dowd, Ryan O'Neill, Noel Flood, Neasan MacSuibhne, Aidan Kerr, Conor Boyle 0-1 (f), Tiarnan Bramley, Aodh Curran, Cathal McAnespie, Ronan Curran, Ciaran McQuaid, Cillian Lavelle, Tony Forde, Donal Meegan 0-5 (3f), Micheal MacSuibhne. Subs: Jadon Walsh for D Meegan, Colin Todd for C Lavelle, Jamie Dooley for M MacSuibhne. Referee: Aiden Ferguson (Fermanagh).
REACTION: Monaghan manager Arthur Hughes:
"I said it would be a step up when we played Donegal but I have to say I was happy overall with how the boys coped. They (Donegal) maybe were a little bit cuter when they had the ball though and when they took us on a little bit more but I thought overall we fought as hard as they did and we actually created as many if not a couple more goal chances than them, but unfortunately we didn't put them away. That really was what made the difference in the end but overall we played well enough. We didn't get a high score line but it was dreadful conditions again here with the high wind which made it a game of two halves although the conditions didn't suit either team but I thought maybe they coped a little bit better because they were a bit more physical than us. Tweet
