ULSTER MINOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.
Monaghan v Antrim: Pairc Esler, Newry: Sunday May 26th @ 7.00pm.
This Sunday evening is a red letter occasion for the GAA in Monaghan as the county minor team heads off to Pairc Esler, Newry for their quarter-final game in the Ulster minor football championship against Antrim. This is a tricky assignment by any stretch of the imagination as Antrim will come all fired up to first of all get revenge for last year's heavy defeat by Monaghan in Clones and secondly to take down the colours of the team that comes with the Ulster minor football league title firmly tucked under their belts. This is familiar territory for Monaghan though as last year they set out against Antrim on a journey that took them to the Ulster final where they eventually lost to Tyrone and were then defeated in the All Ireland quarter-final by Dublin. That was a disappointing experience as that team had shown great promise and so this year hope springs eternal that a number of the lads who were involved last year, boys like Conor McCarthy, Adam Treanor, Ryan McAnespie and David McAllister can use that experience along with the new members of the panel to get their campaign off to a winning start. In the Ulster minor football league Monaghan showed that they have players of quality and strength in depth and they will need all of the qualities they can muster on Sunday evening to book their place in the semi-final against either Fermanagh or Cavan. Kevin Loughran and Aodh Curran are the most likely to hold down the central defensive position of full and centre back although Loughran is also on option to move to midfield, a switch that paid dividends when it was implemented in the league semi-final victory over Tyrone. Loughran has also been named as team captain with Ryan McAnespie his deputy. In midfield the most likely partnership is David McAllister and Michael McCarville, but Monaghan are without one of their midfield pairing from last year as Mark Magee who suffered a broken bone in his neck in a car accident recently is ruled out. The Monaghan attack has been a section of the team that has picked up the plaudits so far this year with players of the quality of Ryan McAnespie, Adam Treanor, Conor McCarthy, Fergal McMahon who was among the substitutes last year and Desmond Ward, and if those players get the right service and get their natural game moving from the early stages then Antrim will be under pressure.

THE VIEW FROM BOTH CAMPS.
Antrim manager Sean McGoldrick admits his side are up against it but he also questioned the timing of the game which has been brought forward to avoid a clash with the Leaving Certificate examinations. The Antrim lads however are in the middle of their 'A' level examinations so the he had no hesitation in saying "I can't get my head around that because these kids are in the middle of A-Levels, yet we have to give up home advantage to suit Monaghan. The lads are disappointed with that but they can use that disappointment to help drive them on so they get their game on the big stage next time out. Everything is going well and we have had a good League campaign behind us. We have made some progress but the Monaghan lads are big favourites.

MONAGHAN MANAGER Frank Brady regards this game as something of a banana skin. "It is a big one, it is a big banana skin because we are going into the unknown. A lot of the Antrim lads I know are dual players and some of them didn't feature in the league so we don't know them all, but I can tell you they are not a bad side. I have seen them twice and Mick O'Dowd has seen them once and we were impressed with their work rate and commitment. They reached the Shield final in the league and they hammered Cavan in the semi-final and Cavan have now beaten Armagh in the Ulster minor football championship so that is an indication of where Antrim are at. I know we won the Ulster minor football league and that can help our confidence levels but it cannot be allowed to create any hint of complacency because if we have any complacency about us we will be beaten. Our approach to this game is the same as if we were playing Tyrone or Donegal and things are going well for us in training. We will be installed as favourites, I know that, but we'll just have to handle that and keep our feet on the ground. It was a bit disappointing though as our preparation were affected a couple of times with rounds of the club under 21 fixtures when some managers insisted on members of the minor panel playing in those games. There were games on Monday night last and I know there was pressure put on players to play while U 21 players who are on the county senior team went to train with the senior team and our minors were made to play in the club games which I think is very unfair. Tweet

Most Read Stories