Castleblayney 2-16
Inniskeen 1-7

The seven-in-a-row may have been ended in last year's county final by Inniskeen but Castleblayney were keen to regain their status as Monaghan's top dogs in hurling, and so it proved to be at Clontibret.

Barry Reilly opened the scoring for 'Blayney but Inniskeen took the lead when Ronan Meegan fired a free to the net. Mickey McHugh landed three points to restore 'Blayney's lead. Inniskeen responded with scores from Michael Lennon and Ronan Meegan to move 1-2 to 0-4 ahead, but 'Blayney landed the last four points of the half to go in at the break 0-8 to 1-2 in front.

The sides swapped points on the resumption but Inniskeen's hopes were hit hard when Meegan was dismissed nine minutes into the second half, with two points between the sides at that point.

Blayney made the most of the numerical advantage and with McHugh in excellent form, were 0-14 to 1-6 ahead with time nearly up. In the final minutes they added two goals, as McHugh and Barry Reilly blasted to the Gratton's net, to seal a seventh title in eight years for the green and golds. Tweet

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