Monaghan manager Vinny Corey hailed his players as “warriors” after yesterday’s dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Armagh at Croke Park.

Rory Beggan’s save in sudden death secured the Farney men’s passage to a first All-Ireland SFC semi-final in five years, with fellow veteran Conor McManus having won and converted the pressure free at the end of extra time to deny the Orchard men and force a shoot-out.

Many of them former team mates of his, Corey hailed Monaghan’s seasoned campaigners for helping get them over the line against their neighbours at headquarters.

“They're warriors," he said in an interview with the GAAGO panel afterwards.

"No, we didn't practice penalties. Sometimes you can do more harm than good practicing them. You can't replicate that, unless you had a sea of orange behind the goals in Cloghan. We backed the boys. We knew the players we had for the penalties, and we had every faith we had to score them.

"You had Darren Hughes and Karl O'Connell - 35/36 years of age. We took Karl off because he got a bang on the back of the head, he wanted to get back in. They're warriors. Them boys are built for it.

"Then you have Manzy (McManus), he's the ultimate clutch player, probably Monaghan's best ever clutch player, and he's done it again."

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