Monaghan manager Dermot Malone has lamented the decision to take the All-Ireland minor finals out of Croke Park.

The minor finals were traditionally played as the curtain-raiser to the senior finals at GAA HQ up until a few years ago when the age was lowered to U17. This year’s minor football decider was staged at a packed BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh last Saturday, but Malone admitted after his side’s defeat to Derry that he would rather it was played in Croke Park.

“I do think I would prefer it to be in Croke Park just to give those young lads a day out because it’s the same with Derry and the same with Monaghan in that only a handful of these guys will make it at senior level and play in Croke Park,” he told reporters.

“So I do think that’s something the GAA needs to look at next year. It’s not the end of the world, you could see the atmosphere here today.

"If we had a bit more about us and if we had stuck in a goal the atmosphere would have been electric and that is one of the pros of holding it in Armagh.” 

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