Ulster Senior Ladies' Football Championship semi-final: Monaghan 2-19 Armagh 2-7
MONAGHAN made amends for last year’s Ulster final defeat to Armagh with a resounding 13-point win over the defending champions at Kingspan Breffni Park yesterday.
However, the result wasn’t put beyond doubt until Ellen McCarron’s 55th minute goal, which finally knocked the stuffing out of Armagh. Although at that stage the Orchard girls trailed by five points, they looked threatening going forward, particularly through Aimee Mackin, whose unstoppable 48th minute goal had kept them in the hunt.
Armagh will be disappointed with their performance but can have few complaints about the result. For them, like Tyrone, it is Monday's Qualifier draw with plenty to work on over the coming weeks. However, they must remember they were worthy champions in 2014 as they were the team the rest of Ulster knew they had to beat.
Monaghan turned that form on its head yesterday, and Farney selector Pat Ring was elated to get over a massive hurdle.
“We were coming into this game as underdogs, and rightly so because to be fair to Armagh they have had to very impressive years since they came out of Division Three. They are the current champions,” said Ring.
“We knew exactly what we were up against. We didn’t want any complacency. It was tight but our fitness got us through the last 15 to 20 minutes and the players stood up and worked their socks off.
“The girls have been working very hard in training and we have instilled a good work ethic into them. We have had a few tough challenge games in recent weeks against some of the top teams and that stood to us.”
Armagh opened the scoring after just 22 seconds through Lauren McConville while it took Monaghan until the seventh minute to settle into the game with a point from Cathriona McConnell.
Eimear McAnespie, a late change to the starting line-up, where she joined her sisters Ciara and Aoife, put Monaghan into the lead two minutes later before Mackin, making her senior championship debut for Armagh, leveled matters for a second time.
Monaghan then took control with four unanswered points to open up a 0-6 to 0-2 lead in the space of four minutes. McConnell responded quickest to a loose ball inside the 13-metre line to pop it over the bar, with points following from Laura McEnaney, Caoimhe Mohan and McConnell.
McCarron saw her 23rd minute shot strike both uprights and come back out and when Aoife McCoy found the back of the net from close range in the 27th minute, it was a one-point game at 0-7 to 1-3.
However, Monaghan tagged on two late scores through McConnell and McEnaney to go in at half-time with a 0-9 to 1-3 advantage.
The sides shared the first four points of the second half but two in-a-row for Monaghan, the second after a great goal chance for Mohan, saw them create a five-point lead.
At the other end, Armagh were creating goal chances too, the first from McConville going over the bar, while Monaghan netminder Linda Martin pulled off a superb save to deny Mackin, whose rebounded effort went wide off the upright.
McConnell and Cora Courtney, again with just goalkeeper Katie Daly to beat, tagged on two more points to extend their lead to six, before Mackin pulled Armagh right back into it again with her 48th minute wonder goal.
Monaghan responded quickly and clinically, with an unanswered 2-3 in the space of 10 minutes, McCarron finally tucking away one of Monaghan’s handful of goal chances after a patient build-up and Cora Courtney with their second major three minutes later after a great move to book their place in a 15th final in 16 years.
