Latton 1-14 Scotstown 0-13
Reigning Monaghan club champions Scotstown will have to rely on the back door route if they are to retain their title after defeat at the hands of Latton in Castleblayney.
Latton opened the scoring through Owen Duffy in the first minute but Scotstown then went in front three minutes later with a brace from Donal Morgan and Francis Maguire from a free. They then lost Darren Hughes to injury and were hit with a well-taken goal by Darren McElroy which helped them build a 1-7 to 0-9 lead.
The second half turned into something of a stop-start affair, but Latton always held a slight edge and Scotstown’s cause wasn’t helped when they were reduced to 14 players with the red card dismissal of Emmet Caulfield midway through the half.
Latton used their numerical advantage well and hit Scotstown for vital scores on counter-attacks leaving the champions needing a goal if they were to have any chance of turning it around, but they simply lacked the penetration to breach the Latton rearguard.
Clontibret 1-13 Doohamlet 0-10
A sharper, more clinical Clontibret proved too strong for Doohamlet on Saturday.
The accuracy of Conor McManus was crucial to Clontibret’s victory as he registered eight points (four from frees), but the score that sent them on their way was a goal by Ryan McGuigan in the 23rd minute that helped them to a 1-6 to 0-5 half-time lead.
In the second half, Clontibret consolidated and by the end of the third quarter they had extended their lead to five points.
Doohamlet, driven on by county players Colin Walshe and Barry McGinn, continued to strive for openings but the Clontibret defence, in which Conor Boyle and Dessie Mone were outstanding, was in resolute mood.
Entering the final 10 minutes, Clontibret extended their lead to eight points following quickfire scores from McManus (two), and substitute Paul McGuigan.
Monaghan Harps 1-10 Castleblayney 0-11
Monaghan Harps, who reached the final last year, progressed to the next round when they disposed of the challenge of Castleblayney in Scotstown on Saturday.
Castleblayney led at half-time by 0-5 to 0-3, having started well and opened up a three-point lead after just nine minutes, but with both sides adopting a defensive approach, scores were at a premium from there on.
Harps put in a good start to the second-half and by the 12th minute they had reversed their two-point half-time deficit into a two-point lead with points from Shane Smyth (two) and one each from Gary White (free) and Neil McAdam.
Going into the final quarter, the sides were level but the Harps struck a vital blow in the 22nd minute when Gary White found the Castleblayney net.
Neil McAdam added a point to put them four in front and while Castleblayney outscored them by three points to one in the closing stages, they couldn’t penetrate the Harps defence for the goal they needed.
