Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Quarter-Final
Monaghan 0-12 Tipperary 0-9 5/8/13
Monaghan are through to the All-Ireland MFC semi-finals after they battled past Tipperary in Monday’s quarter-final in Longford. Monaghan trailed for most of the first half when playing against the wind, but they gained the upper hand quickly after the restart and maintained a narrow lead through to the final whistle. Ryan McAnespie, Conor McCarthy, Kevin Loughran, Fearghal McMahon, Mikey Murnaghan and Michael O’Dowd played key roles for Monaghan, while Alan Tynan, Colin O’Riordan and Ross Mulcahy led Tipperary’s challenge.
Tipperary got the first score from a 30-metre free by Alan Tynan after a foul on Colin O’Riordan and they doubled their lead through Paul Shanahan, following a clever pass by Josh Keane. Conor McCarthy, who had earlier threatened a goal with a strong run, opened Monaghan’s account with a well-taken point, but a short ’45 by O’Riordan allowed Tynan to tap one over for Tipp, who moved three clear when Liam Casey fired over at the end of a driving run. Fearghal McMahon got one back for Monaghan, who soon had another point thanks to Michael O’Dowd, following a quick free by Barry McGinn, but 14 scoreless minutes followed for both teams until Tynan converted a 40-metre free for a foul on Shanahan.
Josh Keane had another scoreable free for Tipperary, which hit an upright, while O’Dowd was off-target from a chance at the other end. Monaghan then had a goal chance for McAlister at the end of a move involving McMahon and Kevin Loughran, but Tipperary keeper Jack Brady made a good save, with the rebound eventually falling for McCarthy to reduce the half-time deficit to the minimum: 0-5 to 0-4.
McCarthy linked up with Aodh Curran to kick his third point three minutes into the second half, before McMahon curled over a 25-metre free, after Kevin Fahey had over-carried, to edge Monaghan ahead for the first time. O’Dowd added a fine score after a pass from Desmond Ward, but Paul Maher responded for Tipp after a one-two with O’Riordan. Tynan converted a 30-metre free after Kevin Loughran had been harshly penalised for a tackle on the Tipp corner-forward, but McCarthy hit back and Ryan McAnespie added a great score at the end of an attack which saw him drive out of his own half and exchange passes with Mikey Murnaghan.
Tynan tapped over a 13-metre free for a foul on Gerry Cronin to make it a one-point game, but McMahon replied after a pass by substitute Adam Treanor. Monaghan survived a nervy moment when Loughran blocked Stephen Quirke and Cronin fired a shot off the crossbar, but a foul on McAlister allowed McMahon to land a 30-metre free and Treanor tagged on a score from play. O’Riordan caught a high free to fire a late point for Tipp after O’Dowd had been sent off on a second yellow card, but Monaghan held on to win by three and set up a semi-final against Mayo on August 25.
Monaghan: C Forde; S Treanor, K Loughran (Capt.), P McArdle; A Kieran, A Curran, M Brown; M Murnaghan, D Ward; R McAnespie (0-1), D McAlister (0-1), M O’Dowd (0-2); C McCarthy (0-4), B McGinn, F McMahon (0-4, 2f).
Subs: C Martin for S Treanor (19 mins), D Meegan for Kieran (36), A Treanor for McGinn (46), M Magee for Curran (60).
Temporary sub: M Magee for Meegan (49-60).
Tipperary: J Brady; J Feehan, D Owens, W Connors; C Lowry, R Mulcahy, K Fahey; L Casey (0-1), C O’Riordan (Capt., 0-1); P Shanahan (0-1), J Keane, P Louram; A Tynan (0-5, 4f), T Kirwan, P Maher (0-1).
Subs: S Quirke for Kirwan (38), M Russell for Casey (50), G Cronin for Louram (52), for Connors (inj., 53), T Nolan for Shanahan (63).
Referee: S Hehir (Galway).
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By cshalvey Mon 5th Aug
