All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Quarter-Final
Monaghan v Tipperary, Monday, 3.00, Longford
After the euphoria of winning Monaghan’s first Ulster MFC title since 1945, Monaghan are still two wins away from reaching an All-Ireland final and they will face a stern test from Tipperary, who pushed Kerry all the way in the Munster decider despite playing half of the game with 14 men.
Tipperary have been strong at minor football level in recent years, most notably when they won the All-Ireland in 2011, and the 2013 crop are no different. Having beaten Clare in the opening round, Tipp then continued their impressive recent underage record against Cork in the semi-finals and luck was not on their side in the provincial decider against Kerry, when the Premier County felt aggrieved at some refereeing decisions.
Meanwhile, Monaghan beat Antrim and Cavan to qualify for their second consecutive Ulster final, where they came from eight points down to pip Tyrone in an amazing finish, firing in 2-6 in the last ten minutes.
Monaghan will once again be looking to their forwards to lead them through. Having scored a total of 21-98 in eight competitive matches this year – an average of more than 20 points – Monaghan have the firepower to do the business, but only if they can compete at midfield.
Fearghal McMahon’s 2-6 last time out, including that dramatic late penalty, took his total for the championship to 4-16 and his competitive tally this year to 5-28 from seven appearances. Ryan McAnespie will once again be a crucial link between defence and attack, while Monaghan will hope that Conor McCarthy and Adam Treanor can return to top form after they were kept relatively quiet by Tyrone.
Barry McGinn and Dónal Meegan will both be pushing for places in the forward line after they came off the bench to score two goals and two points respectively in the Ulster final. Midfield presents a conundrum to the Monaghan management, with Niall Loughman, Micheál McCarville and Seán McMahon all in contention to partner David McAlister, while Kevin Loughran and Aodh Curran are also capable of lining out in the centre. Monaghan have played the same six defenders in their last five competitive matches, from the Ulster league semi-final on, so Frank Brady and co. will be reluctant to break up the back-line, despite the impact team captain Loughran made when released from full-back in the closing stages against Tyrone.
Tipperary will be looking for big performances from the likes of Colin O’Riordan, Liam Casey, Alan Tynan, Ross Mulcahy and Paul Shanahan and they will have Josh Keane available after his double-booking in the Munster final.
Released from the pressures of ending the Ulster title famine, the shackles should be off for Monaghan on Monday. Tipperary will present a serious challenge, but if Monaghan perform for the hour, they have the potential to move on to the semi-final stage and get their shot at playing at Croke Park.
By cshalvey Mon 5th Aug
