On Saturday last, the Monaghan Under16 Development Squad successfully retained The Buncrana Cup in a rainswept Donegal. The Buncrana Cup is the Ulster Council’s official competition for the U16 Academy Squads in each county. The format of the competition involves group stages that are made up of 3 groups of 3 counties in which each team play each other once. The winners from each group qualify straight into the semi finals, whilst the runners up must play off for the remaining semi-final spot. Monaghan qualified directly for the semi-final after topping their group back in May. Donegal and Armagh always qualified directly from the group stages. The final place in the semi-finals was secured by Derry who successfully came through the ‘back-door’ after they had finished as runners-up to Monaghan in the group stages.
The semi-finals and final of the competition both take place on the same day. Monaghan were drawn to play Armagh in the semi-final and this game took place in the grounds of the St Patrick’s Club in Muff. After electing to play against the win in the first half, Monaghan started well with Hugh McGinn winning the throw in. The resulting move resulted in a point from Corduff’s Sean Burns. Armagh equalised soon after from a sideline ball and they then went ahead from a pointed free. By the tenth minute, Monaghan drew level through another Burns point. Armagh hit back almost immediately with another point to give them a 3 points to 2 lead. Monaghan had made a very tentative start to the game and it wasn’t until Donaghmoyne’s Cormac O Connor rattled the net directly from a free in the 12th minute that the team started to get into their stride. Monaghan then went on to hit 1-3 without reply in the remaining 13 minutes of the half. The goal came from Robbie McAlister whilst Eddie Walsh, David Hanley and Hugh McGinn kicked a point each from play to leave the half-time score as 2-5 to 0-3 in Monaghan’s favour.
Monaghan continued where they left off in the 2nd half and added another 2-5 from play before Armagh scored again. The goals came firstly from the elusive McAlister and then Dean Connolly finished brilliantly to put the game well beyond the reach of Armagh. Cormac O Connor and McAlister added a point each to their own personal tallies for the day, whilst the other three points in this period came from Aaron Mohan, Paul Monaghan and Abraham Dixon. Armagh managed a goal and a point before the end of the game, before Tommy Monaghan scored possibly the best score of the game to leave the final score as 4-12 to 1-4.
With Derry defeating Donegal on a scoreline of 2-8 to 1-9 in the other semi-final, both teams made their way towards the Buncrana GAA grounds for an eagerly awaited rematch following a fiery group stage encounter in May.
Monaghan’s management kept faith with the same team that started the semi-final. The first half was played in difficult conditions with heavy showers of rain taking place throughout the half. Although Monaghan dominated proceedings throughout the first half, they failed to make this dominance count on the scoreboard and spurned a number of good goal-scoring opportunities. Robbie McAlister scored the first point of the game in the 2nd minute. Derry equalised from a free, before McAlister put Monaghan in front again. This was again cancelled out by a Derry free. McAlister put Monaghan a point to the good again in the 13th minute, but 2 minutes later the sides were level again. Killany’s Dean Connolly restored Monaghan’s lead in the 19th minute. Derry went ahead for the first time and only of the game with a brace of points, but another McAlister point left the sides at 5 points each at half time.
Despite the tough playing conditions, Monaghan had played extremely well in the first off and as a result had to change very little at the break. The only change, which was of a tactical nature, saw the introduction of Aaron Mohan into the forward line. Mohan made an immediate impact on the game when he powered through the Derry defence and rifled the ball into the bottom corner of the Derry net from 20 yards after only 2 minutes of the half. Unfortunately for Monaghan, the sides were level within 2 minutes when Derry scored a goal of their own. Aaron Mohan and Sean Burns put two between the sides but by the 8th minute, Derry were back within a point again. However, it was at this stage of the game that Monaghan really began to flex their muscle and exert pressure all over the field. FIve unanswered points from Cormac O Connor (2), Aaron Mohan (2) and Robbie McAlister give Monaghan a commanding lead as the clock ran down. A Derry point left 5 points between the team as the game enterred injury time. However, the awarding and conversion of a dubious penalty to Derry left for a very nervy ending with just two points between the teams. From the resulting kickout, Aghabog’s Oisin Gleeson, who impressed when introduced, won the breaking ball and gave possession to Monaghan that allowed them to see the game out. As the final whistle blew, the final score read 1-12 to 2-7 in favour of the farney men.
Great credit must go to this Monaghan team for the style of football and the manner of their victories. They played with unmatched intensity and hunger throughout both games. A trademark of this team is the willingness of the forward line to put the opposition defence on the backfoot through a high-pressing game. This desire to work hard does not take away from the great attacking flair shown by the team. At a time when the intercounty game is under constant criticism for the prevalence of a defensive style dominated with hand-passing, this Monaghan team bucked the trend with outstanding attacking played characterised by an extremely high standard of kick-passing. The Buncrana Cup was accepted on behalf of the team by its inspirational captain Josh Walsh. It is worth noting that the panel of 33 players has representatives from 20 different clubs which represents the great work being done by clubs all across the county
Starting Line-up: Thomas Marron (Aughnamullen); Kalum McKenna (Truagh), Karl McMennamin (Carrickmacross), Padraig Meehan(Scotstown); Conor Doyle (Clontibret), Josh Walsh(Faughs), Jack Gormley (Clontibret); Ryan Mohan (Truagh), Hugh McGinn (Doohamlet); Dean Connolly (Killanny), David Hanley (Cremartin), Ed Walsh(Killanny); Cormac O Connor (Donaghmoyne), Robbie McAlister(Emyvale), Sean Burns(Corduff).
Panel: Shane McKenna(Truagh),Cian McCarney (Clones), Rigan McAree (Eire Og), Tommy Monaghan(Eire Og), Aaron Mohan (Truagh), Kevin Murphy(Currin), James Treanor (Truagh), Oran Martin (Donaghmoyne), Matthew Ward (Ballybay), Niall Ward (Mon Harps), Tommy Croarkin (Mon Harps), Oisin Gleeson (Aghabog), Paul Monaghan (Eire Og), Colum Claisse (Scotstown), Barry Kiernan (Magheracloone), Conor McCabe (Latton), Jamie Shields (Monaghan Harps), Abraham Dixon (Ballybay)
Team Management: Paul Curran (Clontibret), Mark Duffy (Scotstown), Padraig Treanor (Truagh), Colin Malone (Ballybay), Conor Fadian (Clontibret)
