Minors more than a match for Monaghan in shield semi

Tyrone 3-10  Monaghan 1-5

A STRONG second half performance helped Tyrone see off Monaghan and reach the Ulster GAA football Minor Shield play-off final at a blustery Garvaghey on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Hands had a comfortable win, despite a tight 40 minutes, which saw only a single point separating the teams with 20 minutes remaining.

The Red Hands would go on to score 2-4 without reply, keeping Monaghan scoreless in the final third of
the game.

The away side actually opened the scoring in the fifth minute through the impressive Cian Rafferty but would
go on to concede a goal and two points in the next three minutes.

Lorcan McMurray and Peter Colton for Tyrone both scored frees, followed by a brilliant goal by Sean Corry who
won the ball off the Monaghan defence and finished to the Farney net with the aid of the post.

Monaghan showed resilience and responded brilliantly with a goal of their own as Cian Rafferty caught a high ball, turned well and smashed the ball to the net to leave a point between the sides after 15 minutes.

The Ulster sides would swap scores through Lorcan McMurray and Killian Kearns respectively and both missed great goal chances.

Sean Corry almost got his second goal of the contest but a last ditch block by Monaghan defender Pauric Carville denied the Tyrone player.

Minutes later, Red Hands keeper Oisin Watson made a fantastic low diving save to deny Evan Treanor.
Tyrone’s direct running from deep was beginning to cause Monaghan a lot of trouble, Davin McKeown, Jamie
Concannon and Sean Corry particularly.

The home side would make this count on the scoreboard, scoring three of the last four points in the first half to lead by three at the break.

Monaghan began the second half well and kicked the opening two scores through a Killian Kearns free and a long range point from Evan Treanor as yet again the minimum was left among the sides. Defenders Mark McCaffrey and Stephen Hamill both impressed for the Farney outfit in that period.

It looked like this game was destined to be a nailbiter going into the latter stages, but Tyrone began to dominate around the middle of the pitch, Aodhan Quinn and Fionn McHugh winning a number of possessions and feeding the quality forwards inside the final third.

Tyrone forward Peter Colton would score the next two points to extend his side’s lead to three points, one coming
from a free and the other from an outside of the boot shot.

Tyrone’s dominance began to show as they extended their lead to six points in the 48th minute of the tie as substitute Shea Munroe collected the ball 20 metres from goal and finished low to the net.

Tyrone’s high press was continuing to cause Monaghan major problems as the young Farney side struggled to get the ball out of their own half and Liam McGeary and Sean Corry both adding points from play.

A magnificent pass from the influential Aodhan Quinn resulted in Tyrone’s third goal and last score of the game as Liam McGeary finished well.

In the end, a resounding win for the Red Hand minors who now look to pick up their first silverware of the season.

THE SCORERS
Tyrone
Peter Colton (0-4, 3F), Lorcan McMurray (0-4, 2F), Sean Corry (1-1), Liam McGeary (1-1), Shea Munroe (1-0).
Monaghan
Cian Rafferty (1-1), Killian Kearns (0-2, 2F), Darcy Fox (0-1, 1F), Evan
Treanor (0-1).
THE TEAMS
Tyrone
Oisin Watson, Davin McKeown, Paul McGinley, Jamie Concannon, Padraig Donaghy, Sean Og Teague, Sean Corry, Fionn McHugh, Padraig Goodman, Darragh Devlin, Liam McGeary, Aodhan Quinn, Lorcan McMurray, Enda Donaghy, Peter Colton.
Monaghan
Shane Clerkin, Mark McCaffrey, Conor Meehan, Stephen Hamill, Pauric Carville, Andrew Stewart, Cian Rafferty, Senan Carolin, Killian Kearns, Simon Du Plessis, Cathal McElwain, Evan Treanor, Charlie Mone, Darcy Foy, Tristen
Nugent.

Referee: Neill McGeown (Armagh).