TAKEN FROM DOWN DEMOCRAT

Monaghan 1-06 Down 2-01

They say a week is a long time in politics but the Down Minors found out that it can be an equally long one on the rollercoaster that is the Ulster Championship.
 

After an excellent display last week when they overcame Cavan in the preliminary round, Mark Turley’s side struggled to keep up to the task at hand and only managed to put three scores on the board.
 

These two sides had already met in this season’s Minor Football League which finished in a draw.
 

Last weeks exciting win over Cavan had the Mourne lads tagged as favourites going into the game. The midfield pairing of Eamon Toner and Conor Digney notched up an impressive 1-03 between them and Paul Devlin could do no wrong as he finished with a score of 0-05 to his credit.
 

A slight note of concern for Turley going into this game was the manner in which his side conceded two goals against a Cavan team who ended the game with 17 wides compared to five for Down.
 

Down got off to a whirlwind start and were two goals to the good after just four minutes. A poor clearance from Kieran Boyce in the Monaghan goal allowed Ben O’Reilly to make a vital interception before offloading the ball to Sean Murdoch.
 

The full forward switched a pass into Paul Devlin who ran in to put the ball past Boyce.
 

Two minutes later Rory Digney and Conor Poland were to the fore as Down won a battle for possession in midfield and forced the ball up to Christopher Killen who blasted home a second for Down.
 

Donal McNally responded with Monaghan’s first point after eight minutes as his side battled to stay with the early pace set by the Mourne lads.
 

Both sides applied a lot of pressure over the next 10 minutes but struggled to register a score on the board.
 

However, it seemed as if the Down forwards were under the most pressure to secure possession while their backline was kept busy by a Monaghan side who weren’t prepared to lie down and roll over.
 

After a period of sustained pressure during which Monaghan registered six wides, Down gave away a penalty.
 

The referee, Eugene McConnell from Tyrone, pointed to the spot after Conor Doyle committed a foul in the square.
 

Doyle was sent off and Mark McDevitt made no mistake with the penalty as he placed the ball firmly in the back of Kieran Gordon’s net.
 

The second half started with a change in referee following a hamstring injury to McConnell and Padraig Mullan from Antrim stepped into the breach.
 

The Monaghan full forward, Gary White, opened the scoring in the second half with a point from play after four minutes.
 

Two minutes later McDevitt and Galligan combined with some stylish passing to set White up for his second score of the evening.
 

Down’s only score of the second half came from a well taken Ben O’Reilly free from a tight angle in the left corner.
 

A David Hughes point from a free for Monaghan the scores level at 2-01 to 1-04 with five minutes gone in the second half.
 

Ben O’Reilly had a chance to put Down ahead but curled his free to the left and wide.
 

Hughes had another free on the left side and dropped it to the left of the goal where an awaiting Mark McBride did well under pressure to slot over for a point.
 

Kieran Gordon saved Down’s blushes when Donal McNally got in for a well placed shot on goal. The keeper did well and dived down on the ball to prevent it reaching the back of the net.
 

On the stroke of full time Kieran Hughes extended the advantage for Monaghan with a point from a free.
 

Conor Poland took a free and attempted to engineer a goal but instead the ball went wide and Monaghan secured their first championship win in two years and go forward to meet either Derry or Antrim in the Ulster semi-final.
 

Down: Kieran Gordon, Conor Doyle, Ryan Mallon, Niall Higgins, Ryan Boyle, Michael Higgins, Ryan McGovern, Ruairi Digney, Eamon Toner, Paul Devlin (1-00), Conor Poland, Ben O’Reilly (0-01), Christopher Killen (1-00), Sean Murdock, Anton McArdle. Subs: Declan Kavanagh for McArdle (30 mins), Owen Pyres for Murdock (42 mins), Damien Turley for O’Reilly (58 mins)
 

Monaghan: Kieran Boyce, Declan Farrell, Colm Greenan, Keith Hill, Mark McBride (0-01), Conor Galligan, Kieran Hughes (0-01), David Hughes (0-01), Emmet McArdle, Donal Hahessy, Mark McDevitt (1-00), Brian McArdle, Dermot Malone, Gary White (0-02), Donal McNally (0-01).
 

Subs: William Carroll for Hahessy (34 mins), Christopher Gallan for Emmet McArdle (45 mins