Monaghan v Derry

2022 - 5 - 15

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Image courtesy of "Irish Examiner"

Derry beat Monaghan to reach first Ulster final since 2011 (Irish Examiner)

After going a decade in which they won just one Ulster Championship game, Derry have now gone back to back to reach their first provincial final since 2011.

He put on the brakes, turned and slotted it to the very top corner for his second goal. Benny Heron and the excellent Ethan Doherty left Heron skating across the face of the goal. This came at a cost as he ambled into an advanced position and arrowed a pass to Niall Toner with Conor Boyle caught under the ball. The second goal came out of an unlikely source. Monaghan were struggling to get into scoring positions but after Ryan McAnespie forced a turnover on Conor Doherty, the ball was flung around until Micheál Bannigan was bearing down on goal. They were already 0-2 to no score up when Odhran Lynch got a quick kickout away from a Conor McManus wide.

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Image courtesy of "Independent.ie"

Derry stun Monaghan to book place in Ulster final for first time since ... (Independent.ie)

Just two weeks on from destroying Tyrone in Omagh, Rory Gallagher's team beat Monaghan today at Armagh's Athletic Grounds, leaving them a game away from a first ...

Shane McGuigan gave the Derry attack a focal point while Conor Glass was again exceptional in midfield and though Monaghan started the second half by scoring four of the first five points, three was as close as they got. As with Tyrone, they frustrated Monaghan beyond the point of distraction with a highly-organised, deep-sitting defence and hurt them early with a blistering running game built on the explosive legs of Gallagher’s young side. Four points was their margin today and saved for the early stages of the second half and right at the end, they were again clearly superior to their more-experienced, Division 1 opposition.

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Image courtesy of "The Irish Times"

Derry beat Monaghan and make statement of further intent (The Irish Times)

Instead, with Rory Gallagher shouting endlessly mad instructions from the side line, they came again, and a second goal from Heron on 61 minutes - edging in ...

We scored 17 points, and would have expected 17 points to win the game for us, but we conceded two very, very soft goals. On 55 minutes, a McManus free got them back to three, 2-9 to 0-12, and things looked like they were about to get interesting. “In the first half we got ourselves into a good position, Monaghan threw the kitchen sink at us but I felt we were always going to win the game. Only into the second half did they begin to gently rattle the best laid plans of Derry, the excellent Ryan McAnespie and Dessie Ward both scoring from play, Conor McManus taking every free that came his way. It’s a war with Rory Beggan and his kickouts, it’s a war on your own. After being up eight points late in the first half, thanks to two brilliant goals from Gareth McKinless and Benny Heron, a previous Derry team may well have winced.

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Image courtesy of "The Irish News"

Something special brewing as Derry take Monaghan's gift (The Irish News)

AS Conor McManus' two-minded free ballooned off to the left in stoppage time, Rory Gallagher turned to the Derry support gathered behind him and bellowed ...

Their willingness to do the hard yards was mightily impressive. Niall Kearns edged a brilliant battle with Conor Glass to lay a platform on which Monaghan created 13 scoring chances in the first 18 minutes of the half. McKinless broke a single half-hearted Carey tackle and was in to bury to the roof of Rory Beggan’s net, making it 1-2 to 0-0. For all Monaghan’s dominance in that spell, Derry were back seven points ahead, exactly where they’d started the half. Ryan McAnespie tried his heart out but it was only with the pre-half-time introductions of Karl O’Connell and Andrew Woods that they brought any fire. In the O’Neills superstore in Magherafelt last week, there was not a Derry jersey to be had for anyone between the ages of 4 and 11. But the punishment they’d already taken was too significant. Derry had sprung from the bushes but Monaghan had two weeks of them in full glare, primed to be shot at. The pace of their middle eight is phenomenal. Niall Toner judged the flight where Conor Boyle didn’t. Goalside, the Lavey man was calm. The bandwagon was loaded up, but would the wheels buckle? This is not the first big half they’ve failed to show up.

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Image courtesy of "Irish Mirror"

Rory Gallagher insists Derry are in it for the here and now after ... (Irish Mirror)

ANOTHER RORY Gallagher coup in a big Ulster Championship game. This may have been a surprise result at the Athletic Grounds today, but the orchestrator of ...

“It’s a war with Rory Beggan and his kickouts. “We could have had five goals. Monaghan penned Derry in for most of the second half after Derry had built a 2-7 to 0-6 half-time lead. This usually spells disaster, but their trojan efforts to get goal side of the ball and apply pressure was a huge factor in gaining and retaining control of the game. Derry lost five out of 10 of their own kickouts in the first half, and it was worse in the second half. “We knew they were a brilliant team and were going to throw everything at it, but delighted.” McKinless intercepted the resulting Monaghan kickout and was fouled for Shane McGuigan to knock over the free and Derry had a sensational 2-4 to 0-2 on 25 minutes. Derry already had a goal by then as Gareth McKinless took the ball at breakneck pace and smashed his shot to the roof of the net in the 12th minute. “Monaghan threw the kitchen sink at it but I felt we were always going to win the game. A dream first half showing, where they fired two goals and led by 2-7 to 0-6 at the break was the foundation. One Monaghan shot was blocked, another hit a post and two were dropped short, while Ethan Doherty pulled off a sensational tackle on Micheal Bannigan as he was about to pull the trigger. They were on the end of a Gallagher masterclass in the 2018 Ulster semi-final when Fermanagh caught Monaghan on the line with a last gasp Eoin Donnelly goal.

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