Monaghan Senior Ladies Lift Fifth Ulster Title

Monaghan lifted their fifth O’Harte Cup with a convincing victory over Armagh on Sunday, July 11 in St Tiernach’s Park, Clones. The Oriel girls dominated from start to finish with a very good all round team performance.

Both finalists already met in this years round robin format championship, Monaghan coming out top in all of their games, and have gone through the 2010 provincial competition undefeated. Armagh could have beaten them when they played each other last month, but this time round, Monaghan always looked in control, and once they built up a lead right from the start, they never relinquished it.

All six Monaghan forwards scored yesterday, while their defence were on top throughout. Manager Barry McLoughlin was forced to rejig is team for the final and as expected Sharon Courtney stepped up into the middle of the park alongside Nicola Fahy to replace Amanda Casey, while he moved Aoife McAnespie, who had been played most of this year at wing-half back, to corner forward, where she hit 0-1. Indeed it was the McAnespie sisters, Ciara and Aoife, along with Ellen McCarron and teenager Laura McEnaney, daughter of Monaghan county manager Seamus Banty McEnaney, and full-forward Catriona McConnell who did most of the damage in the first half. However, Caroline OHanlons goal right on the half-time hooter gave Armagh some hope as she reduced the deficit to five at the break instead of the eight it had looked like.

Monaghan raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead in the first five minutes, with McEnaney pointing either side of one from Ciara McAnespie. Mags McAlinden opened Armaghs scoring with a point, but Monaghans lead was extended once again with a point apiece from the boot of Catriona McConnell and McEnaney again. Two points for the Orchard county, one from centre-half forward Shauna OHagan and the other from McAlinden with a point from Catriona McConnell in between left three between the sides.

All three half-forwards made it onto the scoreboard when Ellen McCarron raised the white flag before her team-mate McConnell put the ball past goalkeeper Catherine McAlinden for the games first goal

after 27 minutes and the Oriel girls went 1-7 to 0-3 ahead. The scoreboard soon read 1-8 to 0-3. However, when Armagh needed that lift right on the stroke of half-time, midfielder Caroline OHanlon, who was one of the Orchard countys outstanding performers, had the umpire raise the green flag as the ball found the back of the net and Monaghans lead had been cut 1-8 to 1-3.

The second half saw both teams score five points each. Three points in a row in the space of six minutes in the games final quarter saw Armagh reduce the deficit to four points from seven, but that was as close as they came.

McConnell and McAlinden exchanged a couple of scores at the start of the second half before a brace from Monaghan through substitute Rachel McKenna and Ciara McAnespie  put them 1-11 to 1-4 ahead with 15 minutes gone. Then came the three on the trot from Armagh – two from McAlinden and one from OHanlon and with seven minutes remaining Armagh trailed 1-11 to 1-7. However, they could not dent the gap any more as Therese McNally added a further Monaghan point and player-of- the-final Ciara McAnespie wrapped up yet another Ulster title.

MONAGHAN: L Martin, M Treanor, Y Connell, C Reilly, A Newell, I Kieran, L Connolly, N Fahy, S Courtney, L McEnaney (0-3), E McCarron (0-1) C McAnespie (0-3), T McNally (0-1), C McConnell (1-3), A McAnespie (0-1)

Subs: R McKenna (0-1) for M Treanor, H Bowe for N Fahy, S McCooey for E McCarron

ARMAGH: C McAlinden, C Marley, D Mallon, R OReilly, M Moriarty, L  Brown, G McAlinden, C OHanlon (1-1), S Marley, M ODonnell (0-1), S OHagan (0-1), M McGuinness, M McAlinden (0-5), K Mallon, S Reel

Subs: A McKenna for R ORiley, L McArdle for C Marley, A Matthews for S Reel