Tyrone retain Ulster SFC Title

Ulster Senior Football Championship Final:
Tyrone 1-14  Monaghan 0-07

Tyrone retained their Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship crown in impressive fashion, beating Monaghan by 1-14 to 0-7 on Sunday afternoon.

Monaghan, who were seeking their first provincial crown since 1987, were competitive in the first quarter and led by 0-4 to 0-3 after a Rory Woods score in the 19th minute.

However, the Red Hands assumed total control of the game and kicked four unanswered points to lead by 0-7 to 0-4 at the break.

Remarkably, Seamus McEnaney’s side were to go 41 minutes without a score as Tyrone moved six points clear with ten minutes to go.

Finally, Conor McManus’s second point of the afternoon ended a bleak spell for the Farney men and there fleeting hopes of a late comeback.

However, such fanciful thoughts were quickly ended when Tyrone’s Seán Cavanagh sent over his third point from play of the day to nudge his side clear again.

A Colm Cavanagh goal with five minutes left was mere window dressing as Tyrone wrapped up their first back-to-back Ulster titles since 1996.

Mickey Harte’s men restated their All-Ireland credentials with a superb display, but there was a tremendous sense of disappointment about Monaghan’s performance after the Farney men had blazed a trail through to the final with two fine performances.

Monaghan had goal chances at either end of the first half, but on each occasion they found Paschal McConnell in irressistible form.

Tommy Freeman was the first to test the Tyrone stopper in the opening minutes after Justin McMahon had dropped a high ball in the square. Just before the break, Freeman’s brother, Damien, had a go after his brilliant run opened up the Tyrone defence, but his shot failed to match the run and McConnell batted the ball away.

The opening quarter offered few signs of the trouble to come for Monaghan, as points from Tommy Freeman, Paul Finlay and Conor McManus sent them into an early lead.

Tyrone, however, moved through the gears in the second quarter and Darren Hughes nudged them a point clear in the 26th minute, before points from Seán Cavanagh and Davy Harte gave them a three-point lead at the break.

By the 48th minute, Tyrone had scored six points without reply and there was no way back for Monaghan, who saved a little face with late scores from Dessie Mone and Dick Clerkin, although Colm Cavanagh’s 65th minute goal gave the scoreline a more accurate reflection.

Tyrone Scorers: C Cavanagh 1-0, T McGuigan 0-1, C Gormley 0-1, B Dooher 0-1, D Hughes 0-1, P Jordan 0-1, S Cavanagh 0-3, M Penrose 0-3 (0-3f), Joe McMahon 0-1 (0-1f), D Harte.

Monaghan Scorers: T Freeman 0-1, P Finlay 0-1, C McManus 0-2 (0-2f), R Woods 0-1, D Clerkin 0-1, D Mone 0-1.