Monaghan and Tyrone Ladies in Ulster Final

This year’s TG4 Ulster senior final will see holders Monaghan meet last year’s All Ireland runners up Tyrone in Clones on Sunday 10th July. Games between these two are always close and a mouth-watering encounter can be expected.

Reigning champions Monaghan changed their management earlier this year and so far new man Gregory Mc Gonigle and his team have had a pretty good year. They went through the round robin stages of the league undefeated. They went out of the competition at the semi final stages losing to Laois. Despite this the league campaign was a good one. Some new players were brought into the squad and the players adapted to a new style of play pretty quickly. En route to the Ulster final Monaghan have had the benefit of two games however through no fault of their own these were pretty easy wins. In the preliminary round game they met Armagh in a repeat of last years final. The Orchard girls had no answer to a rampant Farney forward line and Monaghan advanced 4-16 to 0-4. Nine different players scored that day and next up was Down in the semi final. The Mourne girls also suffered a heavy defeat 5-12 to 1-5. Cathriona Mc Connell was missing for that game having gone to the USA however a new star emerged for the Monaghan side as 18 year old Caoimhe Mohan contributed 4-4. Several subs were used and all done well. Mc Gonigle might have selection problems ahead of the final but it’s a problem he is more than happy with.

Despite reaching the All Ireland final in 2010 Tyrone changed their management this season. Former minor supremo Martina Dillon was given the reigns and throughout the league she gave several young players their red hand senior debuts. While the league campaign was relatively poor it gave Dillon a chance to stamp her ideas on the squad. Her first major test was in the semi final against a strong Donegal side which had won the 2010 Division 2 league title. As predicted it was a tight game and it was no surprise when the teams end level after the sixty minutes. In extra time the red hand girls showed their experience, especially their All Star quartet. Sinead Mc Laughlin was excellent in defence while in the forward line Cathy Donnelly (1-2), Gemma Begley (4- 3) Joline Donnelly (0-8) contributed handsomely as they won 6-17 to 6-10. Tyrone last won the Ulster title in 2009 and will have no fear facing Monaghan. After losing last years semi to Armagh the Red Hand girls would much rather advance to the All Ireland series as Provincial winners.

ULSTER INTERNATIONAL FINAL

Neighbours Cavan and Fermanagh will contest this year’s intermediate decider which will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Tyrone v Monaghan senior final. Like the senior game this one is a hard one to call. This season Cavan played a league division above Fermanagh however the erne girls did reach the Division 3 final and while they didn’t win they earned promotion. In Sharon Little they still possess a match winner as she consistently racks up big scores and will be key to the outcome of the decider. Cavan on the other hand had an average league campaign however they did deservedly defeat the All Ireland champions Dublin. While Fermanagh may have a game winner in Little the Breffni side also have a deadly forward in Aisling Doonan. With that said they are by no means a one woman side. A few weeks back Donna English and Grainne Smith were part of the Ulster side and comfortably played alongside those players from senior counties. A few years back the sides drew in the final at the Athletic Grounds and in the replay Fermanagh just edged it. Cavan will have that in the back of their minds however if they both sides play like they did then the crowd will be in for a treat regardless who wins.