GAA: Lonan Maguire and James Connolly lead Monaghan

Maguire, Connolly lead Monaghan

When Keith Lang drilled a brilliant score from wide on the right it was now a three point game with six minutes left.  Holohan had another score to pull the deficit even closer, but timely clearances by Monaghan with Eugene O’Hagan and Maguire quelled attacks.

They were starting to need a goal, but even Connolly was now in the rear guard to clog up the area and it worked. 

The last minute of the game was marred by a nasty incident between the two benches with O’Connell getting a red, but it all started when a Monaghan sub got involved with a player on the field which didn’t help matters. That being said, Monaghan held on to secure their leap to the next level.

For the winners, Shaun Boyle, Caoimhin O’Callaghan and Lonan Maguire were all excellent at the back. O’Callaghan had a very good second half. Maguire was all over the shop and was in the man of the match ratings.

Monaghan just shaded the middle of the park with Dessie Mallon their most consistent over the hour. His point was a gem. Nicky Scott was tremendous, a very strong runner while also slotting three points.

James Connolly didn’t have the greatest day from frees but he more than made up for it with his open play. Fergal Mulvanny had an important point off the bench.

Celtics will look at the performances of Dan O’Connell and Anthony Holohan, who was outstanding with his kicking, as prominent.  Richie Morgan was dangerous on the ball while Keith Lang certainly did well in his 20 or so minutes on the field.

The bracelet system didn’t work in this one. All players had them installed at the start to prove their legality to play in the game. In the second half it was hard to see even one Celtic player with a strap. Hard to fathom.

Certainly the officer of the day should have been involved, but it was difficult to tell who that was either.

It was good to see the junior final on a Sunday card. Over the year the KO junior final was on a Tuesday evening, the KO intermediate on a Thursday, while the senior KO final hasn’t even been played yet. The intermediate championship final is on a Saturday evening.

Yes the senior final will be on a Sunday also. Two out of six. Batting .333 is good for baseball, but only there.

Celtics: 1 Kevin McArdle, 2 Rory Creegan, 3 Ger McCullough, 4 Dermot O’Sullivan, 5 Sean Coyle, 6 Joe Bishop, 7 Darren McDermott, 8 Dan O’Connell (1-0), 9 Derek McKenna, 10 Gary Nugent (0-1), 11 Anthony Holohan (1-5), 12 Mike Burke, 13 Kenny Cox (1-0), 14 Danny O’Sullivan, 15 Richie Morgan. Subs: Keith Lang, John McArdle.

Monaghan: 1 Sean McMullan, 2 James O’Brien, 3 Shaun Boyle, 4 Niall McKenna, 5 Lonan Maguire (0-3), 6 Bonny Duffy, 7 Caoimhin O’Callaghan, 8 Dessie Mallon (0-1), 9 Brendan Finn, 10 Sean McKenna, 11 Nicky Scott (0-3), 12 Brian Annette, 13 Dave Harvey (1-0), 14 James Connolly (1-4), 15 Ross Connolly. Subs: Fergal Mulvanney (0-1), Robbie O’Neill, Eugene O’Hagan.

Man of the match: Lonan Maguire (Monaghan).
Referee: Steven Cassels.

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