AIB ULSTER GAA FOOTBALL INTERMEDIATE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL Cookstown 1-11 Monaghan Harps 1-9 Two points in stoppage time were the scores that denied Monaghan Harps a place in the final of the Ulster intermediate football club championship as Cookstown edged through to the decider in a game where each side dominated in either half. Monaghan Harps had made a great second-half recovery following an indifferent first period and they had Cookstown on the rack by the end of the third quarter but a few missed chances that could have seen them create a cushion at that stage kept Cookstown in the match and they capitalised late on to book their place in the final. Overall Cookstown were the more experienced team and in the final analysis that experience worked as it was players like Barry Mulligan, Owen Mulligan and a Martin Murray who made the difference in the end. For Monaghan Harps it was a game of two distinct halves, the first when they struggled to establish a foothold in the game and the concession of a gift goal definitely rattled them as they were going in at the break six points in arrears. In the second half they were a transformed side and a goal and four points without reply between the third and 14th minutes saw them come from being six in arrears to one in front. Cookstown levelled in the 14th minute and then took the lead in the 20th minute but with three minutes of normal time remaining Monaghan Harps were back on level terms although that period had also seen them squander four good chances as well as being turned over on a couple of occasions as well. Barry Mulligan who was Cookstown's best player on the day and one of the best players on view restored the Tyrone champions to the lead as the stopwatch turned into injury time and following an untidy period and another missed chance by the Harps, Cookstown wrapped it up with a point in the 5th minute of injury time and the Harp's disappointment compounded when they had Emmet McArdle red carded following a scuffle. Monaghan Harps got off to a bright start and applied early pressure but they could not convert that pressure into scores and it was Cookstown who opened the scoring with a point by Martin Murray in the 14th minute following good work by Owen Mulligan. Murray was one of the playmakers for Cookstown and he had been delegated a roving commission, popping up in all sorts of places too help Cookstown establish themselves in the match. Owen Mulligan had a hand in a move in the fourth minute that was finished off by Jason Quinn to put the Tyrone champions two in front with Mulligan then having a chance himself to extend that lead from a very scoreable free but his effort was off target. Neil McAdam drove forward to create a chance for the Harps, he drew the foul and Nicholas Treanor came up from his cornerback position to convert to open the Harp's account in the eighth minute. The Harps now suffered something of a setback when a Cookstown attack was broken up and the ball was played to keeper Gerard Gilsenan but his pass out of defence went straight into the hands of Barry Mulligan who lobbed into an empty net to put Cookstown four points in front. Martin Murray had a chance from a free two minutes later but he too was off target and it was then the turn of Monaghan Harps to be in wasteful mood with two chances wide either side of the goals and another effort from a free by Donal Hahessy dropping short to the Cookstown keeper. The final minute of the opening quarter saw the Harps awarded a free which was taken quickly by Shane Coyle to place Neil McAdam who broke through the cover to reduce the deficit to three. Four minutes later Cookstown had the margin back to four points with Christopher Eastwood finishing off a good move that was started by Barry Hughes and helped on by Barry Mulligan and Raymond Mulgrew. The Harps responded with a point from a free by Donal Hahessy following a foul on Dean Fanning to leave three points between the sides with nine minutes of normal time remaining. In those final nine minutes though, Cookstown consolidated with points by Martin Murray in the 24th minute and a brilliantly struck individual effort from distance by Barry Mulligan in the 28th minute to leave six points between the sides at half-time. That margin though, might have been greater as Cookstown were guilty of three further wides, two from frees by Owen Mulligan that would have left the Harps with more to do in the second-half. As it was they faced a six points deficit at the break, Cookstown 1-6, Monaghan Harps 0-3. Monaghan Harps brought in Ronan Garvey in place of Ashley White at the start of the second half and Cookstown replaced Christopher Eastwood with Conor Mullan. Cookstown mounted an early attack but it was Monaghan Harps who took control from the early stages with two points from frees by Donal Hahessy in the third and fourth minutes following fouls on Stephen McAleer and Ronan Garvey although the move involving Stephen McAleer might well have finished in the back of the net had the referee played the advantage. Monaghan Harps were coming more into the game around midfield now and seven minutes into the second-half Neil McAdam sent in a high centre that was broken down by Ronan Garvey and Dean Fanning applied an excellent finish from close range to reduce the margin to the minimum and Monaghan Harps were now right back in the game. Ten minutes into the second-half Monaghan Harps were back on level terms, Nicholas Treanor initiating the move, Neil McAdam carrying it further and Donal Hahessy delivering the final pass to Shane Smith. At the other end Cookstown were in wasteful mood again with a long ball in looking for Owen Mulligan overshooting the mark. A minute later in the 12th Monaghan Harps took the lead for the first time the match when David Hughes capitalised on broken play to flash over a good score. Cookstown were now stung into greater action but Conor Mullan's snapshot in the 13th minute was off target with Gerard Gilsenan then making some amends in the 14th minute when he took of a good save from Jason Quinn after excellent work by Brian and Barry Mulligan. Cookstown though followed through to win possession from the rebound and Raymond Mulgrew capitalised to bring the Tyrone champions level. Monaghan Harps had two chances to retake the lead, Shane Smith well placed from a quick free by Stephen McAleer but his shot just curled wide and Colm Reilly was also off target although Cookstown were suffering similarly when two efforts on counter attacks were also off target. With 10 minutes of normal time remaining Cookstown re-took the lead with a point from a free by Owen Mulligan, an indiscretion that saw Stephen McAleer issued with a yellow card and Mulligan who had missed a couple of opportunities at the end of the first half from frees found the range again in the 22nd minute to put Cookstown two points in front. Monaghan Harps redoubled their efforts and a good attack down the left wing saw Shane Smith release Nicholas Scott who split the posts to leave the minimum between the sides with three minutes of normal time remaining Nicholas Treanor converted a free after Martin Murray had been adjudged to have over-carried but only after two further efforts had been off target, chances that could then have seen Monaghan Harps back in front. The final three minutes of normal time saw both sides squander chances before Barry Mulligan capped a fine individual performance when he latched on to a cross by Martin Murray just on the 30 minute mark to restore the Father Rocks side to the lead. Monaghan Harps came in search of an equaliser and Nicholas Treanor was just outside the post after Dean Fanning had won good possession under pressure. Cookstown won possession from the kick out and were driving forward when a foul by Emmett McArdle sparked a scuffle involving a number of players from both sides with McArdle picking up a straight red card. When the referee had restored order he awarded a penalty to Cookstown which centre back Barry Hughes drove over the bar five minutes into stoppage time to send his side through to the final with two points to spare and Monaghan Harps left wondering just what might have been. Teams and Scorers: Cookstown: Martin Rea, Ryan Pickering, Stephen Monaghan, Paul McGurk, Shea McGarrity, Barry Hughes 0-1 (pen), Conor O'Hare, Gary Fitzpatrick, Raymond Mulgrew 0-1, Jason Quinn 0-1, Barry Mulligan 1-2, Brian Mulligan, Christopher Eastwood 0-1, Owen Mulligan 0-2 (2f0, Martin Murray 0-2. Subs: Philip Kelly for C O'Hare, Conor Mullan for C Eastwood, Patrick Kelly for B Mulligan, Brian O'Neill for G Fitzpatrick. Monaghan Harps: Gerard Gilsenan, Nicholas Treanor, Stephen Driver, Conor Galligan, Ashley White, David Hughes 0-1, Neil McAdam, Shane Coyle, Stephen McAleer, Emmet McArdle, Donal Hahessy 0-4 (2f), Nicholas Scott 0-1, Stephen Creighan, Dean Fanning 1-0, Shane Smith 0-1. Subs: Ronan Garvey for A White, Colm Reilly for S Creighan. Referee: Martin McErlane (Derry). REACTION. Relief and disappointment would best sum up the feelings in the respective camps at the end of last Sunday's intriguing Ulster club intermediate championship semi-final as Monaghan Harps staged a magnificent second-half recovery that almost saw them clinch a place in the final. Monaghan Harps looked in dire straits at half-time when they trailed by six points having handed Cookstown a gift wrapped goal in the 10th minute but they were a transformed team in the second-half and took the lead on a couple of occasions and looked in a position to push on. Cookstown boss Chris Lawn, a former Tyrone player had seen his side restricted to just two scores in the second-half and he breathed a sigh of relief at the final whistle. "We started very well today, it's something we have been working hard on but we still need to be more consistent and if we get that pinned down we would be fit for most teams that we will come up against". The goal in the first half gave his side a distinct advantage but he had seen his team pushed all the way in the second period and felt that perhaps it was looking a little bit too easy. "The second half was a wee bit disappointing for us because I think maybe there was a degree of complacency but we stressed that at half time, that we could take nothing for granted because we were up against a very good team. I have to say though I always felt that if we were still in the hunt with 10 minutes to go then we would have a good chance because I put a lot of faith in these lads and I put a lot of trust in them". On the game itself he felt that the performance of Barry Mulligan was central and he described him as "the true leader of this team at the moment. It was tight around the middle. Teams are being set up very defensively now so you've got to be taking your scores from distance. Thankfully we have a couple of boys who can do that and Barry is one of them. He had a big influence and we were certainly glad of it and needed it". Monaghan Harps manager Declan McArdle agreed that it was disappointing because the game was there for the taking but his side were just pipped at the finish. "Yes it was and we did put in a great second-half because we came from being six points down at half-time and we even took the lead by a point twice, so it is disappointing but in the end I think it was the experience of the opposition that counted. Cookstown are a very experienced side and they made that count and they came out at the end of it. We did have a couple of scoring opportunities after we had wiped out their half-time lead and maybe a wee bit more experience at this level would have seen us move on but I have to give credit to the lads, they put up a great second half". McArdle agreed that his side took a little time to settle and that things weren't going all that well, but then giving away a goal in the manner in which they did was a bad blow. "Yes it was a disappointing one to concede and it would have really been the difference in the game but then with the strong breeze and the strength of the opposition it took us the half hour to get to terms with them. However when we regrouped at half-time, I think the boys played the football that I know and that they know they are capable of". Monaghan Harps had used a number of substitutes during the second-half and Declan McArdle agreed that they did have an impact. "We brought Ronan Garvey in and playing him on the square definitely paid dividends because we were able to play a direct ball in and that was causing them problems. We got our goal from a knockdown of a ball and at that stage we had them on the rack because we were coming strong but ultimately they held out but I suppose maybe we let them off the hook a bit when we missed a couple of scoring chances at vital times". Declan McArdle agreed it was also disappointing that they had a player sent off in the latter stages, something he feels could have an impact on his side's prospects of completing the double in intermediate ranks in Monaghan. "It was very disappointing, it's always disappointing to have a player sent off but these things happen. We still have a lot of football to play in Monaghan this year and we can ill afford to have anyone missing because we will need everyone with the games we have left. It has been a good season but this is all a yardstick by which we can measure ourselves and assess how we may do in senior football in Monaghan next year and if we can get that standard we will be able to compete in senior football next year. That's the way we looked at this competition to make sure that we could compete and learn to compete at the higher level. I feel we have improved in this competition and that Cookstown team will be a good senior team in Tyrone next year so we can take a lot out of this game". Tweet

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