Three consecutive Ulster Vocational senior football title wins. Who could have guessed it? Here's how the hat-trick was achieved. By Kevin Carney.

What better way to kick off the defence of your provincial and All-Ireland titles than to go head to head with arch rivals Cavan.
In late December 2009 at Donagh, county Tyrone, Monaghan's Vocational senior football team produced a quite outstanding performance in demolishing (2-14 to 0-3) the challenge of the Breffni boys. What a start!
Monaghan were at their devastating best which was amazing considering that the Cavan game marked their first competitive outing of the year.
In booking a place in the Ulster final, Monaghan showed a collective spirit and a will-to-win which fairly smacked of their All-Ireland heroics.
In specific terms, the team's full-forward line of Jack McCarron, Mark Treanor and Philip Donnelly were in stand-out form, contributing all of 2-8 between them to their team's final tally.
Monaghan  - with seven of their All-Ireland winning team on board - bagged their first major of the game in the 17th minute when Philip Donnelly latched onto a shot from Cillian Coleman that rebounded off the crossbar.
One minute later the green flag was again raised at the Cavan goal when Jack McCarron and Ryan McGuinness combined to put Philip Donnelly through for his and his team's second goal.
From there to the interval, the lights remained largely stuck on green for the defending champions as they coasted their way to a 2-8 to 0-1 half-time lead.
Despite their huge cushioned advantage, Monaghan still managed to out-score their rivals in the second half while on cruise control.
Cavan won much more possession than they managed in the first half but, predictably, the Oriel's finest finished the stronger as Philip Donnelly and Jason McElroy each pointed to round off a fantastic team display.
Monaghan team-manager Shane O'Donoghue - assisted by selectors Brendan Lillis (Largy College), Paddy Kerry (Ballybay Community College) and coaches Paul O'Connor (County Games Development Manager) plus Paudie Finnegan (Inver College) -  was suitably happy with the strength of his squad:
"The fact we were so far in front at half-time meant we could get a look at some of the fringe players," the Castleblayney Technical College teacher enthused.
"I was quite impressed with them, in fact three of the substitutes all scored. I think the boys who made the panel last year but not the first 15 are determined to show they're well up for the challenge too."
February 4th was the date set for Monaghan's Ulster final date with Donegal - the team's vanquished opponents in the 2008 and 2009 provincial finals.
True to form, O'Donoghue and co. did their homework in the run up to the match against the Tir Chonaill lads.
A couple of injury worries, surrounding Anthony Mulligan (groin strain) and Cillian Coleman (groin strain), concentrated minds.
Challenge games were organised against Carrick High School and a county minor select to keep the lads match fit and in sleeves rolled-up-mode.
However as Tomas McMahon, Chairman of Monaghan VEC football committee explains, at all times team mentors remained mindful of the pressures of exams etc on their charges:
"In any given year, we are very conscious about keeping on side with both the player and his parents and we make a point of organising at least half of our football training outside of school times and the same goes for whatever challenge games are organised.
"There is a particular policy in place too in each school that ensures that the player must, first and foremost, take care of his studies, that his homework comes first at all times, and that he must then fit the other sports in whenever he can.
"The secret for any youngsters is the division of their time, between their school work and their studies and if that is done, things should run smoothly."
McMahon says successive Monaghan VEC team-managements are "big" into discipline and are wont to emphasise to their players the importance of attending training and having the "right and proper attitude" to their county duties at all times.
The plan is to "help those involved with the schools and county teams become mature young people as well as become good footballers."
"Down's Marty Clarke was an 'A' student both on the football field and in the classroom - where he was his school's student of the year - and that's the kind of role model we'd like to identify to all our players," McMahon, a former Inver College student explains.
It seemed that the balance between work and play for the Monaghan county side was arrived at, at least on the evidence of their title-winning form.
At McGirr Park, Drumquin (county Tyrone), Monaghan duly landed their third provincial title on the trot with a gritty, hard-earned 2-6 to 0-10 win over Donegal.
After Donegal impressed the most in the first half, Monaghan nicked the spoils at the death with a brace of converted late frees from Jack McCarron.
After the north-westerners opened the scoring with a point, Monaghan hit back with interest courtesy of an opportunist fisted goal by Philip Donnelly.
Donegal went onto draw level before a McCarron point in the 9th minute edged Monaghan back in front.
In what continued to be a typical nip and tuck affair, Donegal proceeded to leap back into a two point lead but Monaghan hung in there and reduced their deficit to the minimum, 1-3 to 0-7, by half-time.
Monaghan noticeably stepped up a gear on the restart, surging forward at every opportunity and in the 34th minute Cillian Coleman notched an important equalising point.
Not long after, a great ball forward by Thomas Connolly was intelligently added to by Philip Donnelly before Jack McCarron slid the ball into the Donegal net with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Back came Donegal though and an equaliser hinted at a period of extra-time.
However the reigning champions had other ideas and Jack McCarron held his nerve to knock over a pressure free three minutes from time.
With the advent of injury-time, the tension was almost unbearable but another cooly converted free from the aforementioned Currin ace sealed another wonderful, thrilling provincial title win for Monaghan.
For the record, the Ulster Vocational senior schools football-winning team and subs which did the business against Donegal in last February's final was as follows:
Dean McDermott; Ciaran McCaffrey, Ciaran Treanor, Eoghan Coyle; Ryan Courtney, Paddy McGuigan, Cillian Coleman (0-1); Pete Dooney, Anthony Mulligan; James Kerr, Ryan McGuinness, Thomas Connolly (0-1); Jack McCarron (1-4), Marc Treanor, Philip Donnelly (1-0).
Subs used; Thomas Kerr; Darren McCleneghan.
After the Ulster final, team-manager O'Donoghue conceded that the think-tank was forced into making some tactical switches at half-time to get Monaghan on the front foot for the second half:
"Just after half-time, we managed to get back level, but we were still kicking too many wides.
"Thomas Connolly came back into the midfield alongside Anthony Mulligan, and Pete Dooney moved to full-forward.
"It was a gamble, but you have to take a chance in games like these. If you're going to win three Ulster finals in a row then you can't just wait for things to happen.
"Pete had been playing full-forward for the past few years, and it worked for us. After we got the goal and went ahead we were quite happy to move him back to shore things up."
In the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final, Monaghan locked horns with Connacht champions Galway in Dromard, county Longford.
The same two teams met in the national decider the previous season with Monaghan coasting their way to a 0-10 to 0-3 win.
The 2010 meeting of the best from the west and Monaghan's finest ended with the latter winning out by 2-9 to 0-10.
In a game destined to go to the wire, the sides were still level with 50 minutes on the clock after Thomas Kerr's goal helped the would-be winners into a 1-5 to 0-4 half-time lead.
A see-saw third quarter ensued with deadlock the name of the game with ten minutes left to play before Jack McCarron goaled after collecting a long ball from Pete Dooney to leave the Galway lads three points in arrears.
From there to the finish, an air of inevitability hung over proceedings as Monaghan matched the best Galway could muster in front of goal.
Sadly the dream of landing another All-Ireland died a death at Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow as March peeped its head around the corner.
In losing by 2-7 to 3-8 to Cork in a thrill-a-minute final, Monaghan gave it their all but were undone by a turbo-charged opening quarter by the Munster champions which saw them notch a brace of goals to chisel out a 2-5 to 0-4 lead at half-time.
Although out-scoring the Rebel County in the second half with the help of goals by Philip Donnelly and Cillian Coleman, Monaghan just couldn't reduce their deficit beyond the four point mark.
It was a brave, determined and gutsy Monaghan display but their rather disjointed and below par first half display was to make them pay the ultimate penalty.
However the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle couldn't put a blemish on the team's super provincial campaign.
The bid for a four-in-a-row begins now. Tweet

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