SENIOR FOOTBALL CHALLENGE.
Armagh 1-11, Monaghan 0-13.
Monaghan and Armagh served up a very entertaining and well contested challenge match in Oram on Sunday evening last as both sides begin to put the final touches to their championship preparations. On the day Armagh shaded the result by a single point, a point from a free by Stefan Forker in the final minutes and while Monaghan would have been a little disappointed at losing they had greater cause for concern when Owen Lennon had to be carried off the field some five minutes into the second-half when he came down awkwardly on his right ankle and was in some distress. Both managers, Eamonn McEnaney and Paddy O'Rourke also used the occasion to give a run to most members of their panels and they also introduced a number of players who were new to senior county team action. The game also marked the competitive return of Conor McManus although he was substituted during the second-half as a precaution. By that stage he had scored five points and underlined the loss he was to Monaghan during the National Football League. The Monaghan team was captained on the day by Oram goalkeeper Berat Turker who came in as a substitute for the last 10 minutes and acquitted himself well with one great catch on the crossbar and a couple of excellent clearances. Former Donaghmoyne player John Kingham lined out at full forward for Armagh and caused Monaghan quite a few problems with his aerial ability and he picked off two excellent points from play. Played at a cracking pace throughout the game produced some fine passages of play although there were mistakes and Monaghan did miss a number of chances particularly in the second-half that could have seen them reverse the result. Half time: Monaghan 0-10, Armagh 1-7. Both sides introduced a number of substitutes at the start of the second-half with play then held up for some time due to the injury to Owen Lennon. Monaghan were off target from two attempts following the restart but it was Armagh who drew first blood with a point by substitute Ryan Rafferty in the 10th minute. Kieran Hughes equalised in the 11th minute and that set the tone for the remainder of the second-half with the pace slackening somewhat due to the raft of changes. Brian Mallon restored Armagh to the lead in the 15th minute with Monaghan then going on to take the lead by the 22nd minute with two points from frees by Stephen Smith, the first for a foul on Shane Smyth and the second for a foul on Owen Duffy. Their lead was short-lived though as John Kingham drew a free that was converted by Paul Carvill to bring the sides level and as further substitutes were introduced Armagh struck the winner through Aidan Forker in the 32nd minute. Monaghan did have a late chance to equalise but Paul Finlay was just off target from a very difficult angle to leave a single point between them when Pat McEneaney blew the final whistle.
Teams and Scorers: Armagh: Niall Geoghegan, Andy Mallon, Kieran McKeever, Mark Shields, Aaron Kernan, Declan Mckenna, Niall Rowland, Kieran Toner, Johnny Hanratty, Aidan Forker 0-3 (3f), Michael O'Rourke, Tony Kernan 0-1, Jamis Clarke 0-1, John Kingham 0-2, Marc Cullen 1-1 (0-1f). Subs used: Brian Mallon 0-1, Ryan Rafferty 0-1, Caolan Rafferty, Paul Carvill 0-1 (f).
Monaghan: Ruairi Beggan, Donal Morgan, Kieran Duffy, Ronan McNally, Carl Conlon, Dessie Mone 0-1, David Hughes, Owen Lennon, Dick Clerkin, James Turley, Paul Finaly 0-3 (1f), Matthew McKenna, Christopher McGuinness, Conor McManus 0-5 (3f), Tomas Freeman 0-1. Subs used: Stephen Gollogly, Kieran Hughes 0-1, Pete Dooney, Stephen Smith 0-2 (2f), Berat Turker, James Bellew, Shane Smith, Paul McArdle, Owen Duffy.
Referee: Pat McEneaney (Corduff). Tweet

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