It's fair to say Monaghan's U21 footballers were very unfortunate in 2011. They mounted a brilliant challenge in the Ulster championship, beating Derry in Inniskeen before losing by the narrowest of margins to Tyrone in their semi-final at Enniskillen. A scoreboard mix-up at the end didn't help Monaghan's cause. The team also qualified for another Shamrock Cup final, so all in all it was a decent year.

Against Tyrone in their Ulster semi-final, Christopher McGuinness' 13th-minute goal propelled Monaghan into a 1-2 to no score lead at the three-quarters stage. The O'Neill County looked jaded after their three-game saga against Down, while Monaghan were buzzing, with McGuinness and Keith McEnaney in particular wreaking havoc. However, Tyrone had levelled shortly after the resumption and the sides were deadlocked going into extra time. Substitute John McCullagh landed a late, late winner for the Tyrone lads, who advanced to a provincial final meeting with Cavan. Monaghan were certainly hard done by as the scoreboard showed them to be two points adrift rather than one as Pete Dooley shaped up to take a late '45' but - to their eternal credit - the players and management opted not to make an issue of this after the final whistle. Thus, we will show the same dignity here and let it be water under the bridge. It was still a fantastic effort from the Oriel County camp.
Derry were highly rated to make an impact at this level in 2011, but Monaghan delivered a solid second-half display to beat them by 1-12 to 1-8 at Inniskeen on Wednesday night, March 16th. Even though the Oak Leafers got the first two scores, Monaghan responded positively to draw level and Peter Dooney's twelfth-minute goal had them ahead. But a late Derry major meant the hosts' advantage was minimal at the interval, 1-6 to 1-5. Derry sneaked back in front before Monaghan landed five successive points to assume control of proceedings. In the end, they were comfortable victors.
As is now customary, preparation for the knockout was provided by the Shamrock Cup. After defeating Down by a single point in their opener, Monaghan completed back-to-back victories with a 2-9 to 3-4 win over Fermanagh at Enniskillen on Saturday February 5th, Dermot Malone and Mark Hanratty firing the goals. Already through to the final before facing Tyrone in their final round-robin match, Monaghan nonetheless defeated the O'Neill County by 1-13 to 1-10 at Emyvale (with Daniel McKenna getting six points and Peter O'Hanlon bagging the major) to qualify for the decider with a perfect record.
The final was played under lights in Emyvale in late February and there was no repeat of the round-robin result as this time Tyrone prevailed by 2-12 to 0-10 to take the silverware for the third time since the inception of this excellent U21 competition. Prior to the start of the match, a minute's silence was observed as a mark of respect to the late Eoin McKenna from Emyvale, who had lost his life in the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Tyrone, who had qualified for the decider on scoring averages, made a number of changes to their side (as did Monaghan) and settled quickly to control the game for the most part. Tyrone got both their goals in the first half and the second arrived two minutes into added time to give them an unassailable nine-point interval cushion, 2-6 to 0-3. Monaghan kept going and 'won' the second half by 0-7 to 0-6 to take some confidence into their championship campaign.
Here is the team from the Shamrock Cup final: Rory Beggan; Kieran Duffy (0-1), Fintan Kelly, Owen Coyle; Sam Dooney, Colin Walsh, Ryan Courtney; Peter O'Hara, Peter O'Hanlon; Paraic Boyle, Dermot Malone, Kevin Mooney( 0-1), Daniel McKenna (0-3), Christopher McGuinness (0-2), David Millar. Subs: Keith McEnaney for E Coyle, Jack McCarron (0-3) for R Courtney, Mark Hanratty for P Boyle, Stephen McElroy for K Mooney, Aidan Og McAnespie for F Kelly.
The four-point win over Derry meant Monaghan progressed to the last four in Ulster for the second consecutive year. Six points from Christopher McGuinness proved vital, while goalscorer Pete Dooney, Fintan Kelly, Kieran Duffy, Keith McEnaney, David Millar and Peter O'Hara were also prominent for the winners. When thick fog spread around south Monaghan and Pairc Grattan midway through the second half, it looked like the game might have to be postponed, but mercifully there were no such complications as the issue was settled in conventional fashion and Monaghan deservedly advanced.
McGuinness had a goal effort saved inside the first minute and Derry moved ahead before Dermot Malone and McGuinness levelled with points from play. Keith McEnaney tied the scores up again and Dooney found the net in style to make it a three-point game after twelve minutes. Two McGuinness frees ensured that the lead was at four but Derry drew back level before David Millar and Peter O'Hanlon created an opening for Mark Hanratty, who clipped over the last score of the first half, 1-6 to 1-5.
Derry had moved back ahead by the 40th minute but a purple patch from the hosts yielded points from Dooney, substitute Jack McCarron, McEnaney and McGuinness (2). Fintan Kelly made a brave late block to preserve the three-point lead and McGuinness registered the insurance score from an injury-time free.
Monaghan, 2011 Ulster U21 FC V Derry: R Beggan; C Walshe, F Kelly, S Dooney; P Boyle, K Duffy, D Millar; P Dooney (1-1), P O'Hara; K Mooney, D Malone (0-1), P O'Hanlon; C McGuinness (0-6), K McEnaney (0-2), M Hanratty (0-1). Subs: J McCarron (0-1) for Mooney, D McKenna for Hanratty.
It was off to Brewster Park on Wednesday, April 6th for a semi-final meeting with underage specialists Tyrone, who had won a gruelling three-game quarter-final against Down. Monaghan produced a gallant effort and came very close to booking a place in the decider. They made two changes from the team that beat Derry in the first round, with Daniel McKenna and Owen Coyle returning from injury to replace Kevin Mooney and Mark Hanratty.
Eamon n McEneaney's charges led for much of the game, boosted by a goal from Man of the Match Christopher McGuinness, but match-sharp Tyrone finished strongly to squeeze through to the provincial final. It could have been a wholly different scenario if Pete Dooney had gone for the posts with that late '45' rather than opting to drop the ball in, but such are the vagaries of sport. We'll never know.
Keith McEnaney floated over the opening two points and both Dermot Malone and Daniel McKenna came close to adding an early goal for Monaghan. McEnaney did set up McGuinness for a thirteenth-minute major, but Tyrone registered four successive points and Monaghan's sole reply before the short whistle was a Dooney point: 1-3 to 0-4 at the break.
Tyrone levelled but McGuinness' free edged Monaghan back in front. Tyrone went ahead for the first time but two more McGuinness points snatched the advantage back. Tyrone levelled again but McGuinness brought his personal tally to 1-4, leaving Monaghan in front again. However, the O'Neill County landed the last two points to creep over the winning line.
Despite playing well, Monaghan had missed too many chances on the night.
Monaghan, 2011 Ulster U21 FC V Tyrone: R Beggan; C Walshe (captain), F Kelly, O Coyle; S Dooney, K Duffy, D Millar; P Dooney (0-1), P O'Hara; P Boyle, D Malone, P O'Hanlon; C McGuinness (1-4), K McEnaney (0-2), D McKenna. Subs: J McCarron for McEnaney (45 mins), K Mooney for Millar (50), M Hanratty for S Dooney (57). Tweet

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