Though silverware eluded them, Monaghan's minor footballers enjoyed a very successful 2008 championship campaign. They qualified for the Ulster final with fantastic victories over Fermanagh and Derry and the back door allowed them to enter the All-Ireland series for the first time in 63 years. Ultimately, however, defeats to Tyrone and Mayo spoiled a decent effort from Bernie Murray's team. Considering that neutral observers gave them little or no hope going into the MFC, Monaghan's U18s gave a superb account of themselves in '08. Despite indifferent Ulster league form, they started off their knockout programme with a battling defeat of Fermanagh in Enniskillen (impressing particularly after the break) before toppling the previous year's All-Ireland finalists Derry with a mighty effort at Omagh at the provincial semi-final stage. The 'northern' counties have dominated at this grade for years now, so it was certainly refreshing to see Monaghan take their place in the Ulster final (for the first time in seven years) against underage powerhouses Tyrone. Alas, the Kyle Coney inspired O'Neill County boys proved too strong on Ulster final day but the back door meant Monaghan were still granted access to the All-Ireland series. In a first-ever quarter-final appearance for the county, they were pitted against Mayo at Pearse Park in Longford and gallantly took the Connacht champions to extra time before succumbing to an unlucky six-point loss. With seconds left in normal time, the Oriel/Farney boys led by a point but they couldn't hold on Thus, the season ended on a disappointing note - but isn't it always the same for 31 of the 32 counties theoretically taking part in any championship? For Monaghan's minor class of '08, the year represented a resounding success. With a generous helping of the players who had qualified for the All-Ireland Vocational Schools final on board, they broke through into a provincial final and put underage football in the county back on the Ulster and national radars. They played some stellar football and proved that there's no place for inferiority complexes in this game. Monaghan can match anybody on any given day. That's the message. Crucially, it was a massive improvement on the shocking capitulation to Derry twelve months previously and the results and overall demeanour of this young team provides future intercounty minor outfits with a solid platform to build upon. As the runners and riders gradually fell and the respective races for glory sorted themselves out, Monaghan's minors were the last intercounty team left standing with a chance of silverware. The seniors had been pipped by Kerry a week earlier and the minors had exclusive claims to the support of a whole county as they squared up to Mayo in Longford on Saturday August 9. It was a match Monaghan could have won. They had one foot in a historic All-Ireland semi-final when leading by a point with normal time almost up but the Connacht champions forced the equaliser and went on to control the additional periods. Alas, the score after extra time read: Mayo 1-12, Monaghan 0-9. Played in windy conditions in the sparse midlands, the match was scrappy and evenly-contested for the most part. But the winners demonstrated greater nous and eventually pulled away in the second half of extra time. The first half of normal fare was forgettable but Monaghan surged ahead on the restart with good points from outstanding centre forward Kieran Hughes (2) and full forward Aaron McCarey. After Mayo had regained the lead, Monaghan again reclaimed scoring superiority with efforts from Christopher McGuinness, Hughes and McCarey. They were agonisingly close to a semi-final berth but Mayo landed a late leveller and went on to take the contest. The final scoreline did not do the losers justice as the Mayo goalkeeper made a fabulous save to deny Hughes an equalising goal late on, before the westerners sealed the result with an injury-time major. Monaghan matched Mayo all the way and arguably deserved a draw but the Connacht champions seemed to have that bit of extra guile to engineer a winning hand from a tight situation. Monaghan, 2008 All-Ireland MFC quarter-finalists: Emmet McArdle; Mattie Reilly, Christopher Farrell, Sam Dooney; Fintan Kelly, Pauric Boyle, Colin Walsh; Peter O'Hara, Kieran Duffy; Dermot Malone, Kieran Hughes (0-5), John Farrell; Christopher McGuinness (0-1), Aaron McCarey (0-3), Pete Dooney. Subs: Kevin Mooney for J Farrell, Shane Coyle for C McGuinness. Extra time subs: Declan Farrell for C Walsh, Philip O'Callaghan for K Duffy, Padraig McGuirk for P Boyle. It was a maiden voyage for Monaghan who had never before played in an All-Ireland MFC quarter-final. It was also their first appearance in the All-Ireland series since the 1945 semi-final defeat to Leitrim. The players were hoping for a repeat of their magnificent performance against a highly-fancied Derry side on provincial semi-final day but they were unable to reach those heights again. Mayo had beaten Roscommon in their provincial decider, while Monaghan were edged out by a much-vaunted Tyrone selection. It was Monaghan's first appearance in the Ulster final since 2001 - when Tyrone also provided opposition. They were under enormous pressure going into the decider, with expectations high that perhaps they could land the Ulster crown for the first time since '45. The game was played in Clones on Sunday July 20 and the underdogs never truly got into their stride. Tyrone justified favouritism with a strong performance, while the occasion seemed to get to the Monaghan team. Understandably. Rome really wasn't built in a day. Honestly, it's not just a saying The capital of Italy took quite some time to construct. You could say it's a work in progress! Perhaps the most frustrating thing was that a below-par Monaghan side still finished within three points of the winners, 0-10 to 0-13. Had they produced their best football, then the title could well have been theirs. Monaghan led in the tenth minute, but fell behind and never got back in front thereafter. It was 0-3 each after 19 minutes but the holders hit three in a row and took a 0-6 to 0-4 lead into the break. It was an advantage they never relinquished. But Monaghan were always in contention as their opponents could never pull away in a game that didn't catch fire. A spark from anywhere could have ignited Monaghan and fired them to glory. In an honest assessment of the game, Monaghan boss Bernie Murray conceded: "We needed to play to our full potential if we were going to do anything, but we never produced our best football and we would be disappointed at the level of our performance. We looked nervous and a little off the pace while Tyrone were that much more composed on the ball and were able to capitalise on their chances that much better." Points from Wolverhampton Wanderers starlet Mark Connolly and John Farrell had the margin down to one shortly after the restart but that was as good as it got. At the end of the day, both teams progressed to the quarter-finals regardless but Monaghan would dearly have loved to get their hands on the silverware. To beat Derry and finish just three points shy of Tyrone was a commendable effort, nonetheless. Monaghan, 2008 Ulster MFC finalists: Emmet McArdle; Matthew Reilly, Christopher Farrell, Sam Dooney; Declan Farrell (0-1), Pauric Boyle, Colin Walsh; Mark Connolly (0-2), Kieran Duffy (0-2); Dermot Malone (0-1), Kieran Hughes (0-3), Pete Dooney; Christopher McGuinness, Aaron McCarey, Christopher Deery. Subs: John Farrell (0-1) for C Deery, Peter O'Hara for C McGuinness. The Monaghan minors clinched their place in the final of the 2008 ESB Ulster minor football championship with a stunning 1-14 to 1-9 victory over Derry in Omagh on Saturday July 5. In that game, Monaghan were rank outsiders but they delivered a masterclass in power, skill and passion all over the field to deservedly progress. Colm Connolly was colossal at midfield and Ciaran Hughes was awesome on the forty - and everywhere else! - while 16-year-old Pete Dooney's brilliant injury-time goal provided the icing on a very tasty piece of cake. Monaghan had reached an Ulster final at U18 level and that achievement must not be forgotten as we look back on the year. On an otherwise disappointing day for Monaghan football, the county minors beat Fermanagh by 2-7 to 2-3 in the first round at Enniskillen's Brewster Park on Sunday May 25. They held the Erne County scoreless throughout the second half as they fought back wonderfully with an unanswered return of 2-4 to overturn a 2-3 to 0-3 half-time deficit. The introduction of playmaker Kieran Hughes at the start of the second half proved catalytic in turning the tide in Monaghan's favour that day. Hughes may have been nursing a hand injury but that didn't prevent him from firing 1-1 within five minutes of his arrival and Dermot Malone's 45th-minute major spurred the winners on towards a fabulous win. Over all, it was a joy to witness a Monaghan minor team playing with such spirit and inhibition. This was a minor squad we can be proud of and all Monaghan GAA followers should acknowledge the efforts of the players, backroom team and County Board in producing a fine team that - with a little luck - could well have gone even further. Tweet

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