To tread the hallowed sod of Croke Park in the final of the Rackard Cup was put down as the marker for the Monaghans hurlers when manager Frank Brady took charge of the fortunes of the ancient game in the county at the start of the year. By John P Graham. Ultimately it didn't happen but en route to trying to achieve that goal Monaghan's fortunes were always on an upward curve and a National League Division 4 title as well as a good run in the Ulster senior hurling championship was some consolation. Following his appointment Frank Brady had little time to prepare his charges for the season ahead so it was a matter of learning as you went as Monaghan's first game in the league was only weeks away. The lack of preparation was evident in that first outing against Fermanagh in Tempo with the home side running out winners by five points. However, even in defeat, Monaghan still showed that the nucleus of a team was there and if some shortcomings on the day could be ironed out then the sky was the limit. Frank Brady was disappointed at losing that opening game but even more so when he considered the chances that Monaghan had particularly from frees in the second half that could have changed the outcome. He was however not into excuses and readily agreed that Monaghan's lack of preparation was fairly evident on the day. "I was very disappointed to lose on our first day out and you are always disappointed when you lose any match but definitely our lack of preparation showed. We hit I think it was eight wides in the second-half and had we have even taken three or four of those chances it would have only left a point in it and when it's down to that in any game who knows. I knew we had a lot of work to do but in a close section like Division 4, losing one match could have been fatal. We had only been together for about two weeks before that game and we had no real work done but I knew that the next time we were out we would be much better," said Frank. And they were a much better to the extent that Down's historic day of fielding a second team in the National hurling league Division 4 had no fairytale ending as Monaghan battled their way to two valuable points in this very entertaining if at times scrappy affair in Clones. Monaghan dominated the first half with strong performances from Jim McHugh at full back and Pat O'Connell at centre but it was up front where new faces Michael Dolan and Michael Greaney added punch to the attack. "That was a make or break match for us because if we had lost to Down we had no hope in the league but we were back in the running and it was in our own hands because if we won our last two games we could get to the final." And get to the final they did with commanding performances against Leitrim and Cavan, which set them up for another joust with the newcomers from South Down. The Leitrim game also marked a first as it was played at Cloghan. Their victory over South Down saw Monaghan taking their first title in National League hurling for 16 years when they edged past the newcomers to the competition in a thrill a minute spectacular in Kingspan Breffni Park. The sides had met earlier in the competition in Clones with Monaghan again edging the result but the final was a much more prolific affair as both sides threw caution to the winds in search of victory. Monaghan had started their Division 4 campaign in somewhat faltering fashion with a first round defeat to Fermanagh but they had grown steadily in stature, technique and composure over the weeks and in the final they were a transformed team with Stephen Lambe the hero of the day when he landed his 14th point of the afternoon two minutes into added time at the end of extra time to clinch victory at the end of an absorbing contest that was in the balance right to the death. Stephen had missed some of the earlier games due to a hand injury but he under lined his value to the team with a scintillating display of free taking that saw him create a new county record. Monaghan looked to have this game won on a number of occasions before finally getting their hands on the Division 4 Shield and their supporters and mentors alike were on tenter hooks as they nearly let it slip from their grasp. The character that has developed in the side was seen at its best when they saw a four points lead at the end of normal time turned into a one point deficit but they found their way back to take to force extra time. It was almost a similar story at this stage too as Monaghan's tendency to leak goals at vital teams almost robbed them of victory in extra time and nerves were raw as Stephen Lambe showed composure and strength of character beyond his years to lash over the winner and send players and supporters alike into a frenzy of celebration. "That's as good as it gets," said Frank Brady in the immediate aftermath of the final but immediately set down another target. "We want more titles," he told everyone because he claimed "there is more in this team. It was a fantastic game of hurling, commitment wise, skill and fitness wise although I really thought it was gone at the end of normal time but I knew the guys had great heart and they showed that to bounce back and get the equaliser. That was some score from Stephen Lambe to bring it to extra time, he had an exceptional game that day, he's a fantastic player. John Leahy was ranting and raving about him when he had him out in Dubai earlier in the year and I could see why that day." Team and scorers v An Dun Theas: Michael McHugh, Aidan Kerr, Jim McHugh, Paul Murphy, Declan Crowe, Pat O'Connell (0-2, 1f), Gordon Coleman, David Connolly, Brian Phelan, Stephen Lambe (0-14, 9f), Arthur Hughes (0-1), Éanna MacSuibhne (0-1), Michael Greaney (1-4), Michael Doran (0-3), Brian McGuigan (0-2) Subs: Padraig Dowdall for A Kerr, Niall Meaney for E MacSuibhne, Kevin Boylan for N Meaney, Robbie Healy for M Doran, M Doran for R Healy Temp Sub: Padraig Dowdall for D Crowe. And so on the Ulster senior hurling championship and four weeks later Monaghan were back in Breffni Park against Cavan and the main thrust was to see how far they could go in that competition. Monaghan did not entertain any serious thoughts of winning the Ulster senior hurling championship outright but the competition afforded them vital games in preparation for the one competition that they had made central to their year, the Nicky Rackard Cup. There is a body of opinion that the nine team Ulster senior hurling championship is merely window dressing and it is possible that it will come under examination again now that a new tier has been added to the hurling championships with the introduction of the Lory Meagher Cup. That however is for another day and Monaghan's ambition was to see just how far they could go in the Ulster senior hurling championship. Ultimately they got three games out of the series with victories over Cavan and Donegal setting them up for a meeting with Derry, a team that was mentioned in the ratings as potential title winners. The challenge of Derry ultimately proved a bridge too far although manager Frank Brady admitted afterwards that Monaghan had probably made Derry look a little better than they actually were. This was only a meaningful contest for part of the opening quarter with Derry pulling away after that and they more or less had the game wrapped up by the interval when they had 4-11 on the board. Frank Brady was understandably disappointed at the outcome of the game but he was quick to claim that it was not the mismatch that the final score line would suggest and Brady saw games like that as setting the bar that Monaghan have to try and achieve if they want to move on from where they are. "Looking at the score line would suggest that this was a total mismatch, but it wasn't, because there were a lot of factors that conspired against us and in fact I would say that it was a bit like Murphy's Law, anything that could go wrong did go wrong and at the worst possible time. As well as having to travel to Celtic Park we lost the toss and ended up playing against a very strong wind in the first half and we did concede at least four very soft goals. We probably could have had two goals ourselves in the first half and there were a few other calls that we didn't get but I didn't see it as a damaging defeat for Monaghan hurling because Derry were expected to win the game and win it fairly easily, which they did," explained the manager. It finished Derry 7-23, Monaghan 3-13. Team and Scorers v Derry: Michael McHugh; Aidan Kerr, David Connolly, Gordon Coleman; Declan Crowe (0-1), Jim McHugh, John Greene; Bernard O'Brien (0-2 (2f), Brian Phelan; Stephen Lambe (1-6, (5f), Arthur Hughes, Eanna Mac Suibhne (0-1); Pat O'Connell (0-1), Michael Dolan (0-1), Brian McGuigan (1-1). Subs: Padraig Dowdall for J Greene, Kevin Boylan for A Hughes, Barney Connor for A Kerr, Ronan Conlan (1-0) for B Phelan. And so to the big test, the Nicky Rackard Cup, the competition that Frank Brady had ear marked as the one that Monaghan could win and the incentive of playing the final in Croke Park was used as motivation at every opportunity. Ultimately though the dream died short of an appearance on the hallowed sod but Monaghan still showed that they had a panel of players that could compete meaningfully at this level and that there was a foundation on which to build for the future. Things couldn't have started better with a hat trick of goals by Michael Greaney helping to propel Monaghan to victory over Tyrone in their opening game in the Nicky Rackard Cup in Omagh. Greaney's goals though were not the only ingredient in Monaghan's winning formula as this was a great team effort in a match that was delicately balanced for most of the 70 odd minutes although the greasy conditions led to mistakes but it was a contest that brought the best out of both sides with some excellent passages of play, goalmouth incidents aplenty and some great scores. Frank Brady still maintained that qualification was in Monaghan's own hands. "I suppose there is a scenario that if we lose we could still qualify but it's was simple as this, if we won our next match we were through and we would have home advantage, if we lost we could still qualify but only if we lost by less than five points." Monaghan staged a late rally to clinch top spot in their section of the Nicky Rackard Cup with an injury time victory over Donegal at the end of a cracking contest in Clones but they had to endure some twenty minutes of anxiety as they awaited confirmation of the outcome from referee Brendan Sweeney. The whole thing made for a somewhat controversial finish when no one seemed quite sure as to what the exact result of the match would be. A win for Donegal would put them through at the expense of Tyrone with Monaghan still qualifying but that was irrevelant. At the final whistle the scoreboard read Donegal 1-15, Monaghan 0-18, a draw which was of no use to Donegal but Cavan referee Brendan Sweeney had informed the Donegal players that they had won on a score line of 1-16 to 0-18 while Monaghan were insistent that they had won by a point, 0-19 to 1-15, the same score that those from the media who were covering the game all had. Referee Sweeney made straight for his changing room with his linesmen immediately after the full time whistle but confusion reigned with three scorelines doing the rounds. Based on what the referee had told them, the Donegal players and management thought that they had qualified for the quarter finals having finished second to Monaghan but ahead of Tyrone on scoring difference. However under the Gerry Arthurs Stand, the referee and his linesmen continued their deliberation for more than ten minutes. Then his four umpires were admitted to the referee's room, but there was still no word on what the result was. Finally, some 20 minutes after the final whistle had sounded, Donegal hurling board officer Naul McCole and Monaghan county chairman, John Connolly were summoned to the referee's room to be told that Monaghan had won by 0-19 to 1-15. No further explanation was offered but it was a somewhat farcical end to fine game of hurling played in a tremendous spirit. That win put Monaghan through to the quarter final against Cavan and a game where Monaghan booked their place in the semi final when they held out for victory over Cavan in a low key and at times scrappy game that finished with a raft of red cards in Clones. Monaghan finished with 13 players following the dismissal of Pat O'Connell and Bernard O'Brien something that perhaps played a part in their demise at the semi final stage to Louth. O'Brien's dismissal was particularly harsh and it angered Frank Brady. "We were missing Bernard and Pat for the Louth game and they shouldn't have been missing because every player, even the Cavan players all said that they didn't even think it was a yellow card never mind a red. Those decisions meant that two of our best hurlers were gone for the semi-final. We asked to have it looked at because it was very unfair but nothing came of it which left us at less than full strength of the Louth game". Ultimately Monaghan's dream of playing in Croke Park came to a bitterly disappointing end by a Louth team who struck late in extra time for a two points victory in the semi-final in Clones. "This was a game where we had enough chances to win it but on the day it just didn't happen despite the best efforts of all concerned," Frank Brady recalled. Monaghan showed scant regard for the higher status of the visitors to Clones with Louth having already won promotion to Division 2 of the National hurling league and they proceeded to produce some excellent hurling that had Louth on the back foot for long periods. "Louth only took the lead in the opening minute of the first period of extra time but even then we pulled it back but their greater experience told and it was two of their more experienced players who picked off the winning points but that was in injury time at the end of the second period of extra time. It was heart breaking but I have to say we sorely missed the services of Bernard O'Brien as his playmaking ability in midfield and more importantly his accuracy particularly from long range frees could have proved crucial. Still our performances in the Rackard Cup I think show that we made progress and with the NHL division 4 title to show it has been quite a productive season. What we have to do now in build on that in 2009 and I have to say I am looking forward to it already." With Frank Brady's enthusiasm it is well within the bounds of possibility that Monaghan will be competing for honours again in 2009. MONAGHAN'S RESULTs IN 2009 Allianz Hurling League Div. 4. Monaghan 2-5, Fermanagh 2-10 in Tempo Monaghan 2-10, South Down 3-3 in Clones Monaghan 3-12, Leitrim 0-6 in Cloghan Monaghan 4-15, Cavan 3-4 in Breffni Park Monaghan 1-17, South Down 5-14 (aet) Final in Breffni Park. Ulster SHC. Monaghan 2-15, Cavan 1-16 Breffni Park Monaghan 1-15, Donegal 1-14 in Clones Monaghan 3-13, Derry 7-23 in Celtic Park. Rackard Cup. Monaghan 3-13, Tyrone 3-8 in Omagh Monaghan 0-19, Donegal 1-15 in Clones Monaghan 1-11, Cavan 0-9 in Clones Monaghan 1-13, Louth 0-18 (aet) Semi Final in Breffni Park. Tweet

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