Monaghan's U21s showed encouraging pre-season form in 2008 by capturing the Shamrock Cup with a series of impressive displays. However, good and all as the win in the Cremartin club's intercounty competition was, it was ultimately all in vain as they disappointingly crashed out of the Ulster championship at the first hurdle. By Gerry Robinson There was plenty of confidence in the camp as Monaghan squared up to Donegal in the first (preliminary) round of the 2008 Ulster U21 FC in mid-March. Provincial finalists the previous year, the Oriel County boys had seen off Down, Armagh and Tyrone to lift the Shamrock Cup and those five tough matches surely represented ideal preparation for the knockout competition proper. However, it wasn't to be as a sending-off early in the second half disrupted the hosts' rhythm and sent them to a 0-15 to 1-6 defeat at Ballybay on Saturday March 15. The dismissal of wing back Seamus Markey certainly contributed to Monaghan's defeat but cannot be offered as their sole excuse. Monaghan missed a series of scoring chances - particularly in the first half - and were out of sorts long before the red card intervened. The visitors were more efficient, finishing strongly to leave no doubt on the final scoreboard. They also fielded without their inspirational midfielder Michael Murphy, but a towering performance from playmaker Gary McFadden compensated for the loss and propelled them across the winning line. Thus, Monaghan's Cadbury's Ulster U21 campaign was more Mini Crème Egg than Giant Dairy Milk The game was exciting and evenly-contested for the most part but Donegal were the dominant team in the crucial last quarter. There was no shortage of quality football from both sides, though it often came undone in front of the posts. Markey picked up his second yellow card from an overly-fussy Down referee one minute after the turnaround and - coupled with the loss of injured full forward Shane Smith - this proved a defining moment. The home county missed five good chances in as many minutes early on, while Donegal 'keeper Michael Boyle had to be at his best to deny Daniel McNally an eighth-minute goal. Despite good approach play, Monaghan managed a mere three scores in the opening half and they trailed by two at the interval, 0-5 to 0-3. The sending-off opened the game up and both teams went forward at will. Indeed, Donegal were reduced to playing counter-attacking football despite having an extra man and they trailed when Owen Duffy hit the net for Monaghan not long after Markey left the fray. Captain Conor McManus doubled the lead, but a brace of Stephen Griffin frees soon had the winners level. McManus and Darren Bishop both popped up with scores that handed Banty's team brief leads but Donegal tightened the screw and hit six successive scores at the end to run out handsome winners. Midfielder McFadden registered half of those as Monaghan were denied an Ulster quarter-final meeting with neighbours Armagh the following weekend. That clash - had it materialised - would have been a repeat of the 2007 Ulster U21 decider, which the Orchard County narrowly won, but alas Monaghan were not to progress nearly as far in the '08 competition The Monaghan side that faced Donegal in the 2008 Ulster U21 football championship at Ballybay: Ciaran Boyce; Neil McRory, Darren Hughes, Darren Duffy; Pat Meegan, Neil McAdam, Seamus Markey; Matthew McKenna (0-1), Owen Duffy (1-0); Gavin Doogan, Conor McManus (0-3), Paraic Donaghy (0-1); Darren Bishop (0-1), Shane Smith, Daniel McNally. Subs: Martin McElroy, James Turley, Colm Greenan, Dean Fanning. Monaghan had gone into the match on a high having beaten Down after a replay to lift the Shamrock Cup for the first time eleven days earlier. Those two matches had brought the team on but nobody for a second believed that the Donegal game would be a formality. Sean Clerkin's Donegal, winners of the Ulster minor league in 2006, had a number of senior county panellists at their disposal and would take some beating Things went against Monaghan on the day but the players themselves will be the first to admit that they underperformed. Four counties took part in the 2008 Shamrock Cup U21 Tournament: Monaghan, Tyrone, Armagh and Down. Monaghan kickstarted their programme in style with a fine 3-9 to 0-12 win over Tyrone under lights at Cloghan on Monday January 28. The winners had goals from Darren Bishop and Paraic Donaghy late in the first half to lead by 2-6 to 0-4 at the short whistle. Dean Fanning added the third three-pointer eleven minutes after the restart and Monaghan were clear victors despite a strong Tyrone finish. Down provided the opposition for the second round-robin match at Cloghan on Saturday February 2 and Monaghan made it two wins in a week with a double-scores verdict, 0-12 to 0-6. Both sides were understrength but Monaghan coped better and led by five points at the break, a superiority that was never questioned thereafter. Monaghan maintained their 100% record with a four-point win over Armagh at Cloghan and took their place in the final against a vastly-improved Down, who had six points to spare against Tyrone at Newry. The drawn final was played in Shamrock Park, Cremartin on Saturday February 23 and was an utterly exhilarating contest. The Mourne County XV was laden with players who had won Ulster and All-Ireland MFC and colleges medals but Monaghan gave as good as they got and Down needed a last-gasp Paul McCumiskey strike to take the teams back to Burren for a floodlit replay on Tuesday March 4. Monaghan produced a fabulous display in a riveting replay to prevail with just a point to spare, 1-16 to 2-12 after extra time. Centre forward and captain Conor McManus floated over eight points; Shane Smith supplied three great scores; Colm Greenan, Seamus Markey and Gavin Doogan were also outstanding. Two Down goals in a minute coming up to the midway stage in the first half provided the Mourne County with a solid platform but Monaghan's never-say-die spirit carried them to an incredible success. The win was good for morale with the championship looming but the team was unable to produce the same level of intensity eleven days later, leaving one to wonder just how much the two Down matches might have taken out of them Monaghan, 2008 Shamrock Cup winners: Ciaran Boyce; Neil McRory, Colm Greenan, Darren Duffy; Pat Meegan, Neil McAdam, Seamus Markey; Gavin Doogan, Matthew McKenna; Paraic Donaghy (1-0), Shane Smith (0-3), Conor McManus (0-8); Martin McElroy (0-2), Darren Bishop (0-1), Daniel McNally (0-2). Subs: Mark McCaffrey, Owen Duffy, James Turley, Dean Fanning. Extra time subs: Matthew McKenna, Darren Bishop, Paraic Donaghy. Tweet

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