Simply put, Monaghan were magnificent in the 2007 senior football championship. They may have finished the year with no silverware to show for their inspirational efforts, but Banty's boys made many friends all over Ireland with a series of truly inspirational displays. Gerald Robinson reflects on the invigorating voyage that thrilled Monaghan fans in Newry, Belfast, Clones, Omagh and Croke Park. It was an incredible year for the Monaghan senior footballers, who produced the best championship form we've witnessed from the Oriel County since Sean McCague's side ruled Ulster in 1985 and again in '88. Almost two decades later, Banty's men reached a provincial final and an All-Ireland quarter-final, losing those two clashes by a combined margin of only three points. As well as scaring the lives out of Kerry and Tyrone, Monaghan put Ulster's three Ds in their place by completing highly impressive wins over Down and Derry in Ulster and Donegal in their sole qualifier outing. All in all, Monaghan were easily the most improved team in Ireland and - with a bit more luck - they might well have reached an All-Ireland final. Whisper it ... but with Seamus McEneaney at the helm again and a solid platform to build upon, Monaghan could be in the shake-up again in 2008. There are so many positives to draw from 2007 that it's hard to know where to start. The manager showed his trademark delegating skills by assembling an exceptional backroom team and the contributions of Adrian Trappe and Martin McIlkennon were huge. Seamus also instilled an incredible belief in the team and they went to Croke Park for their quarter-final clash with the All-Ireland champions fully expecting to win. It was Monaghan - not Kerry - who played like champions on the day. Never mind all the talk about how Kerry were caught cold because of their lay-off after winning Munster. The bottom line was that the quarter-final was a real championship encounter and both teams were prepared to the best of their ability. Monaghan built on the devastating form they showed against Donegal and they were mightily unfortunate not to progress to a semi-final meeting with Dublin. What a day that might have been for Farney followers! And what about the players? They were absolutely fantastic all year. At the back, Dessie Mone demonstrated the kind of tigerish instincts that would guarantee a Kerry, Dublin or Tyrone footballer an All Star. His performances in both league and championship were extraordinary and the entire defence followed his example. Colm Flanagan came back in and did what he does best; JP Mone was a giant; Gary McQuaid is another man who would be considered for the All Star team if he came from a more-fashionable territory. And what can we say about Vinny Corey (Opel Gaelic Footballer of the Month for July), whose transformation from full back to full forward was the stuff of legend? Vincent showed that these Monaghan men can all play football, with a versatility that is a manager's dream. Around the middle (or in attack), Paul Finlay, Dick Clerkin and Eoin Lennon all made huge impressions in league and championship and these three can mix it with anyone. You won't find any shrinking violets in the Monaghan dressing room these days! At the business end of the field, newcomer Ciaran Hanratty made a right name for himself with a series of big-hearted displays, while Rory Woods and Stephen Gollogly flew the flag for south Monaghan by terrorising opposing defences with hard work, determination, strength and skill. Thomas Freeman had an awesome year and was thoroughly deserving of his All Star award. His brother Damien characterised Monaghan's team ethic with astonishing industry in a variety of roles. For most of the Kerry game Monaghan belied the underdog tag to take ascendancy. They were unfortunate to be caught at the death but, in the cold light of day, the players will have to accept that they did not push home their advantage sufficiently and allowed the Kingdom back into the game. A team that has won over 30 All-Ireland will not need a second invitation. Having said that, nobody in Monaghan was impressed by the poor performance of Meath referee David McColdrick on the day. He put full back John Paul Mone on a yellow card after twelve minutes and Dessie Mone also picked up yellow as Colm Cooper got the benefit of the doubt (as he did all game) when he appeared to slip or fall on purpose. Cooper was one of a number of Kerry players who escaped sanction despite committing personal fouls. Later in the game, a couple of calls broke the underdogs. Dick Clerkin suffered a late challenge after releasing the ball but got no free and Dara O Se wasn't punished for dangerous play when he caught Paul Meegan with a wild boot. Monaghan also suffered a wrong line call from which Kerry eventually got a point. Monaghan led for virtually 69 minutes but had their pockets cruelly picked at Croke Park on Sunday August 12. The Ulster finalists were on top for most of the match and led by two points with around five minutes remaining but the crucial breaks went against them at the death and Kerry somehow managed to plunder three late match-winning points. The winners were hanging on all day and could well have conceded at least two more goals, but somehow they managed to stay in touch to hit the front when it mattered most. Monaghan took the game to their esteemed opponents from the off and thoroughly deserved to go through. Monaghan showed neither fear nor respect for Kerry's lofty status as they tore into the match with aplomb and played most of the best football seen in the first half, But Kerry stayed in touch mainly through frees and were somehow level at the short whistle: 0-8 to 1-5. Monaghan's goal came from an excellent eighth-minute Thomas Freeman penalty and the beaten Ulster finalists almost added further goals through Rory Woods and Damien Freeman. As Monaghan made a mockery of the bookies' odds with purposeful and assured play, the defending All-Ireland champions got five of their eight opening scores from placed balls. Rory Woods opened the scoring and Tommy Freeman was also on target before Kerry pointed a MF Russell free. Ciaran Hanratty won Monaghan a penalty in the eighth minute when he was shoved to the deck inside the large square after some excellent perseverance. Freeman demonstrated remarkable composure as he slotted the ball along the ground into the bottom left hand corner of the net to give Seamus McEneaney's side a dream 1-2 to 0-1 lead. Russell and Cooper converted frees as the champions hung on and Kerry were soon level. Frustratingly for Monaghan, their lead disappeared as the red-hot favourites clipped four of their opening five points from frees. Finlay's routine free restored Monaghan's advantage after Marc O Se's jersey pull on Freeman and goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy came to Kerry's rescue when he saved a powerful low drive from Woods. With Monaghan now back on top, they fired successive points from Woods - a flick when he opted not to go for goal - and Stephen Gollogly. Ominously, Kerry got the last three scores of the half - as they would do again in the second period - to go in level at the interval In the 38th minute, Thomas Freeman put Monaghan back in front with a wonderful point from a tight angle. The unstoppable corner forward cut inside his man brilliantly after getting on the end of a Dick Clerkin pass When Kerry levelled, Hanratty - wearing the No.30 shirt - floated over a beautiful left-footed point. Woods put two in it at the start of the fourth quarter. Hanratty then scored an audacious point from play to stun Kerry and Monaghan led deservedly by three points with 15 minutes left. Kerry levelled against the run of play when a big high punt into the goalmouth went to O'Sullivan off a defender and he hit the net. 1-9 apiece but Monaghan didn't wilt and went back ahead with points from Freeman and Finlay. They still led by two with five minutes remaining but Kerry somehow pulled it out of the fire with late, late points from substitute Bryan Sheehan (2) and wing back Tomas O Se. Amazingly, Kerry had gone ahead for the first time with only a minute left. Paul Meegan had a late chance to salvage a draw but it just wasn't going to be Monaghan's day despite the team's incredible heroics. Monaghan: S Duffy, C Flanagan, JP Mone, D Mone: D Freeman, G McQuaid, D McArdle; D Clerkin, E Lennon; P Finlay (0-2), R Woods (0-3), S Gollogly (0-1), C Hanratty (0-2), V Corey, T Freeman (1-3). Subs: D Hughes for Gollogly, P Meegan for D Mone, H McElroy for Woods, B McKenna for Meegan Monaghan had booked a first-ever All-Ireland quarter-final place with a comprehensive 2-12 to 1-7 round-three qualifier defeat of national league winners Donegal in front of 15,693 spectators at Healy Park, Omagh on Saturday, July 28. Unaffected by their narrow Ulster final defeat a couple of weeks earlier, Seamus McEneaney's team played with total conviction and confidence to progress to the All-Ireland series for the first time in 19 years. Vincent Corey's goal was the difference between the teams at the short whistle as ultra-confident Monaghan took a deserved 1-5 to 0-5 half-time lead. Indeed, Donegal were chasing shadows for much of the first half and could have trailed by more. Monaghan started in a whirl to tear into a 1-4 to 0-3 lead after 25 minutes. Two of those scores were remarkable left-peg finishes from horrible angles from the boot of Ballybay clubman Paul Finlay and Magheracloone's terrorising corner forward Thomas Freeman also contributed a fine brace. The selection of Vincent Corey at full forward paid immediate dividends as the Clontibret man popped up with a crucial goal in the opening stages. Rory Kavanagh had Donegal a point to the good after mere seconds but Monaghan replied in style as Corey agilely beat Donegal goalkeeper Paul Durcan to the first high ball into the danger area to grab a vital third-minute goal with a neat flick. Monaghan displayed tremendous discipline in their tackling, while in contrast Donegal seemed quite content to foul the opposition regardless of the consequences. The sides were suddenly level when Kavanagh netted in the 38th minute but Finlay's free left Monaghan leading by a point with ten minutes played in the second half. Amazingly, Donegal couldn't add to that goal and Monaghan showed exceptional spirit to take total control with a performance that must rank as one of their best ever When the majestic Freeman found himself in a one-on-one with Durcan, there was only ever going to be one outcome and the ace attacker drove to the net to give Monaghan more breathing space. Half-time substitute Ciaran Hanratty, Finlay (free) and the outstanding Corey all added to Monaghan's tally and they led comfortably - 2-9 to 1-5 - with twelve minutes left in this third-round qualifier. Hanratty was tugged as he bore down on goal and Tommy Freeman tapped over from straight in front of the posts, bringing his personal tally to 1-4 and providing Monaghan with a double-scores advantage with only ten minutes remaining: 2-10 to 1-5. Freeman dropped one short into Durcan's arms three minutes later but Monaghan - giving am exhibition of defensive play - were in charge, with the brilliant Gary McQuaid typifying their immense display. Substitute Eamonn McGee breached the Monaghan defence for the first time in 28 minutes when he clipped over a point to close the gap to five points with only four minutes remaining. With a minute of normal time left, Freeman left his marker stupefied to knock over his fifth point. Donegal managed another consolation point but Monaghan substitute Shane Smyth had the last say as he took his point three minutes into stoppage time to put some icing on the Monaghan cake. Smyth had replaced the brilliant Rory Woods moments earlier, and Woods got a standing ovation as he left the field. But the truth was that every Monaghan player delivered on the night to book a first-ever All-Ireland quarter-final berth and a trip to Croke Park. What a performance against a team that many had short-listed as potential All-Ireland winners! Monaghan's championship voyage got off to a suitably auspicious start when they conjured a dramatic, history-making 2-15 to 1-15 victory over Down in their Ulster first-round clash at Newry on Sunday June 10. This was Monaghan's first championship win at the Mourne County's expense in 19 years and they went on to win the Anglo-Celt Cup that year. It their first time to triumph in Newry since 1980. Clearly, there was something different in the Monaghan psyche this year. Down had the advantage of two preliminary-round outings against Cavan and they led as the match entered its defining moments, but Monaghan displayed remarkable physical fitness and psychological strength to pull the game out of the fire. Paul Finlay was instrumental in the late surge: he placed Conor McManus for a point from a quick free and landed two booming points himself to seal the victory after Ciaran Hanratty had stunned Ross Carr's side with his second goal of the game. Monaghan made a late change with Brendan McKenna drafted into midfield in place of John Paul Mone and they had three points on the board from Tommy Freeman (free), Shane Smith and Stephen Gollogly before Down levelled with a goal. The hosts then moved ahead but Monaghan re-established their lead on 23 minutes when Hanratty crashed home an outstanding goal following an excellent build up. But Down led by a point at the short whistle: 1-7 to 1-6. Monaghan levelled twice in the third quarter and an exchange of points between Michael Walsh and Freeman left the sides level again entering the final 15 minutes. The losers gradually edged two ahead and they seemed on course until Monaghan staged a grandstand finish. Substitute McManus reduced the deficit to the minimum and then came the move that led to Hanratty's second goal. Before Down had time to recover Finlay boosted Monaghan with a wonder free to put three in it. Michael Walsh provided Down with temporary hope but Finlay had the final say as he clinched the win with rapier-like finishing. Seamus McEneaney's admission that training sessions were more intense than most of Monaghan's league games should have served as due notice of what was to come. The team was shaping up well and, in their second championship outing of the year, two weeks after the Down game, they made light of the eleventh-hour withdrawal of Paul Finlay to score a stellar 0-14 to 1-9 victory over Derry at Casement Park on Sunday June 24. It was Monaghan's first championship win over the Oak Leaf County in 19 years - another reference to '88! - and the victory was more comprehensive than the final scoreline suggests. Monaghan were on top for most of the game and their opponents only really got into it late on as desperation spurred them to greater effort and they got a lucky goal. Tommy Freeman scored seven points and the enormity of the win was underlined by Derry's subsequent qualifier form which saw them eliminate three genuine All-Ireland contenders in Armagh, Mayo and Laois before losing narrowly to Dublin at the quarter-final stage. Derry got their goal rather fortuitously in the 61st minute, closing the gap to just one point, 0-12 to 1-8, but Monaghan's response of two unanswered points was emphatic. Rory Woods and the superb Stephen Gollogly fired over the scores that finally broke Derry's resistance. The winners only led by the odd point from eleven despite dominating the first half and they were rocked when Conleth Gilligan levelled from a free on the resumption. But Freeman's fourth and fifth points of the afternoon put daylight between the teams and Monaghan led from there to the finish. After the match, the manager assured supporters that Paul Finlay would definitely play in the Ulster final - Monaghan's first in - you've guessed - 19 years. He stated that the Ballybay man had been ruled out of the Derry game as a precaution but that he would almost certainly receive the all-clear. Finlay did play in an entertaining Ulster final at Clones on Sunday July 15 and Monaghan came extremely close to taking the Anglo-Celt Cup. But for nightmare starts to both halves and a wides tally of ten, the underdogs could have masterminded a famous victory. Sean Cavanagh was enormous for the O'Neill County and he was ultimately the difference between the teams in a thriller played out before 33,842 paying members of the public. Monaghan had three great chances to increase their goals tally but - unbelievably - Tyrone survived to claim their first provincial crown since 2003. The game turned on its head in the second half after Monaghan's backroom bravely switched Vincent Corry from full back to full forward. Corry had a hand in Tommy Freeman's brilliant 53rd-minute goal and was desperately unfortunate not to score at least one major himself, after tearing the Tyrone rearguard asunder. Monaghan exposed real frailty in the Tyrone full-back line and at times the favourites' big names were comprehensively outplayed as Monaghan's tactics held sway. The middle third was congested and fierce but Monaghan shaded the exchanges here and probably should have made much better use of their plentiful possession. There were just two points between the teams at the final whistle: 1-15 to 1-13. The winners just about deserved their eleventh provincial title as their hard-working brand of football had Monaghan in big trouble twice (at the start of each half). But the outsiders battled back into the game on both occasions and will feel unlucky not to have snatched at least a draw. By switching Corey to full forward for the second half, Monaghan changed the dynamic of the game and the No.3 was decidedly unfortunate to see two late goal efforts miss the target. The first one hit the goalie's foot and the second flew over the bar as Tyrone's luck held firm. Monaghan gave it everything but their bad start to each half came back to haunt them as Tyrone and Armagh's nine-year duopoly in Ulster was preserved. Ultimately, Tyrone led all the way and did what they had to do. Sean Cavanagh gave a Man of the Match performance and Tyrone were otherwise more workmanlike than slick. Monaghan made a tentative start and Tyrone led by four points at the break, 1-8 to 0-7. Philip Jordan got the goal and Mickey Harte's men looked like they would run riot at one stage. However, Banty's boys gradually got back into the match and they bossed the second quarter, closing a seven-point gap (after eleven minutes) to four at the short whistle. While Monaghan had good reason to be content at the interval, they might also have been disappointed as they had won the majority of the midfield exchanges. Tyrone had 1-3 on the board before Stephen Gollogly registered Monaghan's first score with a superb point from distance in the seventh minute but Mulligan and Cavanagh stretched Tyrone's lead to seven after ten minutes and Monaghan replied with a free from Paul Finlay. Within a minute, Ciaran Hanratty skinned Ryan McMenamin and landed a fine left-footed point from 35 metres. The scores were coming thick and fast - mostly for the O'Neill County - and McCullough's 15th-minute free made it 1-6 to 0-3. Rory Woods, Paul Finlay and Eoin Lennon had the gap down to the goal but Davy Harte and McCullough answered for the favourites. Finlay hit the last score of the opening period. Tyrone got five of the first six points of the second half to lead by double scores, 1-13 to 0-8, and Monaghan looked dead and buried. Monaghan's opening point of the half arrived on 38 minutes when Corey won a ball, which he laid off to Tommy Freeman, who drove a shot over the bar when he had a brief glimpse of goal. The Oriel County could really have done with a three-pointer. Then began the fightback. Finlay gave Monaghan heart with a majestic free from an impossible angle and Tommy Freeman lifted them even further with a trademark goal at the end of the third quarter. Corey rose to claim Finlay's delivery and sent possession to the Magheracloone attacker, who drove a powerful low shot to the bottom corner of the net. When Freeeman tapped over a free from in front of the posts, spirited Monaghan were back within three points: 1-13 to 1-10 with 16 minutes of normal time remaining. Unbelievably, Cavanagh drove over his fourth point from play - another excellent left-footed score to steady his team again. Target man Corey and Freeman linked up again on the hour, for the latter to knock over his third point, closing the gap to three again. In the 68th minute, Monaghan came agonisingly close to conjuring an equalising goal: Corey - selling more dummies than a high-street warehouse - brilliantly worked his way through the Tyrone defence and, with only John Devine to beat, frustratingly saw his shot come back off the goalkeeper's left foot. With that went Monaghan's dream. At the other end, Mulligan's effort came back off the crossbar before the No.15 stretched his side's lead with a converted free from the hands. Finlay's 72nd-minute free left a kick of the ball between them again with a minute of stoppage time left. Right at the death, Corey's drive flew only a couple of feet over the Tyrone crossbar and the O'Neill County held on after a truly remarkable Monaghan resurgence. Monaghan had given themselves too much to do by starting each half so sluggishly. But they knew now that they could stand toe-to-toe with any team in the country. Tweet

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