For a county that had hitherto enjoyed unprecedented success at underage level in hurling, 2007 proved to be something of a watershed for Monaghan with the county only taking part in one competition. The under 21's reached the semi-final of the Ulster under B championship. Over the last 10 years Monaghan had picked up provincial and All Ireland titles at under 16 and minor level and that success should have been reflected in an ongoing programme of development. The county had also won the Ulster U21 B Championship and were pipped for an All Ireland final spot by Mayo in a close finish in Longford. However for a variety of reasons underage hurling took very much a back seat in the grand scheme of things in the last couple of seasons with the result that Monaghan were unable to field teams at either under 16 or minor level this year. County Chairman John Connolly was openly disappointed at this fallback in the fortunes of the ancient game and is determined to address the issue. "We will just have to get working again in the schools and with the clubs to get the under age scene revamped and that will be part of my priority as chairman of the hurling board and as chairman of the county board. We had a great record in under age hurling in recent times but it was allowed to drift to the extent that we have fallen way back from where we should be. That said though I would have to compliment the under 21 team and the management and especially hurling officer Noel Mullaney who stepped into the breach and acted as a coordinator for a lot of the things that needed to be done and hopefully from next year on we will start rebuilding". In the Ulster under 21 championship itself Monaghan were originally paired with Armagh in what would have effectively been a semi-final as only four teams had applied to play in the competition. Monaghan however were able to facilitate a late entry by Cavan when they agreed to play them in a quarter-final game with the winners then meeting Armagh in the semi-final. "We were delighted to help our neighbours in that regard but as well as that it gave us an extra game which is what it's all about because we need to be playing games if the players are to develop," Noel Mullaney told a county committee meeting. For a number of reasons Monaghan fielded at less than full strength but still proved too strong for Cavan in what was quite a one-sided quarter final game in Clones. A towering performance by Gavin Dooley in midfield with excellent support from Brendan Naughton was the linchpin of this victory. "Dooley put on an exhibition of high fielding that always kept us on top. Eoin Greenan at full-back had an excellent game and Bernard O'Brien was hugely influential at centre back until his dismissal for a second bookable offence 17 minutes into the second-half. At the other end the predatory instincts and the accuracy of Noel Morgan proved crucial and he finished top scorer with two goals and four points while Adrian McAnespie, Stephen Lambe and Gareth Conlon all did very well. "We got off to a flying start with a point after just 10 seconds and within two minutes we had the first goal when Noel Morgan finished off a quick move but poor finishing that us hit a total of 14 wides as well which didn't help. Stephen Lambe and Noel Morgan had Monaghan ahead by six points after 10 minutes. We effectively won the game with a purple patch that saw us hit two goals and three points in the space of nine minutes to put us 14 points ahead and Cavan were struggling. They pull back a couple of scores but the result was never in doubt and we were well worth our 5-9 to 1-6 win." Teams and Scorers v Cavan: Deaglan Connolly, Niall Cadden, Eoin Greenan, Barry McArdle, Sean Brennan, Bernard O'Brien, Ryan McKenna, Gavin Dooley, Brendan Naughton 1-2, Noel Morgan 2-4, Stephen Lambe 0-2, Gareth Conlon 1-0, Patrick Hannon, Adrian McAnespie 0-1, Mark Murphy. Subs: Eoin McTiernan for D Connolly, Raymond Lee 1-0 for P Hannon, Seamus McLoughlin for R McKenna. "That win put us through to the semi-final against Armagh which if the original arrangement had been adhered to would have been our only outing in the championship because on the day Armagh proved too strong in practically every department for us in a game that was played in chilly, blustery conditions in Keady. Gerry Murphy had re-joined the Monaghan backroom team to assist with preparations and quite a lot of work was done as he knew that we would be up against it. There was some trouble with the date and venue but eventually a compromise was reached and it was agreed that we would play in Keady. At the outset though I have to say that the game as a contest for the most part was not as one-sided as the final score line might suggest but the margin on the scoreboard was a reflection of Armagh's superior fitness, technique and more clinical finishing that saw them repeatedly punish Monaghan on lightning counter attacks. Their ability to move the ball swiftly, their overall support play and their penetration up front particularly from the elusive Declan Coulter put them in a different class. Looking at the game I have to say begged the question as to how a team that boasted five or six members of the Armagh senior team that played in the Ulster senior hurling championship should be competing in the Shield section of the under 21 championship. They were really far too strong for the competition but that is a problem not only at U21 level but in the Rackard Cup as well. That debate however is for another day but we will be bringing it up at the proper forum to see of we can get more equanimity in these things going forward." That said though Armagh's victory was deserved and they laid the foundations for it with a blistering three minutes spell in the second quarter that saw them hit three goals inside two and a half minutes to turn the game completely on its head. Up until then Monaghan had been well in the match although the danger signals had been flashing on a couple of occasions as Armagh came in search of goals. Those three goals helped Armagh to a 12 points half-time lead, 3-6 to 0-3 although we might have been closer had Monaghan converted a penalty in the minutes before half-time but Stephen Lambe's shot was blocked at the bottom of the right-hand post. The second half started with purpose and a Stephen Lambe goal a minute after the resumption gave cause for hope. Ultimately though it proved to be a false dawn and any chance Monaghan had of making a fight of it was killed off completely in the sixth minute when Armagh rattled in their fourth goal. The standard of play did become a little scrappy in the second-half but Armagh were always on top and they went on to hit nine points without reply between the ninth and 29th minutes to run out comprehensive winners with 18 points to spare. In the final analysis they underlined just how much work Monaghan had to do and everyone could see how they had fallen back from the previous year when we defeated Armagh in the final. The final score was Armagh 4-15, Monaghan 1-6. Team and Scorers v Armagh: Eoin McTiernan, Sean Brennan, Alan Lambe, Barry McArdle, Alan Lee, Bernard O'Brien 0-1, Seamus McLoughlin, Gavin Dooley, Eoin Greenan, Stephen Lambe 1-2, Noel Morgan 0-1, Michael Lennon 0-1, Aidan Og McAnespie, Gary Boyd, TJ Byrne 0-1. Subs: Conn O'Hanlon for S McLoughlin, Deaglan Connolly for E McTiernan, Martin Murphy for TJ Byrne, Gareth Conlon for A Lee. Tweet

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