Monaghan V Tyrone minor report

The Tyrone county minor camogs made the relatively short journey to Clontibret to play Monaghan in their second fixture of their All Ireland minor c shield championship. Tyrone were buoyed by their comprehensive victory over Donegal two weeks previous and Monaghan had an away win over Wicklow in their first match. The wind was slight and blowing across the pitch as the fixture got underway.
The home team settled very early on and they applied constant pressure on Tyrone Full back line. They took the lead within five minutes with a point from open play just in front of the goals. The full length of the pitch was used as the play went from one end of the pitch to the other. Monaghan were awarded a lot of frees in the first fifteen minutes but Tyrone defence held strong with Orla Donnelly clearing her lines on many occasions. Catherine Muldoon finally got Tyrones first point from open play with a sublime pass from Niamh Forker. The half continued to be littered with frees as ground play was almost impossible on the heavy surface. The two teams could only match each other in the wide count as the defences held firm. Maebh Mallon in the Tyrone goals made a few goal line clearances that kept the scoreboard even. It was on the twenty five minute mark that Monaghan finally found the back of the net when Roisin O’Sullivan burst through and took her score well.
The last five minutes saw the red hands under pressure and Laura Mason and Cliodhna Colton kept their nerve to clear the danger. The half time whistle sounded with a score-line Monaghan 1-1 Tyrone 0-1.
Monaghan took to the field and started were the had left off in the first half with a strong determined push forward. They took a point with a minute on the clock to extend their lead. Roisin McErlean who was on free duty pulled a point back from the 45 metre line. Tyrone then had a series of wides as the game flowed from end to end. Monaghans captain Hannah McSkeane then extended their lead with an excellent point from open play. Donnelly again was called into action and she showed her defensive qualities clearing her lines. Tyrone had a number of good passages of play and just past the twenty minute mark Casey Gallagher sent a rasping shot past the Monaghan goal keeper to leave a single point between the two teams.
There was three minutes left on the clock and Monaghan extended their lead with a point from a free. A further 45 metre free was not converted for the home side with two minutes remaining. The Tyrone camogs kept their intensity levels high and McErlean found free space and made a beeline for the goals sending the sliotar intothe back of the net. It was the first time the visitors had the lead in the game with only seconds remaining. It was from the resulting puckout that Cara Little stole a march on her marker to find the back of the net to give Tyrone the valuable win. Full Time Monaghan 1-4 Tyrone 3-2.
Tyrone will now play Wicklow in the last game of the round robin set of games on 26th March at home.
Tyrone scorers R McErlean 1-1, Casey Gallagher 1-0, Cara Little 1-0, C Muldoon 0-1