Tyrone minors welcomed Monaghan to Eglish on Saturday for the All Ireland minor C Shield final. The weather was more akin to a winters afternoon than a spring one with snow, hail, showers and a splash of sunshine.
The red hands got off to a flyer when Roisin McErlean broke free and went one on one with the goalkeeper and took her first goal of the game with ease. Monaghan soon added their first point from a free just in front of goals as Eileen Cullen stroked the sliotar over the bar. Tyrone were giving away a lot of frees in dangerous positions and Cullen was making them pay with another easy point. Monaghan could have went level with another free soon after but the ball drifted wide. The tackling from both sides was fierce and a lapse of judgement from the influential Monaghan captain Hannah McSkeane meant the referee had no choice but to award a red card for a tackle on Rona Mallon on the fifteen minute mark.
The game up to this point was a fairly even contest but the visitors were soon to pay as Mallon took her first point of the game by way of a 45 metre free. Tyrone were now doing all the pressing and McErlean added another point to her tally soon afterwards. Niamh Forker was ever present in and around the midfield and she took a brilliant point to extend Tyrone lead with twenty minutes gone. An exceptional interchange of play between Catherine Muldoon and Amy Barrett gave Barrett her first point. Monaghan kept pressing nonetheless and Orla Coyle was at her best to rebut the visitors advance. A free for Cullen ended the half.
Half Time Tyrone 1-5 Monaghan 0-3.
A strong wind now blew across the pitch as the players took to the field for the second half. There didn’t look to be much between the sides within the first five minutes as both teams were scrapping for every ball. Casey Gallagher was then introduced into the forward line for Tyrone. A lot of the play was concentrated around the centre of field and Monaghan soon got the breakthrough they needed as Eimear McKenna managed a shot on goals and the ball trickled over the goal line. That left just two points between the sides with fifteen minutes gone. Tyrone then changed gears and almost immediately Forker took a brilliant goal. The score of the game came from Gallagher as she sent the sliotar over the bar from an outrageous angle. Monaghan were clearly tiring and the last fifteen minutes was comfortable for Tyrone and a series of points form McErlean, Mallon, Mulddon and Morgan followed. A well worked move involving Gallagher and Muldoon resulted in the final goal of the game with the score board reading Tyrone 3-12 Monaghan 1-3.
Ulster Chairperson Kathleen Woods presented the All Ireland shield to the Tyrone captain Aoife Morgan. Niamh Forker for Tyrone was awarded Player of the match.
Tyrone Scorers R McErlean 1-3, C Muldoon 1-2, N Forker 1-2, R Mallon 0-2, A Barret 0-1, A Morgan 0-1, C Gallagher 0-1.
Martin Donnelly
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