Doire v Mhuineacháin 24/5/09

[soldier of destiny]

Startin to get nervous now. I'll have to have a wee drink to settle the nerves Early start in the mornin to see the minor game so i'll have to go easy on it

Its too close to call... A sup of drink might be needed alright!

Yeah early start, does anyone have tips for shortcuts?

I intend to take the clady turn (as if goin to Ballybofey) and coming into Lifford that way, then going into Derry via St Johnston.
Is there a better way in? Where is a good place to park?

To be honest i haven't a clue how to get to Celtic Park, my intention is to get on the N2, follow the signs to Derry then hopefully spot another Monaghan car to get me to the pitch.  It's worked before!

[thebandit]

I know where the pitch is, I'm just tryin to avoid traffic! Some sickener sitting in 

[soldier of destiny]

I hope to be there early enough to avoid any serious amounts of traffic.  We'll see how it goes.

[Logan]

All the same whiskeysteve, Vinny's no slouch, I'd be confident enough of him keeping up with E Bradley. But we'll need to be winning the breaks and cutting off the supply at the same time. That half-back line of ours is generally fairly attacking so not sure if they'll all be crowding the defence, though there's a good chance that D Freeman will be deployed as a sweeper in front of the full-back line as he has been in the past.

You're right, Vinny is no slouch and I think he's one of the best players Monaghan have, but don't underestimate the speed of Skinner. He will win 70-80% of the ball played in front of the 2 of them. It remains to be seen what he will do with that posession but I can actually see him becoming at least as important to our attack as Paddy.
I think both half-back lines are fairly attack minded so I can see this being a lot of counter-attacking football from both side, but at the same time I cant see huge scores.
Who knows what will happen...but I cant wait!

Yeah by all accounts Eoin Bradley has come on some amount this year, read an interview with him there this week and he said he was in the gym all winter. Seems like he's becoming a real dangerous forward in his own right and stepping out of Paddy's shadow. There's alot of talk about him having a big year in him so I'll look forward to seeing him tomorrow. Both teams have been focusing on this game over anything else since the draw was made, and it's only a day away! Can't wait myself!

Yeh ...

I honestly don't think any Monaghan back can handle him.
I'm know none of them have the pace for him or the strength - and that's the big thing with him - his strength, plus he's so underestimated.

If the ball comes in right to him I think you could see a show piece tomorrow

[thebuzz]

Best of luck to Derry today. Hopefully we'll come out on the right side this time. All the talk of the previous two encounters implies that Derry weren't well prepared mentally.

[milltown row]

i'm going for a Monaghan win, still plent of talent in this current team and Derry will have it all to do at Celtic Park

[fitzroyalty]

Tough one to call but I'm going for the men from Londonderry to pip it

[Oakleafer93]

Tough one to call but I'm going for the men from Londonderry to pip it

but its Derry and Monaghan playing?!?

[orangeman]

Monaghan will run Derry very close - I expect Derry to win but not by very much - first draw of the championship ??

[mountainboii]

Really looking forward to this, hopefully it'll be a bit better of a game than the one last week. Hard to call a winner since its nearly impossible to know where both teams are really at. I'm gonna ignore league form completely and say, on the back of their more impressive recent championship form, Monaghan by 3 

[mountainboii]

Whoever is doing the match direction on RTE here needs a f**king smack on the head 

[orangeman]

Whoever is doing the match direction on RTE here needs a f**king smack on the head 

Pathetic coverage.

[FermPundit]

Superb point from Tommy Freeman. It's a good battle between himself and McGuckin

[orangeman]

Superb point from Tommy Freeman. It's a good battle between himself and McGuckin

Wee head butt from Tommy was there ?

[FermPundit]

Superb point from Tommy Freeman. It's a good battle between himself and McGuckin

Wee head butt from Tommy was there ?

Yeah, I noticed that myself.