Monaghan V Donegal Ulster Final

[BluestackBoy]

The first two games, against Tyrone & Armagh, were seen by everyone as being big hurdles to get over.

On the basis of Tyrone and Armagh's performances since the Donegal game - unconvincing wins against a side that came joint bottom of Division 4 and a side that just avoided relegation to Division 3, you have to wonder were they really that big of a hurdle for Donegal to overcome.

On the contrary, Tyrone & Armagh's performances in the qualifiers make my point.

It is difficult to get yourself to top performance levels against teams you expect to beat. For Tyrone & Armagh it would be even more difficult having been knocked out of the Ulster Championship.

[babarino]

The first two games, against Tyrone & Armagh, were seen by everyone as being big hurdles to get over...
Let's not forget that Monaghan weren't brilliant against Fermanagh, for the same reasons, but I suspect that both side will be at full tilt for the final.

Donegal's performances so far in the championship make them obvious favourites, as they've put away decent sides convincingly. Derry were always going to up their game. Had Bradley put over a fairly easy free it would have been a lot tighter. Derry lost the momentum they'd gained, Donegal capitalised.

Monaghan know they can't spurn easy chances that come along and they won't. Donegal's midfield is probably the difference on paper. Apart from last year's Ulster Final, I haven't witnessed a flat performance against our friends from the north west.

[The Subbie]

Monaghan are capable of beating Donegal at home in Clones if they have another off day, but they are going nowhere in the championship afterwards.

My main prediction here is for Hughes to get frustrated with Donegal's diving antics, throw a few punches and pick up a deserved red card towards the end of the game.

It's good to see a Dub take such a healthy interest in the most competitive province and seeing you acknowledge that football doesn't cease to exist beyond The Naul or Finglas, well done.
If you need to know any good pubs to go to before the final let me know but try and be on time for the game, Utd wont be playing so you should be able to sup up and make the throw in , allow an extra few minutes for the walk up the hill though.

[Maguire01]

Monaghan were fairly unconvincing in 2013 against Antrim and Cavan. I'd take the same outcome in the final.

[orangeman]

Monaghan's element of surprise is gone. Donegal's system is tried and tested.

It's a real tribute to Monaghan that when they won that Ulster final, Monaghan were any price to win and Donegal were 1/10. Donegal are 4/9 and Monaghan best priced 9/4. That's how much progress Monaghan have made in the interim. It won't be a shock if Monaghan beat Donegal unlike the bolt from the "blue" of a few years ago.

I'm really looking forward to this one.

[twohands!!!]

Was thinking about the likely impact in terms of the subs benches and had a quick look at the games both have played so far and how much they have used the subs bench.

So far in the championship Donegal have used 12 subs in 3 games playing roughly 130 minutes and contributing zero to the scoreboard.

Monaghan by contrast have used 10 subs in 2 games playing roughly 210 minutes and contributing 7 points (all from play)

7 of those Donegal subs were made in the 68th minute or later while the latest Monaghan made any sub was the 67th minute.

The total time played is an approximate figure as trying to get completely accurate time subs are on the field with injury time is almost impossible.

However overall I think it's clear that there is a definite gap in the teams in terms of the subs bench and I don't think this is down to Monaghan having an especially strong bench but more down to the fact that Donegal have a very weak one.

[JoG2]

When Armagh won Ulster from the preliminary round it was big news, as it  had only happened once before. Donegal have made this routine and they may not have seen Derry as quite as big a threat as Tyrone or Armagh away. I'd say they would like to beat Monaghan.

They would have seen the Kilkenny footballers as a bigger threat than Armagh after that performance @ the Athletic grounds !

[imtommygunn]

Was thinking about the likely impact in terms of the subs benches and had a quick look at the games both have played so far and how much they have used the subs bench.

So far in the championship Donegal have used 12 subs in 3 games playing roughly 130 minutes and contributing zero to the scoreboard.

Monaghan by contrast have used 10 subs in 2 games playing roughly 210 minutes and contributing 7 points (all from play)

7 of those Donegal subs were made in the 68th minute or later while the latest Monaghan made any sub was the 67th minute.

The total time played is an approximate figure as trying to get completely accurate time subs are on the field with injury time is almost impossible.

However overall I think it's clear that there is a definite gap in the teams in terms of the subs bench and I don't think this is down to Monaghan having an especially strong bench but more down to the fact that Donegal have a very weak one.

You're adamant about this donegal subs bench!

[Schkite]

Monaghan's element of surprise is gone. Donegal's system is tried and tested.

It's a real tribute to Monaghan that when they won that Ulster final, Monaghan were any price to win and Donegal were 1/10. Donegal are 4/9 and Monaghan best priced 9/4. That's how much progress Monaghan have made in the interim. It won't be a shock if Monaghan beat Donegal unlike the bolt from the "blue" of a few years ago.

I'm really looking forward to this one.

Sure I think we were slight favourites last year and that didn't work out too well! At the very least it was about 50/50. So hopefully we can repeat 2013 by winning as the underdog, even if the odds are much closer.

It's true that the element of surprise is long gone, but I think the team have learned to deal with that over the last year. They won't lack for motivation after the poor showing of last year either. Whether this will be enough to beat Donegal remains to be seen. We're in a better place than last year but we'll definitely need to improve a good bit from the first two games.

[twohands!!!]

Was thinking about the likely impact in terms of the subs benches and had a quick look at the games both have played so far and how much they have used the subs bench.

So far in the championship Donegal have used 12 subs in 3 games playing roughly 130 minutes and contributing zero to the scoreboard.

Monaghan by contrast have used 10 subs in 2 games playing roughly 210 minutes and contributing 7 points (all from play)

7 of those Donegal subs were made in the 68th minute or later while the latest Monaghan made any sub was the 67th minute.

The total time played is an approximate figure as trying to get completely accurate time subs are on the field with injury time is almost impossible.

However overall I think it's clear that there is a definite gap in the teams in terms of the subs bench and I don't think this is down to Monaghan having an especially strong bench but more down to the fact that Donegal have a very weak one.

You're adamant about this donegal subs bench!

Yeah I know

Shure there's worse things I could be bothered about....

[GrandMasterFlash]

We're definitely in a better place compared to last years final: Conor McManus had the flu, Kieran Hughes was on pain killing injections, Eoin Lennon and Neil McAdam were absent. The performance simply wasn't there last year and I can't see that happening again this year. We have a much stronger bench this year also who can influence the game.

Donegal's half-back and half forward lines are the danger men and need to be tightly marked. Monaghan can beat them but they will need to perform significantly better than they have done in their first two games. Let's hope it's a slow build up from Malachy and the real character is on display on the 19th...

[J70]

It's strange how nervous I am about this and how fearful I am of Monaghan.  Because they haven't made the mark we have outside of Ulster. I guess it's about match-ups, and Monaghan have clearly shown they can out - compete and beat us over the past couple of seasons. But like Monaghan compared to last year, I think we are in much better shape than 2013, provided McBrearty's latest knock is minor.

It's going to be grim though!

And the loser, should they get through the qualifier, get Mayo, Dublin or Kerry! (Sorry Sligo, Westmeath and Cork!)

[AZOffaly]

The loser will only get the losers of Connacht if they make it through. They can't play Munster or Leinster. They are in the B side.

[charlie linkbox]

It's generally accepted that Monaghan played poorly in last year's final.

And yet we were only beaten by three points..... a kick of the ball.

Monaghan are well fit for Donegal.

[yellowcard]

Fancy Monaghan to win this, Donegal will have used up a lot of energy in just getting to the Ulster final whereas Monaghan have had a fairly easy run to the final and could tailor their training to arrive at the final in peak condition. Monaghan are physically powerful and are patient enough and happy enough to engage in a war of attrition that this match will probably become.