USFC Semi Final - Doire v Muineacháin

[stiffler]

McEnaney confident about Finlay  

Seamus McEnaney has guided Monghan to the Ulster final
Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney celebrated a semi-final success over Derry by declaring that Paul Finlay would be fit for the 15 July decider.
Midfielder Finlay missed the 0-14 to 1-9 win at Casement Park and there was speculation be could be out long term.

"Forget about the rumours. Paul Finlay will play in the Ulster final - I can guarantee you that," said McEnaney.

"The players gave everything. Tyrone will be a serious challenge but it is one we are looking forward to."

McEnaney highlighted the work which had gone into getting Monaghan to their first Ulster final since 1988.

"People do not realise what this team has gone through to get here, the sacrifices they have to make," he said.

"The players have given me tremendous respect and commitment and I am proud to be their manager."

Derry manager Paddy Crozier struggled to pinpoint where his side went wrong.

"You can analyse all you want but there is no explanation for what happened out there," said Crozier.

"It is pure disappointment. The fellows did not do themselves justice. They did not turn up and Monaghan seemed to be the hungrier team.

"There will be knockers but we just have to get on with it."



Seems to be good news about Finlay, didnt sound too good when it was reported on the BBC.

[SuperHans]

Jeez that was awful Derry were absolutley gash!
Ref was terrible but not the reason y we lost.
We had no system/pattern/ strategy.
Y was Wilkinson out round midfield to win beaking ball. No chance.

Derry ruined wat was a great weekend. Time to head to Maghera to continue the rip and forget about wat i witnessed today.
Hopefully derry play armagh the weekend we are in Oxegen.

Crozier Out!

[KIDDO]

What is the story with theadmission charges at Casement park today oap = ten euro or 7 sterling with everyone else paying on the teraaces  paying 18 euro =12 sterling , how come for theoap the euro is worth 70p , for everyone else  the euro rate to sterling is 66.666p, fleecing the oap once again

[ziggysego]

Why did the Ulster Council allow this game to be televised? Casement like any other ground in the country is not a pretty sight when it is less than half full. They managed to get a good crowd in for the Antrim Derry game, but then again it was free entry, which says it all really.
One Derry man I know stayed at home because of a sore leg, maybe his wallet was hurting him.

Well I'm assuming people tuned in to watch the game, not to admire the stadium.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

I was totally unaware that the Derry lads were THAT afraid of Tyrone in the final!... What a woeful 'performance'! 

[Donagh]

Crap game. Credit where it's due though, the best performance of the day game from the PSNI who to the best of my knowledge were policing a Championship game for the first time. A few well placed traffic cones and hey presto, no gridlock on the Andytown Road or Motorway.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Credit where it's due though, the best performance of the day game from the PSNI who to the best of my knowledge were policing a Championship game for the first time. A few well placed traffic cones and hey presto, no gridlock on the Andytown Road or Motorway.

Do you mean they were in Casement itself Donagh?

[Donagh]

Nah they had a wagon out on the street opposite the turnstiles for lost childer and stuff. Normally they just have a couple of peelers down at the Kennedy Way roundabout but today there were perhaps a dozen of them all down the Andytown Road and only one of them wearing a bullet proof vest.   

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Nah they had a wagon out on the street opposite the turnstiles for lost childer and stuff. Normally they just have a couple of peelers down at the Kennedy Way roundabout but today there were perhaps a dozen of them all down the Andytown Road and only one of them wearing a bullet proof vest.   

Damn, thought we'd had them upstanding for Amhrán na bFhiann! 

[fer fox ache]

Hard to know what to say about that display, we'd no heart, two point margin was very flattering, a jammy goal alomst got us out of jail but we couldn't even grab that lifeline.
Christ, how we missed McGuckin, Is there anyone in the county who thinks that Gerard O'Kane is a corner-back, I have never seen him play there for Glenullin. Either Francie McEldowney or Sean Marty should have been moved on to Freeman, with  Gerard goin to the wing. Patsy Bradley  is not a wing-back your wing-backs need to be able to deliver a decent ball into the forward ours weren't capable of this. The one half decent ball into the square resulted in a goal, albeit a fotuitous one.
We'd four big men around midfield and nobody to win a break ball. Paul Murphy should have been brought in as a groundhog. There was one ball in midfield in the second half where all three Derry men tried to make the catch while Damien Freeman stood off and picked up an easy breaking ball, it was simply the most glaring example of a problem that persited throughout the game.
Where the fcuk we go from here I don't know, probably out on our holes after losing to Armagh

[imtommygunn]

Are that Derry team even half fit?

A lot of very cumersome men on that team. They may find it easier against Armagh though.

McGoldrick wasn't bad nor McCloy. As for the rest well not much can be said. Max doesn't know much about football based on a lot of his posts but he'd be right in saying Lockhart is no CHB. He's very reluctant to kick the ball at all and just holds up play. Mark Lynch is fast becoming one of these boys with great potential who never lives upto it.  As for tactics or tactical substitutions there weren't really any -well unless you count taking Patsy Bradley off.

Monaghan were minus Finlay who by all accounts will be ok for the final. Those two Freemans are some footballers though. Woods despite his size can fairly use a ball too. That team will give Tyrone their fill of it me thinks. They won't win but they won't lie down.

[Orior]

A disappointing display by Derry. Good to see Monaghan win though after so many years in the doldrums.

[stiffler]

Just goes to show how poor antrim are.

[Bogball XV]

Crap game. Credit where it's due though, the best performance of the day game from the PSNI who to the best of my knowledge were policing a Championship game for the first time. A few well placed traffic cones and hey presto, no gridlock on the Andytown Road or Motorway.

They were there for the Derry v Antrim game too.

[tbrick18]

where do you start.....rubbish all over the field and on the line.
McCloy, Hinphy, McGoldrick can hold their heads high but the rest of the team should  hang thier heads in shame.A gutless, effortless performance by the most of them compounded by a manager who seems to have no tactical knowledge and no skills in preparing or motivating a team for a championship game.

It's a terrible thing to say, but what we need no is to get a good drubbing by  by armagh, maybe then get rid of crozier and hopefull get a manager with some experience, fresh ideas and substance befor all the decent players we have are past their best without us ever having seen what they are capable of. We need a manager who is big enough to admit when they have made mistakes and drop players who are so obviously not inter county standard.

We are simply a laughing stock at this moment in time.