Monaghan Advance to Ulster Semi-Finals After Victory Over Cavan
Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan expressed a sense of
"relief"following his team's 0-27 to 2-14 win against Cavan, which secured their place in the Ulster Championship semi-finals.
Despite a challenging National League campaign that ended in relegation without a win, Monaghan responded with a composed performance in Clones, setting up a last-four clash with Derry.
"We've had a very tough league, so there is big relief,"Bannigan told NI.
"We've been preparing hard for this since the Galway game and were focused on getting a squad as near to full strength as we could. We weren't quite at full strength, but we were stronger."
Monaghan Withstand Cavan Comeback to Set Up Semi-Final With Derry
Monaghan's fast start was crucial, as they dominated kick-outs and turnovers in the opening half, building a seven-point lead by halftime.
Bannigan attributed this early control to the experience gained from competing against Division One teams during the league, despite the disappointing results.
"The biggest thing we got out of the league was 16 debuts under our belt and big-game experience against Division One opponents,"he added.
He also welcomed the opportunity to introduce several players to the Ulster Championship.
"You saw that today with some of the younger players. Stephen Mooney, Aaron Carey and Louis Kelly all came in and made big contributions."
Mooney, who missed much of the league due to injury, was among the standout performers as Monaghan displayed a wide range of scorers across the team.
"We missed Stephen during the league, so it was great to have him back,"Bannigan continued.
"We had a lot of injuries; it's a long list, but it's great to get those players back. They are not all back fully fit yet, but hopefully, two weeks from today, they will be further down the line."
Bannigan acknowledged the challenges faced in Clones as Monaghan had to withstand a second-half surge from their neighbours, with goalkeeper Rory Beggan making a crucial penalty save from Paddy Lynch to maintain their lead.
"We're going to have to look at that because they got too many goal chances and Rory did pull off a couple of great saves, but Cavan were always going to come at us,"he said.
"They're our neighbours and our oldest rivals, so we knew they would bring it in the second half.
We still ended up winning the game by seven with 10 different scorers, so you have to be happy with that."
Focus Shifts to Semi-Final Against Derry
Attention now turns to the semi-final against Derry, who advanced comfortably after defeating Antrim on Saturday.
"Derry are a top, top team and they'll be favourites,"Bannigan said.
"But we'll prepare as best we can and try to be ready for them.
Taking the game on its merits, we have an Ulster semi-final, and us and Derry will be going at it hammer and tongs to try to get to an Ulster final; that's prize enough in itself."
