Fixtures: Friday, September 10: Ladies' SFL Division Three Final v Castleblayney in Cloghan at 7.30pm
Saturday, September 11: U-17 FL Division Three Shield Final: Aghabog v Emyvale at Gavan Duffy Park at 1pm
Sunday, September 12: JHC Final v Inniskeen in Clontibret at 2.15pm
Monaghan Harps Lotto: The numbers for last Sunday's draw were 10, 12, 15 and 18. Jackpot of €2,400 not won. The four €40 lucky-dip prize winners were: Shea & Anna Corrigan c/o Kevin Treanor; Bernard Murphy c/o ClubZap; Ursula Tracey c/o Paudge Connolly; and Seán Duffy c/o Kevin Treanor. The sellers' prize of €20 was won by Kevin Treanor. Jackpot for Sunday, September 12 is €2,500. Thanks to everyone for their continued support for our lotto, which plays an integral part for the club. Please note that the cut-off point for ClubZap each week is 6pm on Sunday, while physical tickets should be with the lotto committee by 9pm.
Seniors: We hosted our first home Greenfield Foods Senior Football Championship game against Ballybay last Sunday. This proved to be a game of two halves, where we trailed by ten points at the break before launching a spirited comeback. Points by Michael Galligan (two) and Kevin Loughran were all we had to show for our first-half possession, during which Ballybay racked up 2-7, but a strong start to the second half saw Conor Galligan, Dean Fanning, Dylan McKenna, Nicholas Scott and Kevin eat into our deficit. Thomas Croarkin punched to the net to bring us within striking distance and with Dean Doherty making a big impact off the bench by scoring 1-1, the game went down to the wire. Conor McCrystal kicked a brace of points late on as we drew level on a few occasions, but a long-range free deep into added time saw Ballybay finish on the right side of a 2-13 to 2-12 scoreline.
Team and scorers: Conor Callan; Kevin Moran, Aodhán Óg McAnespie (Capt.), Jamie Shields; Conn O'Hanlon, Kevin Loughran (0-2), Thomas Croarkin (1-0); Neil McAdam, Dylan McKenna (0-1); Nicholas Scott (0-1), Conor Galligan (0-1), Dean Fanning (0-2, 1f); Michael Galligan (0-2, 1f), Conor McCrystal (0-2, 1f), Shane McMahon.
Subs: Dean Doherty (1-1) for Moran; Dónal Hahessy for Shields; Shane Smyth for M Galligan; Tiarnán O'Rourke for Fanning.
Our next game is away to Clontibret on Saturday week, September 18.
Good luck: The Harps senior ladies and hurlers are both in action in finals this weekend. We wish everyone involved with both teams the best of luck.
Gavan Duffy Park: Thanks to the club members who had our grounds in great condition for last weekend's SFC game. We host the U-17 FL Division Three Shield Final between Aghabog and Emyvale this Saturday at 1pm. All help appreciated.
Minors: Our U-17s await the draw for the Minor Football Championship.
U-15: Our U-15 Division 5A team fell just short in a high-scoring league final against Donaghmoyne in Toome last Wednesday. Our lads got off to a good start, with Eoin Sheridan, Rhys McCaffrey and Shane McGarry among the scorers, but Donaghmoyne finished the half strongly to lead by 1-7 to 1-5. Shea Corrigan, Oisín Brannigan, Rhys and Eoin were all on target during the second half, but Donaghmoyne maintained a narrow lead through to the end to win by 3-15 to 4-10. Hard luck to all involved.
Panel: Oisín McGeown; John Sherry, Daithí Devlin, Ryan Grant, Shea Corrigan, Orrin Doherty, Dáire McKenna (Capt.), Eoin Sheridan, Shane McGarry, Daniel Alexis, Julian Coyle, Oisín Brannigan, Rhys McCaffrey, Daniel Aughey, Rohann McKenna-Malocca, James Gunn, John Paul Ginley, Kyle Murray, Fergal Magee.
U-13: Well done to our U-13 Division Two team on their Shield Final win over Truagh in Tyholland last Saturday. Kyle Lavery and Alex Flynn got our lads off to a good start with early points, but Truagh went on to lead by 0-6 to 0-4 at the end of a tightly-contested first half. Our lads found the Truagh goalkeeper in inspired form for long spells of this game and they faced an uphill battle when they fell five points down after conceding a quick brace of goals, but a spirited finish turned the game around. Points by Kyle, Alex and Josh Cassidy kept the Harps boys within touching distance, before a low shot by Rhys Coyle found the bottom corner of the net to level it up late on. Kyle then fired home a powerful shot to secure a 2-10 to 2-7 win in an exciting finish. Goalkeeper Lewis Duffy and defenders Ruairí Smyth, Rhys Coyle, Charlie O'Brien, Andrew McKenna and captain Joe Gunn worked hard throughout to limit a Truagh attack that had proved prolific when these sides last met, while Josh Cassidy and Conor Farmer got through a lot of work in midfield. Kyle Lavery was a thorn in the side of the Truagh defence, with good support from Joseph O'Neill, Alex Flynn, Deagan Doherty and Odhrán Kelly. Well done to the team and their management of Mickey Morgan, Orla Whelan, Eileen McElvaney and Brenda McConnon.
Team and scorers: Lewis Duffy; Ruairí Smyth, Rhys Coyle (1-0); Charlie O'Brien, Joe Gunn (Capt.), Andrew McKenna; Josh Cassidy (0-2), Conor Farmer; Joseph O'Neill, Alex Flynn (0-3, 1f), Deagan Doherty; Kyle Lavery (1-5, 0-3f), Odhrán Kelly.
Subs: Cayden McDonald; Felim O'Driscoll-Kelly; Seán Lambe; Ethan Grant; Conor O'Neill.
U-11: Well done to our U-11s, who performed very well in the finals day of the Liam Stirrat Development League v Castleblayney at Gavan Duffy Park on Saturday!
Apartment in Lanzarote: Monaghan GAA are running a development draw with a first prize of a Holiday Home in Lanzarote. The club has received some tickets from the county board, costing €75 each, and they can be purchased by contacting any committee member.
Covid-19: Amid the high case numbers in the Monaghan area, we wish to remind our members and friends to remain cautious and comply with the health guidelines to keep everyone safe. We remind you to sanitise when entering the grounds at Gavan Duffy Park and for all players and parents to continue to update health status online before training and games.
Club app: As well as offering an option to support our lotto, our new club app also has a function to pay your annual membership, make financial donations to the club, as well as a communication suite for all that goes on at the club. You can get involved by downloading 'ClubZap' on your phone and registering as a Monaghan Harps GAA Club member.
Hurling:
Juveniles: Our U-9s & U-7s played in the last county blitz of the year in Carrickmacross on Sunday. A great fun day for all the young boys and girls. Thanks to all the players, coaches and parents involved.
Training continues on Sunday morning at 11.30 for the next four weeks before the weather changes!
Under-13s: Our Under-13s came out on top in what was a pulsating battle versus Latton last Monday evening. Joseph O'Neill was MOTM at centre-back; like a Tommy Walsh of old catching and clearing ball. Caolán Cawley scored 2-0, Odhrán Kelly gave an industrial performance scoring two off the boot and Tiarnan Connolly was outstanding, hitting 2-4. Konrad Olesky and Nathan Regiec kept the engine in midfield going constantly, on the attack with speed and defending when needed. Final score: Harps 6-6 Latton 6-0. Keep an eye on social media for a result from the fixture v Truagh.
Under-15s: St. Macartan's had a strong win over Latton on a scoreline of 10-3 to 4-7.
Seniors: The senior squad are preparing for this Sunday's AM Hurleys Junior Championship Final. This fixture is versus Inniskeen with throw-in at 2.15pm in Clontibret. We wish the squad and management the very best of luck in their final preparations.
