Pressure on Derry to repeat exploits

Monaghan v Derry:THE POWERS-that-be seem to be courting controversy here. Granted, the game's best referee, Pat McEnaney, cannot be used when his native county and his brother Séamus are involved but Marty Duffy's unnecessarily strict handling of the Dublin versus Meath game on June 7th hardly bodes well.

Duffy distributed eight yellow cards in that tame Croke Park encounter and if matters ever reached the expected intensity the match would have been ruined by needless dismissals.

This fixture is like two seasoned fighters bumping into each other in a poorly lit alley (Clones) behind the boxing arena after a particularly brutal brawl that ended in a split decision.

Duffy has presumably been told to hold the reins in a similar fashion to last month but it could backfire spectacularly if Monaghan and Derry, as expected, pour salt on already festering sores.

Fergal Doherty and Brian Mullan provide a massive lift for Derry as their suspensions are served but are without Kevin McGuckin, despite Tyrone’s Seán Cavanagh claiming his actions in Ulster semi-final, on Cavanagh himself, did not merit a red card.

No Fergal McCusker or Enda Muldoon either and James Kielt is recovering from a broken jaw.

Monaghan are still without star forward Tommy Freeman, because of an attempted head-butt when they lost to Derry a few weeks back, but they showed admirable resolve to fend off Armagh last Saturday.

That’s the form, now which team is more aggrieved? Probably Monaghan and also consider that rumblings of discontent within the Derry camp have a grain of truth.

MONAGHAN: P McBennett; D Mone, V Corey, D McArdle; D Freeman, G McQuaid, D Hughes; E Lennon, D Clerkin; S Gollogly, P Finlay, C McManus; M Downey, R Ronaghan, R Woods.

DERRY: TBC.

Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).