Monaghan full forward Ciaran Tavey was the toast of the county last night after his dramatic injury time winner gave his side their first Ulster Under-21 title in 18 years.
It was a sensational finish to a game which never lived up to the pre-match expectation, with unforced errors, poor passing and needless fouling spoiling it as a spectacle.
Monaghan had to call on all their battling qualities after Donegal hit them with a scoring blitz midway through the second half when they looked a well beaten side.
It was defender Michael Gurn who sparked the revival, showing immense leadership to surge forward to hit a point and then slot home a precious goal just moments later to give his side the lead.
Donegal failed to take advantage of the breeze in the opening half, allowing Monaghan to steal the initiative with scores from Noel Clerkin, Ciaran Tavey and Shane McManus. Donegal showed little in the way of attacking ideas, and trailed by 0-5 to 0-4 at the break, Sean Paul Gallagher and Michael Hegarty the only attackers capable of hitting the target.
But back came Donegal and after Gurn had crashed home his 13th minute goal, Gallagher eased them into a two points lead from a free. But it was Monaghan who finally regained control, substitute George McKitterick and Tavey levelling the game. And just when it looked certain to go to a replay, Tavey hooked over a brilliant angled score in injury time for the winner.
MONAGHAN: J Sullivan; C Flanagan, P Coyle, P McKenna; P McGuigan, K McQuaid (0-1), D Mullen; D Connolly, J McElroy (0-1); S McManus (0-2), P O'Connor (0-1), JP Mone (0-1); N Clerkin (0-1), C Tavey (0-4), J Mone. Subs: G McKitterick (0-1) for J Mone.
DONEGAL: G McGill; E Reddin, S O'Donnell, T Cullen; M Gurn (1-1), A McClafferty, A Brennan; S Ward, B Monaghan; M Hegarty (0-2), A Gallagher (0-1), S P Boyle; G Blake (0-1), S P Gallagher (0-3), J McCaffrety. Subs: TR Sweeney for Boyle, J Carr for McClafferty.
Referee: M Convery (Derry).
