| Under-strength attack no match for the
Farneymen’s defence
By J P Graham
A fitter, sharper, Monaghan Harps booked their place in the All-Ireland
semi-final of the junior football club championship at the expense of London
side Harlesden Harps in what was overall a fairly low-key affair in Gavan
Duffy Park in Monaghan last Sunday.
In the end Monaghan Harps had 10 points to spare over their British counterparts
but the victory was not as easy as the final scoreline might suggest as
it wasn’t until the third quarter that Monaghan Harps got a grip on proceedings.
At that stage they had been reduced to 14 players after wing half-back
Paul Rushe was sent off on a second yellow card some six minutes after the
restart. But in a way it was a setback that worked in their favour as they
buckled down to some hard work and played their best football from there
to the finish.
Harlesden Harps did not lack in effort or endeavour but their inability
to convert possession into scores was a key factor in their demise as they
were relying almost exclusively on the free taking of Trent Fitzpatrick.
Monaghan Harps were never tested in this encounter and the best that
the London visitors could achieve was being level on three occasions in
the opening 20 minutes after Shane Smith had opened the scoring 25 seconds
after the throw-in with a good point.
The final 10 minutes of the first-half saw Monaghan Harps increase the
tempo and four points in quick succession helped them to a five points half-time
lead, Monaghan Harps 0-9, Harlesden Harps 0-4.
The visitors put in a lively start to the second-half and by the fourth
minute they had the margin down to four points with Monaghan Harps
then dealt a severe blow with the dismissal of Paul Rushe on a second yellow
card.
But it was a setback that galvanised Monaghan Harps into action and with
Colin McAree increasingly dominant in midfield and Nicholas Treanor and
Shane Smith punishing any mistake by the London defence Monaghan Harps had
opened an eight-point gap by the 22nd minute.
Any chance of a revival by the visitors was killed off a minute later
when Nicholas Treanor crashed to the London net after good work by David
Loughran and Shane Smith to seal victory.
Harlesden Harps to their credit continued to search for openings right
to the finish and came looking for a goal that would have given them some
consolation but their only return was a point from a free by their top scorer
Trent Fitzpatrick two minutes into stoppage time.
Teams and scorers
Monaghan Harps: Gerard Gilsenan, Stephen Driver, Paddy Kelly,
Conor Devlin, Johnny Sherry, Mark Morgan, Paul Rushe, Shane Coyle, Colin
McAree 0-1, Gary Murray, Shea McAleer 0-1, Ashley White, David Loughran
0-2, Shane Smith 0-3, Nicholas Treanor 1-7. Subs: Ciaran Garvey for A White,
Pat Murphy for S Driver, Andrew Mullen for N Treanor.
Harlesden Harps: Aidan McGrory, Seamus Fox, Shane Donnelly, Steven
McGrath, Ronan McCarthy, Paul Gleeson, John Coady 0-1, Pat Veale, Cormac
Mattinan, John Devine, Ashley O’Halloran, Trent Fitzpatrick 0-6, Fergal
Lyons, Martin O’Sullivan, Mark Charles. Subs: Gerry Rowley for A O’Halloran.
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