You can be sure that every Monaghan player was quite happy with the draw that has pitted them against Down in tomorrow’s All-Ireland SFC Round 4B Qualifier draw.

The match will take place just five weeks after Monaghan were shocked by the Mourne-men in the Ulster SFC Semi-Final, so it offers the perfect opportunity to exact retribution quicker than they could ever have dared hope.

That day they seemed surprised by the intensity and physicality that Down brought to the contest, but this time they’ll be ready for it.

Monaghan have rarely been out-fought by their opponents in recent years, so the nature of that loss will have stung their pride so we can expect them to rip into every 50-50 ball tomorrow.

It’s going to be hard for Down to repeat their Ulster SFC semi-final success, but that doesn’t mean either they’re not capable of it.

They were well-beaten in the Ulster SFC Final by Tyrone but salvaged some honour by finishing the game strongly to make the final score look a bit more respectable.

That mightn’t look like much, but it would have been a lot harder for them to get their minds right for this match had they been on the wrong end of an absolute hiding from Tyrone.

The pain of that defeat will have been salved somewhat too by the rescinding of the black-card that Kevin McKernan received in the Ulster Final which has freed him to play in Saturday’s match.

He’s absolutely vital to the Down cause, and with him back in harness their hopes of victory rise significantly.

In the Ulster semi-final the key battle-ground was the middle third of the field and it’ll be the case again tomorrow.

Monaghan have a potential game-winner in that sector in the shape of Kieran Hughes who was absolutely brilliant in their victory over Carlow two weeks ago when he scored three vital points from play and led by example throughout.

If he, his brother Darren, and Gavin Doogan can overshadow McKernan, Niall Donnelly, and Peter Turley and guarantee a decent supply of ball into Conor McManus and Jack McCarron then it should be advantage Monaghan.

Monaghan: R Beggan; F Kelly, D Wylie, R Wylie; C Walshe, N McAdam, K O'Connell; K Hughes, D Hughes; G Doogan, D Malone, S Carey; O Duffy, J McCarron, C McManus

Down: TBA