New York defeated Monaghan in the Lory Meagher Cup. Photo by Monaghan GAA
Lory Meagher Cup Semi-Final
New York 1-29 Monaghan 2-13
By Colm Shalvey at TEG Cusack Park
Lory Meagher Cup debutants New York will meet Cavan in next Saturday’s final after they proved too strong for Monaghan in wet and windy conditions in Mullingar.
A week after securing their place in the knock-out rounds with a hard-earned draw against Longford, Monaghan battled hard when facing the elements in the first half, but their hopes of an upset dwindled away when New York reeled off a series of unanswered scores during the third quarter.
Galway All-Ireland winner Johnny Glynn and former Cork hurler Seán O’Leary-Hayes were among the ranks of a talented New York side, for whom AJ Willis and David Mangan were in prolific form.
Niall Arthur and Mangan exchanged points throughout a low-scoring opening quarter, before a strong run by Dara Walsh released Willis to drill home New York’s only goal on 22 minutes and finally put some daylight between the sides. Darragh Moran, Adam Loughlin-Stones, Mangan and Willis added points towards the end of the first half to help New York change ends leading by 1-11 to 0-6.
Monaghan would have been looking to make a strong start to the second half with the breeze at their backs, but instead it was the Exiles who moved through the gears to hit nine points without reply, with Mangan and Willis being joined on the scoresheet by Glynn, Gerard McPartland and Cian Mullane.
The game was now well beyond Monaghan’s reach, but the 2023 champions kept plugging away, with Shane Slevin plundering his fifth and sixth goals of the Lory Meagher campaign.
Eithan Flynn, Kevin Crawley and Pauric Malone were also on target for Monaghan, but New York stepped things up again to power their tally over the 30-point mark. They will face another Ulster opponent at Croke Park next Saturday in the shape of table-toppers Cavan.
Scorers for New York: AJ Willis 1-8, David Mangan 0-11 (8fs), Adam Loughlin-Stones 0-3, Johnny Glynn 0-2, Darragh Moran 0-1, Tom O’Meara 0-1, Gerard McPartland 0-1, Cian Mullane 0-1, Éanna Barry 0-1.
Scorers for Monaghan: Niall Arthur 0-8 (7fs), Shane Slevin 2-0, Eithan Flynn 0-2, Kevin Crawley 0-1, Conall McHugh 0-1, Pauric Malone 0-1.
New York: Daniel Mottram; Éanna Barry, Henry Keyes, James Cronin-Rodgers; Darren O’Donoghue, Darragh Moran, Seán O’Leary-Hayes; Tom O’Meara, Dara Walsh; Johnny Glynn, David Mangan, AJ Willis; Gerard McPartland, Adam Loughlin-Stones, Cian Mullane.
Subs: James Bermingham for Mullane, Conor O’Shea for Walsh (both 47) Darragh Hynes for Moran (49); James Breen for O’Meara (58); Tomás O’Connor for Loughlin-Stones (65).
Monaghan: Hugh Byrne (Joint-Capt.); Jack Guinan, Aaron Kenny (Joint-Capt.), Pauric Malone; Conall McHugh, Kevin Crawley, Conor Boyle; Rowan McMahon, James Slevin; Declan Hughes, Niall Garland, James Brady; Eithan Flynn, Niall Arthur, Shane Slevin.
Subs: Leo Moloney for Brady (40); Emmett Walsh for Garland (41); Déaglán Crowe for Boyle (49); Oisín Hagan for McHugh (67); Mike Lyons for Flynn (70).
Referee: Alan Tierney (Tipperary).
