Fáilte chuig gaa.ie - suíomh oifigiúil CLG

Football

football

Monaghan didn't stop believing

Drew Wylie is an influential player for Monaghan.

Drew Wylie is an influential player for Monaghan.

By Cian O'Connell

Dealing with disappointment quickly has been a key part of Monaghan's 2018 success story according to Drew Wylie.

An Ulster Semi-Final loss to Fermanagh hurt deeply, but Monaghan's response has been to advance to the penultimate stage of the All Ireland series for the first time since 1988.

What struck Wylie, though, was that Monaghan's supporters remained faithful to the cause.

“You can win in one minute and lose in another," Wylie says. "It’s massive for the Monaghan supporters who have travelled with us – they were there for Fermanagh and even the next day they came in their hundreds, their thousands and they backed us right from the Waterford game.

“There’s a lot of belief in the group, there was a lot of disappointment after the Fermanagh game, but there was only one thing for it – get back on the road to see where we can get.”

The journey brings Monaghan back to Croke Park and following a string of near misses in Quarter-Finals Wylie is delighted that Malachy O'Rourke's charges cleared that hurdle.

“We have worked hard over the last number of years trying to get over the All-Ireland quarter-final stage," Wylie acknowledges. 

"There was disappointments after not getting over it, but to get over this and get into a semi-final is massive, " Wylie states.

“I don’t feel it was a monkey on our back. We approach every game the same, but the opposition always seemed to be better than us on the day."

Monaghan now face Tyrone at GAA headquarters, a fitting reward for O'Rourke' outfit, who continue to summon defiant and dynamic displays.