By Shaun Casey

THERE’S never much to separate Monaghan and Longford, and sharpshooter Niall Garland is expecting another “dogfight” against their Leinster rivals at Páirc Grattan, Inniskeen on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams couldn’t be separated in their Lory Meagher Cup meeting last season while Longford edged their league encounter 12 months ago.

Monaghan head into this one off the back of a strong round two victory over Lancashire while Longford have won two from two having seen off both Leitrim and Cavan.

“We’re in for a dogfight and it’s always a good tussle to be fair,” explained Garland. “I’d say, as long as I’ve played for Monaghan and particularly over the last five years, the aggregate score between the teams is probably only a point or two.

“It always goes down to the last five or ten minutes and who wants it most.

“There’s been a couple of draws there too and that just shows how even the two teams are.

“We play each other that many times and they understand our boys and we understand their boys, so it just comes down to who wants it most at the end of the day and no one is ever going to run away with a massive victory or anything like that.”

Manager Arthur Hughes informed Gaelic Life last week of the depleted squad Monaghan were dealing with for the Lancashire clash, with injuries and a stag do hampering their preparations, but they came through that challenge with flying colours.

“We were missing boys last week and to get the win, it showed that there is a panel there,” Garland continued. “We have a lot of new lads in the panel this year and for them to step up and come of age, is important.

“Don’t get me wrong, we still have experienced heads there and it was great to see lads step up to the plate and earn their stripes, which they did. It leaves the management in a predicament for picking the team this weekend.

“Can the boys that weren’t there get back into the team or will we go with the boys that played well last week?

“So it’s a very good problem to have.

“It’s one we need because it’s not something we’ve had over the past few years so it’s a nice predicament to be in, having lads sweating over their place.”