Ulster SFC final preview

Armagh v Monaghan
Sunday, Clones, 4.15pm
Referee: Paddy Neilan

By Michael McMullan

IN an era when teams thrive on being written off and the edge that goes with it, hunger is always the sweetest of sauces.

When the final whistle blows in Clones on Sunday evening, there will be an unmerciful pitch invasion.

Hunger is one thing. A famine is another. Armagh know it all too well. That’s why their All-Ireland win was so remarkable.

If any team epitomised resilience, it’s Kieran McGeeney’s side.

They fumbled around in the lower leagues but stuck together. They lost a blockbuster to Galway in Croke Park in 2022. A year later, they lost out on penalties to Monaghan in HQ.

Then had a painful Clones trilogy. Ciaran McFaul’s penalty sunk them in sudden death of the 2023 Ulster final.

Shaun Patton made the winning save at the same venue at the same stage 12 months later.

When Armagh chased down an equaliser that would’ve forced penalties last year, Finnbarr Roarty and Stephen McMenamin played keep ball in the eye of an orange pressure cooker.

Three finals, three hard luck stories and three doses of ‘hip, hip, hooray’.

When you think of the amount of experience that stepped out the Armagh bubble this year, the depth Kieran McGeeney has developed in his squad is remarkable.

Cian McConville is a case in point. He hardly got a kick in the past but is now one of their top dogs.

When you think of how they clocked up 3-33 without star man Ross McQuillan, Belleek’s Callum O’Neill and with Ben Crealey in a moon boot for his broken ankle.

Since Monaghan won their last Ulster title in 2015, Donegal have won it four times. Tyrone lifted three in the last decade. Derry did back-to-back with Cavan winning the other one.

The invasion of Monaghan fans when they ended their drought in 2013 was one of those brilliant Clones moments.

They are the county who always seem to not only produce quality players, but they always have the warriors to go along with it.

If Donegal were the fancied horse to win Ulster, then Derry were widely tipped to make the final.

For long spells in the blockbuster semi-final, it was looking that way.

Monaghan’s key factors kicked in. Rory Beggan. Their two-point threat. Bobby McCaul changing the shape of the game.

All three brought their fans to life and when every substitute made an imprint, it only stoked the atmosphere further.

Gabriel Bannigan and his management team were perched in the middle of the Gerry Arthurs Stand as Armagh lanced through Down.

They would’ve noticed a more incisive version of Derry. Greg McCabe and Jarly Óg Burns were like knives through butter.

It was their collective speed of hand that opened up the spaces they used to ruthlessly post 3-33 against a team who had chinned Donegal the previous week.

They’d have seen the accuracy and variation Blaine Hughes had on his restarts.

Whatever defensive alignment Monaghan will have, they’ll have to factor in Oisin O’Neill coming off the bench.

Armagh will know it too well on the other side. Jack McCarron offered something different when he came into the Derry game.

The other two hammers they’ll need to hammer are Mícheál Bannigan and Dessie Ward. Derry tried but came up short.

That’s where Darragh McMullen comes in. A pacy playmaker who could get a shot off in a phone box.

That’s before you go into the pace of Oisin Conaty. It could be a job for Stephen O’Hanlon to double back on like he did on Ethan Doherty.

Conor Turbitt is another and Killian Lavelle might be handed that role in defence with Dylan Byrne sent to McConville.

Peter McGrane came out from corner back to track Daniel Guinness so might be handed the task of tagging Bannigan.

That’s where the importance of Tiernan Kelly comes in. A sitter. Greg McCabe is well able to double back in that role. Tomás McCormack’s goal against Down proves he can be a back to front man too.

Monaghan could get gains at midfield where Michéal McCarville and Karl Gallagher can pluck ball. It is helped with the accuracy of Rory Beggan.

There may be a temptation to start Bobby McCaul. He could double up as both a kick-out target or a man lingering on the edge of the square.

He made Derry pull Conor Glass back more than usual. Gradually, Derry were pegged back and it freed up the room on the arc.

McCarville and Woods both kicked two-pointers to take them back into the game. Whether by design or not, McCaul’s positioning lengthened the field to leave space in the two-point hotspot.

While the All-Ireland draw unfairly took the spotlight off the provincials, it won’t make a difference in Clones.

Armagh will go in as favourites but it’s only a tag. They’ve three years of hurt to help generate a want they’ll need against a Monaghan team who’d still fight you if they were laid out on their back.

If the win over Cavan was a boost for confidence, the manner of the win over Derry will have multiplied it by two. Armagh can’t say they aren’t warned.

Verdict: Armagh

Last Meeting: 2026 NFL Armagh 1-27 Monaghan 0-18

Armagh started their NFL campaign in blistering style with a comprehensive win over Monaghan in Clones.

With both teams short seasoned campaigners, Armagh’s panel depth showed as Kieran McGeeney’s men led from start to finish, racking up an impressive 1-25 from open play.

Having been 11 points clear by the end of the first half with the breeze at their backs, a late goal from Andrew Murnin saw a fluid Armagh side edge the second half as well to finish 12 clear of their neighbours.

Monaghan: J Kiernan; D Byrne (0-1), D Treanor, D McElearney; D Ward, R O’Toole, T Hughes (0-1); K Gallagher (0-1), G Mohan; J Irwin, M Bannigan (0-3, 1f), J Irwin; S Mooney, A Woods (0-3, 1tp), S O’Hanlon (0-7, 2tp)
Subs: L Kelly for Mohan, L McDonald for Irwin, R McAnespie for Mooney, E Walsh (0-1) for Woods, O McGorman for O’Toole

Armagh: B Hughes; G Murphy, T McCormack, P McGrane; G McCabe (0-2), T Kelly (0-1), J Burns (0-3); Callum O’Neill (Belleek) (0-2), A Murnin (1-3); J McElroy (0-1), C Turbitt (0-6), F O’Brien; C McConville (0-3, 1f), O O’Neill (0-3, 1f), O Conaty (0-2)
Subs: R McQuillan (0-1) for O’Brien, J Duffy for Murphy, D McCarthy for Burns

Last Five Meetings
2026 Div 1 Armagh 1-27 Monaghan 0-18
2023 All-Ireland SFC Armagh 0-14 Monaghan 0-14 AET (Monaghan won on penalties)
2023 Div 1 Monaghan 1-12 Armagh 1-14
2022 Div 1 Armagh 1-7 Monaghan 0-10
2022 Dr McKenna Cup Armagh 0-15 Monaghan 0-15 (Monaghan won on penalties)

Season So Far

Armagh

NFL
Monaghan 0-18 Armagh 1-27
Armagh 0-20 Galway 3-12
Roscommon 3-18 Armagh 0-24
Armagh 0-19 Donegal 1-20
Mayo 2-17 Armagh 0-22
Dublin 1-25 Armagh 2-24
Armagh 1-21 Kerry 0-24

Ulster SFC
Armagh 1-17 Tyrone 1-16
Fermanagh 1-24 Armagh 2-32
Armagh 3-33 Down 0-14

Monaghan
Monaghan 0-18 Armagh 1-27
Roscommon 3-16 Monaghan 1-16
Dublin 1-18 Monaghan 0-17
Monaghan 2-11 Mayo 2-13
Kerry 1-18 Monaghan 0-7
Monaghan 2-9 Galway 1-20
Monaghan 3-15 Donegal 3-20

Ulster SFC
Monaghan 0-27 Cavan 2-14
Monaghan 1-30 Derry 3-23 AET

Top Scorers

ARMAGH
Oisin O’Neill 1-48 (14f, 5tpf, 3tp)
Conor Turbitt 3 27 (4f, 2tp, 1tpf)
Cian McConville 1-31 (11f, 1tp, 1tpf)

MONAGHAN
Mícheál Bannigan 1-26 (7f, 1tp)
Andrew Woods 1-18 (2tp, 2f)
Rory Beggan 0-19 (7tpf, 5 45)
Dessie Ward 1-16 (4tp)