Garland and Monaghan step into the unknown as they eye top spot

By Michael McMullan

MONAGHAN captain Amy Garland switched from the familiar to the unknown this weekend as they continue their All-Ireland Intermediate Championship campaign.

After victory over neighbours Cavan, who they know inside out, the Farney County make the trip to Wicklow with the chance to top their group.

It’s been a busy time for the Monaghan skipper who is due to graduate from Ulster University next month and is plotting to pursue a Masters in psychology.

It’s been a period of study, training, playing and a dissertation. A calendar has been her friend. Now the focus can fully switch to football.

“We really want to get a second win in this All-Ireland series,” the Donaghmoyne ace stressed.

“In my six years playing with Monaghan ladies, we’ve never played Wicklow, so they’re unfamiliar to me.

“When we went in to play Cavan, we knew them from always coming up against them. This is a different team, one we’ve never played, so it’ll be interesting coming into this weekend.”

The focus is simple. Head down the road, tune in, focus on the game and prepare for the unexpected.

Monaghan are in a similar situation to Tyrone who lost to Down in Ulster before bouncing back to turn the tables in the All-Ireland series.

For Monaghan, it was about flipping their Cavan defeat.

“When we first played that Ulster semi-final, we came off with a loss,” Garland said.

“We were up at 11 points at half-time but we lost out in the end. Then, when we were preparing for the All-Ireland, we were just preparing ourselves.”

What happened? What went right. What was good? It all fed into weeks of improvement.

“I think we just went into Cavan then (the second time) with a bit more confidence about ourselves,” Garland said.

They knew they were close. There has never been much between the teams and it was Monaghan who prevailed this time.

“We said we’d mixed it with Cavan in the semi-final and came off the loss and asked why we can’t this time and get the win?”

There was another factor. Togetherness.

It doesn’t kick the ball over the bar, but it’s a useful ingredient.

“We know each other very well,” Garland said, adding how they knew what Cavan were coming with.

“We knew that we were very similar in the way we played and that came into the game last week.

“There was only one point area at the end, so glad to come off with the win.”

Now they can park that. The attention switches to Wicklow and the hope of being the quarter-final. It’s in their own hands.