Monaghan ladies hoping to make it three from four

By Niall Gartland

TWO wins from three ain’t bad, but Monaghan interim manager Darren Swift believes they could easily be heading into Sunday’s home tie against Cork with an unblemished record of results.

The Farney County won their opening Division Two encounters against Roscommon and Tipperary before being denied by a sucker-punch goal on their last day out against Donegal.

They sit joint-second in the table with Cork so things are going swimmingly in the circumstances, with Swift parachuted in as interim manager not long before the start of the new season.

The Emyvale man helped guide his home club to a historic Monaghan Senior Championship title last year, ending Donaghmoyne’s long, long reign at the top, while previously, in 2023, he guided Tyrone club Errigal Ciaran to the league and championship double.

A former senior inter-county footballer with Monaghan, he’s delighted with the aptitude of his players to date.

“Things definitely aren’t going bad, and full credit to the girls, they’ve really knuckled down and we’ve had some really strong sessions and camps, and have taken each game as it comes.

“I can’t comment on whatever went on previously, but for us, the girls have put their shoulders to the wheel and we’ve done our best to organise them.

“We could be sitting with nine points, we should probably be sitting top of the table but we can’t complain too much and we’ve already put ourselves in a decent position.”

Cork’s 21-year stay in Division One came to an end last year, so while they’re not the force of old, they’ll still be hell-bent on springing back to the top-flight at the first time of asking. Swift says Monaghan will have to be on their game defensively if they’re to stand a chance of getting a positive result.

“Cork have the pedigree, they’ve come down from Division One but they’ve got their house in order and they’ve been scoring heavily in the last three games. They’d definitely be hot favourites against us.

“We’re under no illusions but we can’t wait to play the game to see how we match up against them. What currently separates us is scoring difference, they’re scoring freely so we need to curb that and hopefully push on at the other end.”

Monaghan can call upon some immensely talented footballers like Jodie McQuillan, who scored three points from play against Donegal, Amy Garland and Eabha Sherry, but Swift says the door is always open to new recruits.

“We’ve brought in some new players – we’ve a panel that’s evolving all the time and that’s the way it’s going to be for a period of time.”