SHELS ON GOOD FRIDAY
Monaghan United will have to dust themselves off and get back on track if they hope to take anything out of what should be a cracker of a game against Shelbourne on Friday night at Kingspan Century Park.
Shelbourne are one of the teams favoured to win the FAI eircom League of Ireland First Division this season and Dermot Keely has added many top players to his Tolka Park side. With players with Premier Division experience such as Damien Brennan (Longford Town) and James Chambers (Waterford United), Keely has an experienced and talented team.
Ex-Dundalk player Anto Flood scored 11 goals in 17 games when he moved to Tolka last season and will undoubtedly be the player to watch for the away team. Another former Dundalk goal machine Philly Hughes will be pulling on the Shelbourne shirt for the first time against United, the club he left at the end of 2005 to play for Dundalk. If Philly is on form and fit he will cause untold problems for the United defence.
With a quality squad Shelbourne will be tough opposition to Cooke’s men but Mick has no fear of Keely. United beat Shelbourne twice and drew with them twice last season with the most famous of the victories being the 4-0 thrashing doled out by United on the 22nd of June. Shelbourne do not get an easy ride when they come to Kingspan Century Park and were even beaten there when they were riding high in the Premier Division.
Its true to say that Keely has strengthened his squad since the 4-0 defeat but Cooke has also brought in some top quality players in the form of Ian Maher, Phillip Sheppard, Robbie Collins and James Hand. Mix these players with the quality that was already at United such as Paul Whelan, Kevin Williamson, Aaron Mooney, Darren Meenan and Don Tierney and you have a formidable squad to face down the super Shels.
With just about everything else closed on Good Friday, there is no better time to come see United playing one of the top teams in the league. Kingspan Century Park will be buzzing with anticipation and the atmosphere is due to be electric. Kick off is 8pm but make sure to get there early as there is a large crowd expected.
INTERNATIONAL DUTY FOR MONAGHAN PLAYERSMonaghan United’s midfield magic maker Darren Meenan has been called up for the third time to the Northern Ireland Under 21’s squad for their game against Romania on Wednesday the 26th. Meenan has been central to United’s team since he joined the squad in 2007 and has proven his worth time and again. His 3rd international cap has been hard earned and is well deserved as he is a player who gives 100% commitment to Monaghan United and never fails to shine when he pulls on the Mons jersey. Northern Ireland will be using the Nationwide Under 21 International Challenge game against Romania to prepare for their UEFA Qualifier match against Germany in September. Manager Roy Miller will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on Meenan with the view to using him again in September and Meenan will be out to impress. The match kicks off at 2pm in the Ballymena Showgrounds.
Meanwhile Aaron McCarey was on the road once more with Vinny Butler’s Republic of Ireland Under 16’s squad as they played a three match tournament with Malta, Italy and Turkey in Malta over the last few days. Ireland won their St Patrick’s day match against Malta 1-0.
Former Monaghan United player Mark Connolly was part of the Republic of Ireland Under 17’s team who unluckily lost 2-1 to Greece in their UEFA Under 17 Elite Stage Qualifier on Saturday evening at Athlone Town Stadium.
Well done to the three of them on their International caps.
LADIES TRAINING
Monaghan United’s ladies team continue their pre-season preparations with a training session this Saturday at 4.30pm at Kingspan Century Park. Bring football boots and runners. New players welcome.
NO MINI LEAGUES EASTER SUNDAY
Monaghan United FC would like to remind everyone that there will be no Mini Leagues sessions this Sunday. Mini Leagues will resume the following week with the last week of registration. Any players not registered will not be allowed to play.
