Monaghan missed out on an Ulster final appearance after losing 3-12 to 0-17 to Derry at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.
Derry led 2-7 to 0-6 at the half-time break and Rory Gallagher’s men held on for a four-point victory in the end.
Derry made a blistering start and Gareth McKinless’ goal on 11 minutes saw them lead 1-2 to no score; Shane McGuigan and Shea Downey scored a point each beforehand.
Two minutes later Monaghan eventually got off the mark thanks to a Jack McCarron free and two minutes later he added another to make it a three-point game.
Suddenly Derry opened up a seven-point gap on 24 minutes when Benny Heron found the net and five minutes later Niall Loughlin stretched their lead to eight points.
Monaghan replied with three of the next four scores as points from Conor McCarthy, Darren Hughes and Conor McManus left seven points between them at half-time.
Andrew Woods opened Monaghan’s second-half account within a minute of the restart before points from Conor McManus (two), Jack McCarron and Dessie Ward made it a three-point game.
Paul Cassidy gave Derry a four-point buffer on 59 minutes but three minutes later, Benny Heron registered his second goal of the day and their seven-point cushion was restored.
Monaghan reduced the margin to six points with five minutes remaining and while Conor McManus added two further points in stoppage time, the Farney men still fell short.
Derry will now play Donegal in the Ulster SFC final on Sunday, 29th May while Monaghan are headed for the qualifiers.
