Vinney Corey praised his Monaghan sides deteremination as they overcame Armagh and setup an All-Ireland semi-final with Dublin.
Monaghan progressed to the semi-final beating the Orchard county 9-8 on penalties. The game ended 14 points apiece after extra-time.
While, manager Vinny Corey revealed a place in the last four was the objective from the start of his tenure.
“It’s something we targeted all year and we’re back" declared Corey. "It’s not going to be easy. We knew today was a 50-50 game, it’s always tight between us and Armagh”.
In a tight affair, the margin never extend beyond a solitary point. A penalty shootout seem the best resolution.
In particular, Conor McManus, Jack McCarron, Kieran Hughes and Micheal Bannigan each scored twice for the Farney men with Gary Mahon scoring the eventual winner. Rory Beggan was the hero however. Indeed, Beggan saving Callum Cummiskey sudden death penalty sealed victory.
“We’re confident in the ball strikers we have and we’re confident that when called upon, they’re coming in fresh and they’ll back themselves,” explained Corey.
Work-rate
Furthermore, the Monaghan boss was quick to praise his sides work rate, as their championship run enters the business stages.
“We were playing three weekends on the bounce and were down a man for the first seven minutes of extra-time" explained Corey. "At half-time in extra time it finishes 0-1 to 0-1. That shows you the work the boys put in. The danger at that stage was the boys would start to fatigue! "We’d be man down, they (Armagh) ran us but the boys didn’t let that happen and they worked very hard for each other.”
“Beating a top three team”
A repreat performance or a repeat of determination is a must to earn the All-Ireland place.
“The next day it’s going to be a top three team" explained Corey "We haven’t been able to beat a top three team. We’ve won loads of games at Croke Park but once we get drawn against a top three team, we haven’t been able to get into that circle. It’s a massive challenge for us the next day".
“We’ve beaten top three teams in national league games all around the country but not in Croke Park.”
“It’s a massive challenge" declared Corey. In order to reach the next level it’s going to take a massive effort but that’s what we’re there to do!”
Watch the Full-Time Highlights of Armagh v Monaghan in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter Final here on #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/YGBC5uEyCg
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 1, 2023
