One change for Tyrone, Monaghan keep faith

But they’ve bounced back remarkably with five wins on the trot to secure a glamour All-Ireland semi-final clash with Kerry.

Fermanagh’s run to the quarter-finals was a surprise, and it has added a different complexion to the players totals leaderboard , and if Tyrone win, Peter Harte looks like finishing as the fantasy star player for 2015.

Tyrone will now play defending champions Kerry in the August 23 semi-final while Mayo will take on Dublin the other last four tie the following week, Sunday August 30.

I was extremely confident Tyrone would beat them in the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-final for two reasons.

Having overcome Cavan and Fermanagh before Donegal, Monaghan have chalked up three impressive wins and McManus regards this itinerary as a great source of comfort going into this weekend’s game.

Manager Malachy O’Rourke has opted to keep faith with the team that defeated Donegal in last month’s Ulster SFC final with Conor McManus starting alongside Kieran Hughes and Owen Duffy, while Colin Walshe and Neil McAdam are named at full-back and centre-back respectively. But they’re a team that’s developing nicely and I think they can be very proud of what they’ve done this year. “So far we’ve done that but obviously the big Championship results have still to come”.

It’s a fairly obvious and immediate step in the elevation of the Monaghan footballers, even if they’ll be long remembered in the county for their two-in-three Ulster title successes, regardless of how they have, or will, fare outside the province.

Their defence continues to get opened by quick changes in the direction of the play, while runners off the ball are able to find space in unsafe areas.

“They have good players who thrive on big occasions and we will have to be at our best to contain them”. If Cillian O’Connor plays well and if Aidan O’Shea plays well that is great, but if they don’t then they are going to struggle as they have done in previous years.

This year I sense a significant difference in their mind-set.

One of the big criticisms of teams now is their lack of flexibility so it will be interesting to see if Tyrone are willing to change tactics to target a weakness in the opposition.