Monaghan stick with winning formula for Tyrone game
Stephen Gollogly has recovered from an eye injury to take his place in the Monaghan team to play Tyrone in Saturday's opening All-Ireland SFC quarter-final at Croke Park (throw-in 5pm).
Gollogly was forced off early on in Monaghan's historic Ulster final win over Donegal having collided with Mark McHugh. Gavin Doogan came on in his place, but the Carrickmacross Emmets clubman is fit enough to lead the Ulster champions' attack once more.
Padraig Donaghy, a late replacement for Christopher McGuinness against Donegal, holds onto his starting place at right corner forward, while Darren Hughes looks set to be given the task of nullifying the threat posed by Tyrone's talismanic midfielder Sean Cavanagh.
Monaghan manager Malachy O'Rourke is hoping to guide the Farney men to their first Championship win over the Red Hands since the 1988 Ulster final. Tyrone have triumphed on the four occasions the counties have met since then at Championship level.
"People say it's a matter of picking up where we left off against Donegal but it's not just as straightforward as that because Tyrone are a different team than Donegal," admitted O'Rourke.
"They are set up differently and no two games are the same anyway but I would have to say we were very pleased with how we played and how our tactics worked out in the Ulster final and if we get the same level of performance on Saturday, I can tell you we will not be far away.
"However, I have to also say that to win an All-Ireland quarter-final you really have to be on top of your game and to do that we will have to be as good if not better than we where against the former Ulster champions."
Monaghan have only appeared once before in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The 2007 Championship saw them beat Down, Derry and Donegal before they were edged out by Kerry (1-12 to 1-11) in the last-eight.
MONAGHAN (SFC v Tyrone): Rory Beggan; Kieran Duffy, Drew Wylie, Colin Walshe; Vincent Corey, Neil McAdam, Dessie Mone; Owen Lennon (capt), Darren Hughes; Paul Finlay, Stephen Gollogly, Dermot Malone; Padraig Donaghy, Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus.
