Antrim must avoid Monaghan spine – Madden

Antrim's Michael McCann

Kevin Madden says Saffrons need to work the channels away from the Monaghan’s strong spine:

“FROM a supporter’s perspective, there’s probably very little optimism in either county heading into the championship after two relatively poor league campaigns, added to the fact that both teams are probably going to look a lot different to what we’ve grown to know over the past few years.

“On paper, the Antrim team looks much more formidable than the Monaghan one. They have no Hughes, no Damian or Tommy Freeman, no Eoin Lennon in the middle of the field. In saying that, they’re very strong up the middle with Corey, Mone, Clerkin, Gollogly and Finlay. That’s a very formidable spine.

“They do have a lot of rookies, and I think Antrim might find most joy up the wings. That’s one area which I can see Liam Bradley trying to exploit. Antrim have the likes of Loughrey, Scullion and Crozier who can take the ball out of defence at pace.

“Monaghan do look very strong in their full-back line, and if Antrim do go for a combination of someone like Mick McCann and Michael Magill inside then it will be interesting how they get on.

“Paddy Cunningham I can see playing in the half-forward line to get him involved in the game more, and I’d like to see how the Monaghan defence would cope with Tomas McCann facing their goal and taking the ball in full flight. ”

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published Thursday May 24. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or click here to purchase the pdf for just 90p.