By Shaun Casey

LOCAL derbies can often take on a life of their own and Latton boss David Lennon is expecting that to once again be the case this weekend as his side take on Ballybay in the Monaghan Championship quarter-final.

Ballybay edged both league encounters by the minimum of margins, so Latton will be hoping to make it third time lucky. Latton were unfortunate to finish in third place during the group stages, losing out to Inniskeen via score difference.

But they head into the knockout stages in fine fettle having recorded back-to-back victories over Donaghmoyne and table-toppers Clontibret in their last two outings. Clontibret await the winners of Sunday’s clash, but neither side will be too concerned with that date just yet.

“It’s a local derby so I think it’s not just Latton and Ballybay but the whole county probably looking forward to this battle,” said Lennon. “It’s always a tight, tough affair. Both games this year were won by a point, we came out the wrong side of the point losses in the league.

“You don’t know what the line-up’s going to be. It could be completely different and there could be men missing. You’re pre-empting stuff and it all goes out the window as soon as the ball’s thrown up, when you see different players on the field or you’re missing someone.

“Game-plans sometimes go completely out the window and it probably all comes down to who wants it the most and who gets the bounce of the ball on the day. Hopefully decisions go your way as well and that’s really it. That’s how close it’s going to be in this game.”

Ballybay were crowned champions just two seasons ago but had a poor campaign in 2023 and will be gunning for a spot in the final four.

“Two years ago they were almost gone in the championship with score difference,” Lennon recalled.

“They got a good run and went on to win the final and they stayed injury free for those three or four games. That’s very important when you’re in tight encounters, especially close encounters in Monaghan.

“Scotstown is the standout team but for everybody else, it’s probably trying to keep the panel fit at the right time. Unfortunately for us, we’ve had a number of injuries the whole way through the championship and Ballybay have kept nearly 95 per cent of everybody fit.”

Full-back Kieran Hughes is gone for the season with a broken wrist while a few hamstring injuries could rule another couple of regulars out, but Lennon is content that the team that will take the field is more than capable of winning the game.

“We have a very good, strong squad and in the last game, we had to go and win away from home, and we were missing a number of key players, but we still got the job done.

“I’m very happy with the squad we have. I never really dwell on who I’m missing, it’s who we have available that we focus on.”