By Niall McCoy

PAUL Finlay believes that Tyrone may encounter a Monaghan side ready to defend for their lives when the teams meet at O’Neills Healy Park on Saturday evening.

Like every side in Division One North, Monaghan have been scoring a lot but also letting plenty in at the back with Armagh hitting 1-16 to defeat them in round one while Donegal managed 1-20 last weekend as the Tir Chonaill county fought back from nine points down to earn a draw.

The two-time Ulster champion expects Seamus McEnaney’s side to work on the defensive element of their game ahead of this crucial clash in Omagh.

“It’s a big game for both teams with respect to their Division One status. Everything is on the line,” said the Ballybay man.

“Both teams will take positives from last weekend, Monaghan in particular. It was a big step forward from the previous weekend where the performance wasn’t great (against Armagh).

“There was a lot more intensity in their play, their forward play was actually very good.

“I think the big focus for them now will be their defence and how they shore up their defence all over the pitch.

“1-20 is a big number to be conceding and that’s something that they’ll need to look out for.”

McEnaney remains banned from attending matches as part of his punishment for the county being caught breaking Covid-19 training restrictions in April with David McCague running the line.

That disruption seemed to permeate the squad in a sluggish loss to Armagh, and expectations were low heading to fortress Ballybofey last weekend.

Finlay, however, said he was surprised at just how they good they were with the Oriel county left massively frustrated that they only left with a single point.

“Conor McCarthy should gain a lot of confidence out of his performance, Niall Kearns came on and had a big impact, they got a full game into Darren Hughes. It was all very positive from a Monaghan perspective.

“They’ll go to Omagh with that confidence and will hope to get something similar and see where it takes them.”

Finlay, who has acted as a pundit for BBCNI previously, is a keen student of the game and enjoyed Tyrone’s performance in their five-point win over Armagh last weekend.

“They looked very good against Armagh and were never in trouble as far as I could see,” he said.

“They controlled the game very well coming into the last quarter. It was Armagh who seemed to be getting into game management problems like finishing the game with 14 players because they had used too many substitutes.

“Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry both were introduced new from the first game and both had good games. They bossed it in the last 20 minutes.”

The winner in Omagh will have a Division One semi-final to look forward to while the loser will have to prepare for a relegation play-off.

A draw will also be no good for the Oriel county, and Finlay believes that they have it all to do.

“Tyrone still look that bit stronger on paper, especially at home,” he said.

“You’d expect Tyrone to come out of it with a win but if both teams bring their best it’s sure to be a tight game.

“For me I think Tyrone will just nick it because they’re possibly a bit further down the road in terms of their squad experience and their big players all being on the field and getting game-time under the belt.

“But, like I said with Monaghan going to Donegal, you’d never write them off and it’s likewise for Omagh,” he added.

Former Monaghan footballer Paul Finlay.