Dublin 1-17 Monaghan 0-13: Dubs battle hard to set up final with Kerry or Derry

So that’s that ... Monaghan were level inside the final 10 minutes but from there were outscored 1-5 to 0-1 with James McCarthy and Brian Fenton to the fore, Con O’Callaghan also had an excellent second half while Costello top scored with 0-7 for the Dubs. Back in a final after a two year absence. Derry or Kerry await.

We’ll be back tomorrow for that second semi-final. But until then, keep an eye on the homepage for the report and reaction from Croke Park. Thanks for joining us this evening.

@DonoghueEamon

FT Dublin 1-17 Monaghan 0-13

Man of the match Cormac Costello: “Very, very tough game. We just kept plugging away and knew it would go to the wire in the last 10 so it was about sticking to our principles. In the first half we probably weren’t working hard enough, we upped that in the second half.”

FT Dublin 1-17 Monaghan 0-13 Dublin are back into their first final since 2020. They finished so strongly to see off a brave Monaghan effort.

Rock kicks his first point, a free from close range. Five minutes added on and Dublin lead by four.

Dublin 1-17 Monaghan 0-13 (73′) What a goal, Con collects it in the right corner and rather than go for his point he plays a dream pass into Rock who rounds Beggan and ends the contest.

Dublin 0-16 Monaghan 0-13 (69′) Some of Dublin’s big guns are really stepping up. Fenton backs himself from 35m and kicks his second point. Dean Rock is on.

Dublin 0-15 Monaghan 0-13 (66′) McCarron loses his man with a sidestep, realises he has a bit of time, adjusts his body and kicks a lovely point. That was top class. Two in it.

Dublin 0-15 Monaghan 0-12 (61′) Dublin put savage pressure on the Monaghan kickout and turn it over. They work it down the left wing and then back across to Jack McCaffrey who puts them three points up.

Mannion with a free from the right corner, a brilliant point. Dublin lead by two on 62 minutes.

Dublin 0-13 Monaghan 0-12 (61′) Beggan goes long from the kickout and does well to keep it from Fenton. Monaghan win the breaks and McManus wins a mark then just inside the Dublin 45. He gets up and slots it. Level again. But not for long. Fenton collects a ball played into the corner, gets up off his knees and kicks a point under huge pressure.

Dublin 0-12 Monaghan 0-11 (57′) A good pass by Brian Howard picks out Lee Gannon who declines the mark, turns his man and fists it over. Down the other end and McManus cuts across the play and curls over a glorious score.

Dublin go long from the kickout and McCarthy picks up the breaks and carries it at pace. He sets up O’Callaghan who kicks a left footed point from close range.

Dublin 0-10 Monaghan 0-10 (53′) A brilliant tackle by O’Callaghan but he then touches it on the ground, so unlucky. Giving McManus a free to level matters. And he makes no mistake.

Dublin with back to back goal chances. Con takes on his man and pops it to Fenton who is in on goal but is closed down quickly and forced to recycle. Then Costello lashes a shot that goes over the bar but the referee says the pass to him was a throw.

McManus buys a free under a high ball and kicks it himself. Jack McCarron is on for Kieran Hughes.

Dublin 0-10 Monaghan 0-8 (44′) Jack McCaffrey is coming on now, Basquel is off. McCarthy involved again, he slips in Con O’Callaghan who makes a backdoor cut and fists over the bar.

Dublin 0-9 Monaghan 0-8 (41′) Dublin turn Monaghan over in their half back line and via McCarthy they counter at pace, at the end of which Costello kicks left footed, on the run. A class score, his seventh.

Dublin 0-8 Monaghan 0-8 (38′) McAnespie holds off the Dublin tackler with one hand and from the tightest of angles to the right of the posts he kicks a brilliant score.

Dublin win the throw in at the start of the second half - James McCarthy taps it down to Kilkenny at 11 but Dublin’s first attack ends with Basquel being called for steps in the corner.

HT Dublin 0-8 Monaghan 0-7 Dublin lead by a point and will have the wind advantage in the second half. Monaghan really didn’t take advantage when they had an extra player, and missed some good chances, but overall they’ll be content with the game still very much to play for!

Another very soft free awarded to Dublin, Lavelle collided with Ryan Basquel as they chased the ball into the corner, but it didn’t look like a free. Costello from the right corner scores the free. He’s been so accurate in this opening half and that’s his sixth point. Dublin lead by one as two minutes of added time are announced.

Dublin 0-7 Monaghan 0-7 (33′) McManus shoots from distance and Stephen Cluxton fumbles it to give his opposite number Beggan the chance to level the game from a 45. A rare mistake by the experienced Dublin goalkeeper. Beggan punishes it.

Dublin 0-7 Monaghan 0-6 (30′) Gary Mohan kicks a brilliant point from 45m out to close the gap to a point.

Dublin are back to 15 players now but they’ve replaced Scully with Ciaran Kilkenny. Scully had been struggling with McCarthy but it was very early in the game when he picked up his black. Dublin outscored Monaghan 0-4 to 0-3 while a man down.

Dublin 0-7 Monaghan 0-5 (28′) Con O’Callaghan slips and wins a soft free, Costello converts it. Michael Bannigan scores a lovely point on the run then for Monaghan before Paul Mannion scores a mark for Dublin.

Dublin 0-5 Monaghan 0-4 (24′) McManus is blocked by Mick Fitzsimons but Beggan nails the 45 that follows. Dublin looking to slow things down while down a man.

Conor McCarthy kicks a wide, another miss for Monaghan. After Costello had put Dublin back in front with a mark.

Dublin 0-3 Monaghan 0-3 (18′) Mohan pops a pass to Ryan McAnespie who breaks two tackles and blasts a shot at goal that is double blocked out for a 45. He had an option to his right there to palm in a goal but didn’t see it. Beggan slots the resultant 45.

Niall Scully who is man marking McCarthy is black carded for a trip, Dublin down to 14 now for 10 minutes (15 minutes).

Dublin 0-3 Monaghan 0-2 (14′) Conor McCarthy ghosts inside and receives a pass on the run, and while being dragged down he blasts a shot off the crossbar. It’s brought back for a free which McManus taps over.

Paddy Small with his weaker foot floats over a lovely score, into the wind. Conor McCarthy then wins a free which McManus looks to curl over the bar but it’s inches wide.

Dublin 0-2 Monaghan 0-1 (8′) Rory Beggan’s free from distance again hits the post. David Byrne follows up with a great block but from the next attack, Stephen O’Hanlon comes on the loop to curl over a lovely score. Monaghan are playing a lot of possession football under massive pressure. Down the other end and Costello slots a free which he wins himself.

Dublin 0-1 Monaghan 0-0 (4′) Kieran Hughes takes on the first shot of the game but it’s wide off the post. Down the other end and Cormac Costello turns his man inside out and points from a tight angle.

Dublin 0-0 Monaghan 0-0 (1′) GAME ON! Monaghan win the throw in and via Conor McCarthy and Karl O’Connell spearhead their first attack which comes to nothing.

LATE CHANGES

Dublin: Paddy Small replaces Sean Bugler who misses out entirely through injury. Ross McGarry comes into the panel.

Monaghan: Darren Hughes, Kieran Hughes and Conor McManus replace Ryan O’Toole, Karl Gallagher and Jack McCarron.

For me Saturday’s semi-final between Dublin and Monaghan is the more foregone conclusion, one that could get properly one-sided. Dublin just have too much strength and depth right now. We saw how ruthless they were in the second half against Mayo – Ciarán Kilkenny, Jack McCaffrey and Dean Rock all coming off the bench to make telling impacts as well.

—  Darragh Ó Sé

[ Darragh Ó Sé: Anything can happen in an All-Ireland semi-final, but I don’t see Derry or Monaghan winning ]

Dublin’s record in their last four league fixtures against Monaghan will lift the Ulster side’s confidence coming into this game – two defeats in 2018 and ‘19 followed by an unlikely draw in Dessie Farrell’s first league campaign and a defeat in Clones last year.

[ Monaghan hoping not to be dragged out of their league ]

For Dublin, the momentum they generated in the second half versus Mayo is a timely reminder of the power and prowess they possess. The squad will be really looking forward to continuing where they left off, knowing only too well that one misplaced step could end their year.

—  Jonny Cooper

[ Jonny Cooper: Derry can frustrate Kerry, Dublin can cut their cloth to beat Monaghan ]

FT Down 0-14 Meath 2-13 Meath finish things off in style with a late counter attacking goal. Jack O’Connor at the end of it and Meath are the 2023 Tailteann Cup winners!

Meath lead Down 1-13 to 0-13 entering five minutes of injury time in the Tailteann Cup final..

This is a Dublin story. More than that, it’s an inner-city Dublin story, about the part of the capital that is closest to Croke Park but furthest from it too. Where the GAA literally looms over the area without always casting the kind of shadow it should. Except it did, long ago, in the decade when Brendan Crawley was about the place.

[ The Monaghan man who brought the GAA to Dublin’s north inner-city ]

Conor Gray wins a long kickout and Jack Flynn bombs over an outrageous point from distance. Down respond to close the deficit to two points. (62 mins)

Down 0-9 Meath 1-9 (59′) Meath score two in a row to go three points up entering the final 10 minutes of the Tailteann Cup.

“If Cluxton is lauded as a trailblazer who evolved the role of the goalkeeper in Gaelic football, Beggan is one of the lead disciples who built on his pioneering work. For goalkeeping in the GAA, these have been the reimagining years. What was once the last position filled in schoolyard kickabouts is viewed now as a venerable hybrid shot-stopping quarterback. It has been quite the leap ... "

If Monaghan could clap on the manacles for the first quarter, maybe the match would follow a favourable pattern for them but the disparity between the scoring records of the teams is too stark to suggest a surprise is on the cards

Seán Moran is predicting a Dublin win, check out his preview in full here

Teams (as per programme)

Dublin: S Cluxton; E Murchan, D Byrne, M Fitzsimons; J McCarthy, J Small, L Gannon; B Fenton, B Howard; P Mannion, S Bugler, N Scully; C Costello, C O’Callaghan, C Basquel.

Subs: E Comerford, C Kilkenny, T Lahiff, S MacMahon, J McCaffrey, C Murphy, D Newcombe, P Ó Cofaigh Byrne, L O’Dell, D Rock, P Small.

Monaghan: R Beggan; R O’Toole, K Duffy, R Wylie; K O’Connell, C Boyle, C McCarthy; K Gallagher, K Lavelle; S O’Hanlon, M Bannigan, R McAnespie; J McCarron, G Mohan, D Ward.

Subs: D McDonnell, K Hughes, C McManus, S Jones, D Hughes, S Carey, K Loughran, F Kelly, C Leonard, F Hughes, C Lennon.

Hello and Welcome ... Dublin take on Monaghan in the first of this weekend’s All-Ireland football semi-finals. The Leinster champions are hoping to get back into their first final since 2020. While Monaghan are looking to reach their first final since 1930. Dessie Farrell’s Dublin team come in as hot favourites, but Monaghan have already upset the odds several times to get this far. Throw-in at Croke Park is at 5.30pm.

We’ll be providing build-up and updates throughout the evening. Keep in touch via the comments section or on Twitter (@DonoghueEamon) but for now, let’s get started!