Monaghan can’t take their eye off ball again

IT might lack the bells and whistles which comes with playing against Tyrone, but today will prove a real test for Monaghan’s footballers.

Rightly, they received rave reviews for that win over Tyrone but in one sense that was an easier contest than the one which Fermanagh will present today.

They had six months where everything they did was with Tyrone in mind, and even their excellent Allianz League campaign was in part down to being ready for that game.

But when you deliver on all that build-up with a pitch perfect performance, there is a danger you could be left flat after the experience.

And while Fermanagh are not half the team Tyrone are, in terms of quality, they will make up for that with dogged determination and a defensive gameplan that could turn today’s big game up North into a battle of wills.

And while Monaghan are built for that, Down showed last year that the Farney men can also be vulnerable if the heat is turned up.

However, if Conor McManus (right) et al show they have learned from that experience, they won’t be stopped here.