MONAGHAN AIM TO TAKE DOWN HOSTS

Colm Shalvey reports

After getting back to winning ways in the Ulster MFC last weekend, Monaghan will be looking to extend their campaign further when they travel to Newry to take on Down this Saturday. Dusting themselves down after a surprise loss at home to Antrim, a vastly-improved firsthalf performance sent Monaghan well on their way to knocking Armagh out at the Athletic Grounds last Friday night. Down’s only championship game to date was in the preliminary round, where they fell short against Fermanagh. Down’s Ulster MFL campaign saw them win just one of their four Section A games (v Antrim). Pat Cunningham’s side go into this one needing to arrest a run of four consecutive defeats to stay in contention. Monaghan mixed their game up to good effect last week, with Eoghan McFarland faring much better in a deeper role and carrying the ball strongly throughout. Max McGinnity, Tommy Mallen and Bobby McCaul have the ability to lead the way in the scoring stakes for Monaghan, while Finlay Foy weighed in with three points against Armagh. Packie Doogan-Burke, Conor Curran and Johnny Lavelle will…