THE repeat of last year’s Ulster football final between Tyrone and Monaghan, which takes place in Omagh on Sunday, has thrown up something of a riddle.

JACK O’CONNOR’S decision to rest Colm Cooper for Kerry’s trip to Monaghan indicated he expected a very competitive, tough, physical encounter and Gooch’s health would be better served by an afternoon off.

GROUNDHOG day.

THEY say an ounce of breeding beats a ton of feeding, and the evidence is compelling.

ONE way in which sport mirrors society is that the rich keep getting richer while the poor keep getting kicked and trampled upon.

THE all-Ulster clash of Armagh and Donegal was the pick of last night’s All-Ireland senior football qualifiers first round draw.

A SIMPLY astonishing scoreline and one made all the more so given the fact that few in the crowd of 11,675 would have given tuppence for Monaghan’s chances at ten past two yesterday afternoon.

Monaghan 1-18 Armagh 0-9

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney has selected an experienced team for tomorrow's Ulster SFC quarter-final against Armagh at Casement Park (throw-in 2pm).

WATERFORD manager Davy Fitzgerald has sprang more than one surprise in naming Waterford’s starting 15 to face Clare in Monday’s Munster senior hurling championship semi-final at Thurles.

KERRY’s relief at the preservation of their top-flight status in the National Football League was ironically overshadowed by the jubilation of the Monaghan players and a decent travelling support when it emerged that a superior scoring rate to Derry also ensured their survival.

Kerry 1-16 Monaghan 1-12, Killarney

Dublin 2-11 Monaghan 1-9

Monaghan 0-20 Derry 3-16

Monaghan 0-13 Armagh 0-12 (aet)

ALL THE necessary ingredients are in place. Take your early-summer eyesore of a championship opener, season well with the usual hypocrisy about foul play, some hand-wringing by officialdom, and roast the whole thing down with the usual backlash against the media.

Derry 1-10 Monaghan 0-10

IT’S not the trophy they crave, but yesterday’s NFL Division Two final success in Croke Park still gives the Cork footballers a nice fillip as they crank up their championship preparations.

NO place for Tadhg Kennelly, and a experimental midfield partnership of Anthony Maher and Mike Quirke, might suggest Kerry are half-hearted about tomorrow’s Allianz Football League final.

THE Allianz Football League Division 2 promotion race has just got interesting. Monaghan’s merited success over Cork ensures it will be a pivotal promotion day in the last round in two weeks time.

Monaghan 2-13 Cork 1-9, Scotstown

Kildare 1-14 Monaghan 1-11

Armagh 0-14 Monaghan 1-13

Monaghan 1-10 St. Mary's 1-13, Emyvale,

IT DOESN’T tell the whole story, but All-Ireland football champions Kerry as good as claimed victory in Croke Park yesterday by taking full advantage of their goal chance late in the game.

Kerry 1-13 Monaghan 0-13

BACK in 1985, Eamonn McEneaney established a scoring record for Monaghan with 3-16 over the course of a campaign which was highlighted by two games against Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Donegal 0-15 Monaghan 0-16

WATERFORD coach Davy Fitzgerald has made two changes from the side that defeated Offaly last Saturday for Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford in Semple Stadium.

Queen's University 0-10 Monaghan 0-9

KERRY 1-12 MONAGHAN 1-11

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney has opted to stick with the same team that started the recent qualifier win against Donegal for this Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Kerry (Croke Park, throw-in 2pm).

Monaghan manager Seamus McEnaney has kept faith with the team that lost the Ulster final, naming an unchanged side for Saturday's All-Ireland SFC third round qualifier against Donegal at Healy Park (throw-in 7pm).

Tyrone won their 11th Ulster SFC title with a battling win over courageous Monaghan at Clones.

Derry 1-9 Monaghan 0-14