Hughes goal crucial as Monaghan secure promotion
Monaghan got off to the perfect start with a goal by Christopher McGuinness in the opening minute and added a second just on the half hour when Kieran Hughes applied a sublime finish after he was placed in with an inch-perfect cross by Colin Walshe.
Monaghan led at half-time by 2-9 to 0-7 and while Antrim put in a real battling performance in the second half, too often they failed to apply the finish they needed to narrow the gap. Any chance they had of making a real battle of it was killed off 14 minutes into the second half when Darren Hughes scored a brilliant solo goal to leave Monaghan ahead by 10 points.
