Pictures: Monaghan claim Ulster glory to scenes of sheer joy

Monaghan pulled off a very impressive victory in the Ulster Final against Donegal today

Donegal tried to be patient and pick their openings for the opening period, but Monaghan had no desire to wait around as they tore in to the All-Ireland champions from the start, notching up a four point lead. It was a hugely physical first half, with Mark McHugh coming off badly in a challenge with Stephen Gollogly, and the Donegal man was left with a concussion and a damaged ankle as a result. Jimmy McGuinness' men thought that they had gotten their first score on the board after 20 minutes, only for that to be chalked off, and they would have to wait another ten minutes before they finally registered a point.

At the break, they were behind by three points, as Monaghan gave up another point before the whistle, with the score reading 0-05 to 0-02. Donegal once again worked patiently to find a gap with the start of the second half, but Kieran Hughes reintroduced that sense of urgency to Monaghan with a series of fantastic points, to pull the score to 0-8 to 0-3. Donegal scuffed their own opportunities too, with two decent chances to grab some points and close the gap missed early on. Michael Murphy almost grabbed a goal off a high ball into the box in the 55th minute, but it went just inches wide, as the misses began to rack up for McGuinness' men.

They were to be telling in the end, as the Farney held on to that lead right through to the final whistle, responding with points any time Donegal tried to peg them back, eventually running out 0-13 to 0-07 winners to lift the Ulster Football title for the first time in 25 years, an achievement that left supporters, players and management joyous.