Dublin City 0 Monaghan United 0:  A frustrating draw for the home side who began well but, as the game wore on, afforded a rejuvenated Monaghan side time and space from which to rectify their first half sluggishness.

City boss Dermot Keely will be particularly disappointed as his side had shown plenty of enterprise in the first half, suppressing their hosts in almost every department.  But the visitors, led by inspirational 17-year-old midfielder Stephen Finnegan, plugged second half holes they had earlier left ajar to force the replay on Tuesday night.

Despite having met on numerous occasions in the First Division last season, the gulf in class was evident from the start.  City, now of Premier Division status, lorded possession from an early stage and left Monaghan -bottom of their division - to feed off scraps.  The home side were comfortable spraying the ball from one side of the pitch to the next, forcing their opponents to work over time from an early stage.

Robbie Collins was particularly impressive down the left flank, causing full back Paul Whelan endless problems for the duration.  His slinky runs deep into Monaghan territory carved out a number of early chances and from one, City should have scored.  Collins floated in a corner from the left which the Monaghan defence failed to clear and defender Ben Whelan stormed in unmarked but inexplicably blazed his close range shot over Robbie Horgan's crossbar.

Monaghan, playing deep in their own half for much of the opening spell, were reduced to clearing long, aimless balls forward and although both Alan McNevin and Robbie Smyth showed a willingness to probe when afforded space, there was little in the visitor's makeup to trouble a sturdy home defence.

City continued to surge forward in search of the breakthrough and came close when Collins crossed from the left.  His  searching ball, which evaded Eddie Keyes at the back post, was met by Derek Pender but the midfielder, who had run from deep, was always struggling to keep his header on target.  Soon after, David Freeman turned provider for his strike partner Mark Rooney but the former Drogheda player steered his volley over Horgan's crossbar.

Monaghan certainly improved as the half wore on, playing neater, slicker football.  Finnegan proved the catalyst behind their more eye-catching moves and, indeed, he could have edged his side ahead against the run of play shortly before the break.  Having collected Smyth's cheeky flick, he bore down on goal but, with the defence closing in, rushed his shot and poked wide of Gary Rogers's near post.

Monaghan then began the second half as they finished the first, forcing City to defend deeper with Finnegan once again pulling the strings.  When he played in McNevin, the visiting support were on their feet but the striker, under strong pressure from Robbie Hedderman - who had squandered a free header in a promising position just before the break - shot narrowly wide.  City, though, remained composed and David McGill had Horgan at full stretch to keep out a long range shot minutes later.

Despite their resurgence, Monaghan were left frustrated when squandering a gilt-edge opportunity with an hour played.  Defender Ben Whelahan and Rogers, who had raced off his line, dallied over who should clear a Monaghan ball played forward.  Smyth stole in to take possession but, as he raced into the box unmarked, took a touch too many and saw his final shot cleared off the line by Hedderman.  It was as close as Monaghan came to causing an upset but at least they have the opportunity to do just that in Tuesday's replay at Century Homes Park.

Dublin City:  Rogers, Brennan, Hedderman, Keely, Whelahan, Crowley, McGill, Pender, Rooney, Freeman, Collins.  Subs:  O'Donnell for Pender (52), Davey for Crowley (75).

Monaghan United: Horgan, Whelan, Keys, Cronin, Sargent, Harte, Gannon, Finnegan, McNevin, Smyth, Smith. Subs:  Burke for Cronin (49 mins)

Referee:  D McKeon (Dublin).

Saturday's FAI Carlsberg Cup results

Blarney United 1-3 Derry City
Bangor Celtic 1-3 Shelbourne
Carrigaline United 0-4 Sligo Rovers
Dublin City 0 Monaghan United 0
Kilkenny City 0-2 UCD
Dundalk 1-0 Cobh Ramblers
Finn Harps 1-0 Crumlin United