All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round One: Mayo 1-13 Monaghan 0-12
CONOR Leonard can’t believe his luck. Lurking in behind Lee Keegan, he gets thrown a wild 74th minute backpass by Aidan O’Shea.
In a split second we see three things, but only one of them dominates the post-match discussion.
Leonard goes to ground under Keegan’s challenge. Referee Barry Cassidy, having been in front of the play expecting Mayo to come forward, is caught 40 yards away by the pass that nobody saw coming.
The whistle goes to his mouth but comes away again. Play on. Mayo scramble and win a free out.
The non-award of the penalty is the talking point. But what of the contributions of Leonard and Keegan?
Leonard has a split-second to do what he’s going to do. And in that split second, rather than turning goalwards away from Keegan, he takes the ball into the contact.
Keegan’s reaction to O’Shea’s mistake was razor-sharp. Leonard dangles just enough of a carrot to allow himself to be tackled. Keegan has to make the tackle, and sure if he gives away a penalty, there wasn’t much else he could do.
But he wraps Leonard up and then dislodges his hands just about quickly enough to remove the certainty from the foul. In that tiny split-second of experience against inexperience, Keegan does enough and gets away with it.
Should he have gotten away with it? It wasn’t the “stonewall” penalty that Monaghan felt it was, but nor would there have been a bad word out of Mayo if it had been given, because they’d have only looked at O’Shea and gone ‘what was that?’.
Leonard took it into the contact and then looked for a foul that was only half there.
But for the visitors it was the tin hat on a body of injustices they felt had built up throughout the game.
The early black card for Conor McManus was to be the game’s most pivotal moment. In the ten minutes he was off, Mayo scored 1-3 to no reply, going from two down to four up after a bright Gary Mohan start for Monaghan had earned them the game’s first two scores.
McManus could have no major complaints. He got his feet in a muddle, flicked a trailing left leg back out for Aidan O’Shea to go over. The rule says black card but the law is probably an ass given the harmlessness of where it occurred.
“It looked harsh for me, is what I’d say. Maybe go back to what the intent of the black card was and is it doing its job. If not, modify it. If they’re happy that it is, so be it,” said James Horan afterwards when asked if the rule needed reviewing when such a foul would be rightly deemed a black card offence.
Seamus McEnaney’s anger clouded his words. He went so far as to virtually accuse Barry Cassidy of a vendetta against McManus.
“It’s not the first time this has happened with him. Go back in your stats. I’d say Conor McManus has been on the sideline three times in his life, and I think you could bring them all back to him [Cassidy] as well,” said Banty.
The same referee had sent McManus off in Monaghan’s league game against Armagh earlier this year, a decision that was later rescinded. McManus’ three career black cards were shown by Maurice Deegan, Conor Lane and Padraig Hughes.
In his absence, Monaghan then conceded a penalty when Dessie Ward blocked Oisin Mullin’s shot with his foot. It was close proximity but he didn’t lead with the studs. Borderline again.
Cillian O’Connor stuck it brilliantly in the top corner and after 18 minutes, Mayo led by 1-4 to 0-2.
But led by Jack McCarron, who was strangely picked up by Enda Hession in the first half, the Farney crawled back into it. A mark and two points from play by the Currin man will have him in Allstar contention at the end of the year, but his hopes could come to be defined by the Derry game.
The finish off the outside of his left boot as he even slipped, making it 1-6 to 0-6, was just sublime.
That was the margin at the break and Monaghan had wind advantage in their favour for the second period. But while they huffed and they puffed, they never quite looked like blowing down a Mayo house that the concrete has yet to harden beneath for the summer.
They weren’t at it on Saturday. They were fairly poor and definitely lacked a cut in attack without Ryan O’Donoghue. Jack Carney and Cillian O’Connor shared their only two points from play out of the starting forward line.
They were once more supplemented by Lee Keegan and Paddy Durcan and Eoghan McLaughlin, all of whom registered and all of whom were to the fore when Mayo needed them to cut through the wind in the second period.
Had McLaughlin netted when he should have three minutes into the second half, they would have been six up and halfway out the gate. Instead, while they always maintained a cushion, there was always a grip of fear in the place that they might let it slip.
Monaghan lacked the composure to take it from them though. With 15 minutes to go they’d resorted to lumping the ball into the sky and hoping it fell their way in the square.
They took Conor McManus off just after he sliced a free wide that should have been from closer in, given for a foul on Mohan as he shot, but a good few of Monaghan’s complaints with the refereeing mask their own flaws on the day.
Sean Jones’ claim for a footblock by Stephen Coen – who had his best game of the year – was borne out of ‘they got theirs’ rather than anything solid.
Leonard’s claim at the end definitely had more about it, but even though Mayo were poor, extra-time was probably more than Monaghan’s performance deserved.
On the back of good springs, they’ve just fallen that bit short in summer lately.
Two Ulster title seems scant reward considering how good they’ve been the last decade, but it’s beginning to look like that might be their lot now before they go into rebuilding mode.
MATCH STATS
Mayo: R Hennelly (0-1 free); L Keegan (0-1), O Mullin, E Hession; P Durcan (0-1), S Coen, E McLaughlin (0-1); A O’Shea, M Ruane (0-1); B Walsh, A Orme, D O’Connor; J Carr, J Carney (0-1), C O’Connor (1-6, 1-0pen, 0-5 frees)
Subs: K McLoughlin for Carr (51), D McHale (0-1) for Orme (59), C Loftus for Walsh (65), P O’Hora for C O’Connor (74)
Monaghan: R Beggan; K Duffy (0-1), R Wylie, C Boyle; C McCarthy (0-1), K O’Connell, D Ward; D Hughes, N Kearns; R McAnespie, K Hughes, M Bannigan (0-1); J McCarron (0-3, 0-1 mark), G Mohan (0-2), C McManus (0-1 free)
Subs: A Woods for K Hughes (49), C Leonard (0-1) for McCarthy (53), S Carey (0-2 frees) for McManus (59), S Jones for Bannigan (65)
Yellow card: D Hughes (54)
Black card: C McManus (5-15)
Referee: B Cassidy (Derry)
Attendance: 16,377
