Football’s beauty and beast in full view as Donegal draw with Monaghan
It’s not many games that leave you so conflicted but Saturday’s Ulster semi-final exhibited so much of the good and the bad that shapes Gaelic football at the moment.
On one hand, the physical nature of this encounter was thrilling. No game in this championship, indeed none since the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final replay in Limerick, has provided as much in the way of genuine hard hits. We imagine the likes of Martin McElhinney and Drew Wylie are this morning still feeling the effects of the bruising shoulders they were subjected to by Kieran Hughes and Michael Murphy respectively. They may just recover in time for the replay, which has been slated next Saturday, again at Breffni Park.
Saturday’s action was pockmarked with melees, both at the end of the first and second halves. The sight of players from each team attempting to persuade referee Joe McQuillan to issue cards to opposing players was also unseemly. Ditto the unruly behaviour of the team’s “maor foirnes”, Maxi Curran and Ryan Porter.
It also appeared Donegal goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley made more than a meal of a challenge on him as his team, two points to the good, tried to kill the clock.
That incident was indefensible but the tensions and unbridled gamesmanship ran hand-in-hand with all that was wholesome about this game. If we are to demand matches of this ferocity then we must also anticipate and possibly even accept such matters as necessary evils.
Level on six occasions, this monstrous provincial semi-final was also tied at half-time but both sides had enjoyed temporary two-points leads before Monaghan developed a three-point lead by the 48th minute, Karl O’Connell popping up for two fine scores, as they pulverised Donegal’s restarts.
That lead may have been more but for Ryan McAnespie failing to control the ball as he looked set to strike on goal. Then again, Donegal had several opportunities other than Odhran Mac Niallais’ successful 57th-minute strike to find the net, Rory Beggan saving from Kieran Gillespie in the 39th minute and Paddy McBrearty firing too high when a battery of hand-passes had seen him through in the 51st minute.
Murphy, so strangled by Vinny Corey in previous meetings, unshackled himself here. From the first minute when he burst through the middle to set up Karl Lacey for a point to his interception in injury-time that triggered the move for Christy Toye’s would-be winner, he was influential in general play.
He ended the game with three points but could have doubled that tally but for three misses from placed balls early in the second half. When McBrearty kicked wide with another shortly after, Rory Gallagher had reason to be worried. “I was thinking about putting on the boots meself! Naw, definitely disappointing but we showed great character and those boys are going to have days like that. I wouldn’t fancy them to have many more.”
McBrearty’s goal chance that turned into a point ended Monaghan’s strong period in the third quarter only for McElhinney to be issued with a black card to accompany his yellow card from earlier on. And yet two minutes later Mac Niallais was wheeling away after scoring his third goal of the Ulster championship.
“We were disappointed to lose Martin although we could argue with the black card and indeed the yellow earlier on,” claimed Gallagher.
“But we responded really well with the goal. We should have had a goal (when) we started the start of the second half well. Young Kieran (Gillespie), with the three on his back was probably the reason he didn’t finish it. We started the second half well, got a number of scores but overall I just thought we battled and battled as did Monaghan.”
There were occasions when Donegal looked as dashing as they did in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final win over Dublin. Eoin McHugh’s 62nd-minute point was initiated by Murphy hooking a long kick-out into the path of Ryan McHugh and Monaghan found themselves having to scurry back to avoid being over-run.
That score put Donegal two up once more but Monaghan were calmly working the ball into scoring areas. Conor McManus tied the game in the third minute of additional time prior to Toye’s fisted effort. And when Anthony Thompson fouled late on, McManus was equal to the challenge presented to him.
“When you’re two points down going into injury-time you always are on the back-foot a wee bit,” admitted Malachy O’Rourke.
“But in fairness knowing the boys and having seen them before when we’ve been in them positions they never give in. Secondly, we didn’t panic. We know we just have to keep playing and don’t be rushing things at all and we worked a couple of scores and were delighted with that.”
As will most being given a chance to see these counties battle for the second weekend in a row.
P. McBrearty (0-5, 3 frees); M. Murphy (0-3, 2 frees); O Mac Niallais (1-0); K. Lacey, E. McHugh, C. Toye (0-1 each).
C. McManus (0-8, 7 frees); K. O’Connell, C. McCarthy (1 free) (0-2 each); S. Carey, O. Duffy (0-1 each).
M.A. McGinley; P. McGrath, E. McGee, K. Gillespie; K. Lacey, A. Thompson; E. McHugh, F. McGlynn, R. McHugh; R. Kavanagh, O. Mac Niallais; M. O’Reilly, M. McElhinney; M. Murphy (c), P. McBrearty.
M. McHugh for F. McGlynn (65); C. Toye for R. Kavanagh (68); E. Gallagher for M. O’Reilly (70+6).
M. McElhinney (yellow, 21; black, 55).
R. Beggan; C. Walshe, V. Corey; D. Wylie, K. Duffy; R. Wylie, D. Hughes; K. O’Connell, F. Kelly; R. McAnespie, O. Duffy, S. Carey; C. McCarthy, K. Hughes, C. McManus.
D. Mone for D. Wylie, D. McKenna for C. McCarthy (both 58); C. Boyle for C. Walshe (black, 61); J. McCarron for S. Carey (64); D. Clerkin for R. McAnespie (70+2).
J. McQuillan (Cavan)
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