Farney steal template
Donegal brought all that to the table two years ago and claimed an All-Ireland off the back of it.
Rediscovering their mojo has been beyond them since and they could do little as Monaghan stole their template and their thunder yesterday.
It was impressive stuff for a second-tier league decider.
Jim McGuinness said later that Rory Kavanagh’s dismissal via a straight red card after 42 minutes decided the outcome, dispensing with diplomacy by effectively blaming his errant midfielder for his side’s downfall.
It undoubtedly had an effect. Monaghan outscored their Ulster neighbours by 1-6 to 1-2 from there to the finish, but whether the veteran’s moment of madness decided the game is another thing.
Time and again a Monaghan man beat an opponent to a ball and the urgency evident all afternoon was most obvious when Kieran Hughes took a heavy tumble off the pitch in bursting a gut to keep one ball infield.
“We said we wanted to come down here and perform, and if we did that we wouldn’t be far away,” said Monaghan manager Malachy O’Rourke. “And so it all worked out well, yes. We were happy to put in a big performance.”
Veteran defender Dessie Mone was the official man of the match but, as was the case when Donegal were at their pomp, there were any number who could have been given the nod. Paul Finlay and Darren Hughes are two to spring to mind.
It is worth nothing that Monaghan were written off as yesterday’s men by the time Donegal claimed that All-Ireland just 19 months ago. Seamus McEnanay had departed and an ageing side seemed destined for obscurity.
O’Rourke’s side have since won three out of the four competitions open to them between league and championship: two league titles — Divisions 3 and 2 — and a provincial crown. Only an All-Ireland has evaded them.
It was Donegal who looked old yesterday.
Eleven of the men who started that defeat of Mayo two years ago lined out here, but there was little in the way of the zip and spirit that epitomised those champions.
It was, McGuinness said, their worst performance of the year thus far.
Maybe that’s all it was. Maybe this was Donegal’s ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card. The last of the dirty petrol. Maybe it was inevitable just 10 days after their return from a week training full-time away in Portugal. Maybe.
What can’t be denied is their over-reliance on Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden up front. That pair claimed nine of their 11 scores yesterday.
Without either of them you would fear for Donegal: this summer and beyond.
Monaghan’s workload was spread far more evenly. Scores emanated from a variety of sources, the vast majority being kicked from distance by players unwilling to lose themselves amidst the thicket of Donegal’s deepest defensive line.
The contrast at the far end of the pitch, where half of Donegal’s errant kicks on goal fell short rather than wide, was evident and Monaghan were full value for a three-point lead — 0-10 to 0-7 — at the interval.
The start of the second period saw a rise in the tension levels with two separate flashpoints sucking in numerous players and the second of them resulting in Kavanagh’s sending-off for a bizarre incident.
Clearly infuriated when his stray boot was kicked away, he responded by thrusting the footwear at Darren Hughes’s groin and paid the price thanks to the presence of a linesman who had a clear view of the exchange.
Monaghan had just lost midfielder Owen Lennon to an ankle injury on the restart, but Kavanagh’s loss was by far the more costly given Monaghan’s tactical nous at the back and determination to break upfield at speed and offload off their shoulders.
Not that that was immediately apparent.
Murphy brought Donegal back level after 54 minutes with a goal from a penalty incorrectly awarded against Colin Walshe given any contact was outside the box and certainly not worthy of the black card that ended his input.
It was a brief setback. Within three minutes Kieran Hughes had the ball in the opposite net, finishing off a superb length-of-pitch team move by palming the ball in and from there Monaghan eased away to victory.
Scorers for Donegal: M Murphy (1-4, 1-0 pen, 3fs), C McFadden (0-4, 3fs), O Mac Niallais, P McBrearty (0-1 each).
Scorers for Monaghan: K Hughes (1-1), C McManus, P Finlay (2fs) (0-3 each), D Hughes; P McKenna (0-2 each), R Beggan (45) F Kelly, D Mone, C McGuinness, D Clerkin (0-1 each).
DONEGAL: P Durcan; N McGee, L Kearney, E McGee; F Glynn, K Lacey, A Thompson; R Kavanagh, M McElhinney; O Mac Niallais, R McHugh, C Toye; P McBrearty, M Murphy, C McFadden. Subs for Donegal: M McHugh for McElhinney, N Gallagher for Toye (both 28), C Classon for Mac Niallais (47), D O’Connor for R McHugh (59), D Walsh for Keaney (66), D Molloy for McFadden (68).
MONAGHAN: R Beggan; C Walshe, V Corey, D Wylie; F Kelly, K Duffy, D Mone; O Lennon, D Hughes; D Malone, S Gollogly, P McKenna; P Finlay, K Hughes, C McManus. Subs for Monaghan: R Wylie for Walshe (54), C McGuinness for Gollogly (57), S Carey for Malone (67), J McCarron for Finlay (72), K O’Connell for D Hughes (73).
Referee: D Gough (Meath).
Jim McGuinness said Donegal were back on an even keel after a slow start before Rory Kavanagh’s sending-off changed the script. Hard to say for sure, but Monaghan pulled away afterwards.
Seriously impressive marker laid down by Ulster champions.
Kieran Hughes with a piece of magic in injury-time. About to carry a caught ball over the line, he dropped it and volleyed to a colleague. It ended with a Dick Clerkin point.
A collection of very, very good displays by men wearing white. Paul Finlay, Dessie Mone, Kieran Hughes and Darren Hughes could all make a sound case.
Monaghan’s Colin Walshe and Darren Hughes both fell victim to it. So did Colm McFadden although Michael Murphy was fortunate not to join them.
Malachy O’Rourke put out a team that played with greater pace and intensity. Used the extra man in defence after Kavanagh’s dismissal. Jim McGuinness made changes early and often, but to no avail.
Erred with giving Donegal a penalty, which made up for a failure to do so earlier.
Donegal face Derry in Celtic Park while Monaghan face the winner of the clash between Tyrone and Down.
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