Cool Rob Hennelly lifts Mayo spirits
Certainly, the sight of O’Shea and Keegan sitting in the stand after black cards and O’Connor beside them in his civvies as he recovers from long-term injury did little for their mood as Monaghan rallied impressively.
But just when the need was greatest - Mayo’s goose would surely have been cooked if they’d slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat in Division 1 - goalkeeper Rob Hennelly emerged as the unlikely match winner.
With 66 minutes on the clock and the scores tied after another exhibition of placed ball kicking from Conor McManus, Hennelly strode forward to convert a long-range free. That point separated the sides for eight minutes or so until he repeated the feat, doubling the visitors’ lead and finally allowing them to breathe out after a troublesome start to spring.
Mayo aren’t out of the woods with one win from four and only three games to go. But things are looking up at least and in the context of battling, two-point defeats to Donegal and Dublin in previous outings, they can view their graph as being on an upward incline.
Next up is a clash with Kerry and given their strong league form against the Kingdom over the years, back to back wins is a realistic hope. Colm Boyle had an excellent game for Mayo from the half-back line, pouncing on loose ball or driving forward with intent to the delight of the significant travelling fan base.
Diarmuid O’Connor, Kevin McLoughlin and Tom Parsons had their moments too though it will come as no surprise that the game’s outstanding talent was Monaghan captain Conor McManus. It must be a real frustration for McManus to play so well and still lose. His 1-8 haul and unerring kicking throughout the second-half ultimately counted for nought, the same as the dozen points he fired at Croke Park a week earlier against Dublin.
Hennelly saw to that as the big Breaffy man took the game by the scruff of the neck and kicked the points that could just ignite a winning run that sees Mayo avoid the drop.
“I didn’t have much concerns about Rob because he hits them regularly,” said Mayo manager Stephen Rochford. “He hit a couple of good frees against Dublin, he hit a couple of good frees against Donegal and he strikes them really, really well. He dug us out with a really good one-on-one save against Karl O’Connell in the first-half as well.
“In fairness to him, he produced for us from the first minute right through into the 74th minute when he kicked that second free.”
The former All-Ireland winning Corofin manager said the prospect of relegation has never crossed his mind despite the slow start.
“Honestly, we’ve never talked about it,” continued Rochford. “We’ve never spoke about relegation, never spoke about anything bar the likes of Conor McManus and Darren Hughes. They can concentrate the mind as much as what the consequences would be of winning or losing.”
Rochford was right to be concerned about McManus because the Farney skipper was a class apart. Monaghan manager Malachy O’Rourke agreed with the suggestion afterwards that McManus got plenty of ‘attention’ from Mayo defenders.
But it was water off a duck’s back for the Clontibret ace who drew the foul that led to Keegan’s black card. It was McManus’ sixth converted free of the second-half that left a pulsating contest at stalemate with four minutes remaining, 1-12 to 2-9. Monaghan couldn’t push on for the win though and will now be slightly concerned about relegation themselves after back to back defeats.
The fact they ran Dublin to a one-point game at Croke Park and were only marginally edged out by five-in-a-row Connacht champions Mayo will give them real hope though. They gave Mayo their fill of it for long spells in front of an appreciative crowd in good conditions.
Mayo lost talisman O’Shea to a ninth minute black card after he dragged down Ryan Wylie. Monaghan piled on the pressure with a McManus goal three minutes later, following up after an initial penalty kick was blocked by Hennelly. Mayo finished the half strongly though with four points in a row to lead 1-6 to 1-5 and when Diarmuid O’Connor poked a 40th-minute goal through ‘keeper Rory Beggan’s legs the lead was out to five. Mayo should have been at their ease from there on but McManus consistently punished slack defending with converted frees for the hosts. His sixth free of the second-half left the scores tied before Hennelly took centre stage with that late cameo.
D O’Connor (1-1), C Loftus (1-0), E Regan (0-3, 2 frees), R Hennelly (2 frees). C O’Shea and K McLoughlin (0-2 each), J Doherty (0-1)
C McManus (1-8, 8 frees), F Kelly, R Beggan (0-1 45), T Kerr and S Carey (0-1 each).
R Hennelly; G Cafferkey, B Harrison, S Nally; M Hall, C Boyle, L Keegan; S O’Shea, T Parsons; D O’Connor, K McLoughlin, C O’Shea; E Regan, A O’Shea, C Loftus.
J Doherty for A O’Shea (9, BC), M Sweeney for Loftus (44), D Vaughan for Keegan (51), C Barrett for Nally (56), J Gibbons for C O’Shea (64), A Moran for Regan (65).
R Beggan; C Walshe, D Wylie, R Wylie; K Duffy, N McAdam, F Kelly; K O’Connell, D Hughes; O Duffy, D Malone, T Kerr; S Carey, D McKenna, C McManus.
R McAnespie for Duffy (h/t), B McGinn for Malone (45), C Boyle for K Duffy (46), C McCarthy for McKenna (58).
J McQuillan (Cavan).
