Monaghan pull off yet another great escape to relegate the Dubs

There will be no Leinster county in Division One of the Allianz Football League in 2023, as Dublin are relegated for the first time since 1995

Allianz Football League Division 1, St. Tiernach's Park, Clones, Monaghan 27/3/2022 Monaghan vs Dublin Monaghan’s Dessie Ward and Sean Bugler of Dublin Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie

Monaghan 3-13 Dublin 1-18 

Monaghan, the league’s great escapologists, have done it again.

Seamus McEnaney’s men found themselves poised above the trapdoor of Division One for the sixth time in the eight seasons since they came up from the second tier but have yet again managed to avoid the drop.

This impossibly dramatic and entertaining one-point defeat of Dublin was secured by a Jack McCarron free five minutes into injury-time and it is a result that relegates the Leinster county for the first time since 1995.

A rejigging of the leagues in 2008 did see the Dubs spend a season outside the top grade then but this is a seismic result whatever way you cut it. The side that bestrode the game like a colossus for the last decade will be meeting Louth and Limerick next spring.

McCarron, Monaghan’s focal point in the absence for most of the afternoon of Conor McManus, was the star of the production with a 2-6 haul that included some wonderful points and the cheekiest chip since Mikey Sheehy undid Paddy Cullen.

The drama started before throw-in with five changes to the Monaghan team as it appeared in the programme. Out went the likes of McManus, Kieran Duffy and Micheal Bannigan, with a vomiting bug the reported source of at least some of the scramble.

Dublin switched a pair of their own, Michael Shiel replacing Evan Comerford in goal and Eoin Murchan coming in for Cian Murphy at corner-back and it was the visitors who found their stride first on a glorious, sunny afternoon.

Up four points to one after just half-a-dozen minutes, the Leinster side was finding space at will with their long, fast attacking approach while their high press was creating more problems again for Rory Beggan who had to take an age over every kick-out.

You feared for Monaghan then, not least on the back of the week before when they coughed up 24 scores to Kildare, but Seamus McEnaney’s men found their sea legs and began to go at Dublin in waves.

They hit back with 1-4 without reply, the goal coming through the centre of Dublin’s defence with Ryan McAnespie’s fist pass releasing Drew Jones whose low finish on the run was pretty much unstoppable.

Dessie Farrell’s side finally stopped the bleeding after about 20 minutes and what followed from there to the break was a more balanced affair with the teams going tit-for-tat on the field and on the scoreboard.

Dublin finished the half strongly to leave them with just two points to make up on the restart but they slipped back down into a very deep hole over the course of the next ten minutes as Monaghan threatened to put the game to bed.

Two quick points were followed by a turbulent spell littered with turnovers. Then Gary Mohan was fouled in the area by Cian Murphy just as he was set to pull the trigger and McCarron found the net with the resultant penalty.

2-9 to 0-8, less than half-an-hour left and the unthinkable about to happen.

Dublin refused to go down quietly. Five of the next six points fell their way and Monaghan’s lead was looking more precarious by the second, not least when Ryan Wylie walked after picking up a yellow and then a black card within moments of each other.

Cometh the moment, cometh the man. Again.

A long ball in from McAnespie left McCarron with the ball in his hands and one-on-one with the goalkeeper but at an unfavourable angle. Take the easy point or go for glory. He dinked it over the stranded Shiel and that seemed to be that.

Even more so when James McCarthy saw red for a second yellow.

Not so quick. Dublin outscored their hosts by 1-5 to two points over the closing ten minutes of normal time, the goal coming from a Dean Rock penalty, to leave the sides level and, as things stood, Monaghan about to go down.

Both sides had their chances to pull clear after that. Drew Wylie dropped one short and Gannon hit one wide. Then Monaghan earned a free about 45 metres out bang in front of the posts and McCarron stepped up one last time.

Cue bedlam.

Scorers for Monaghan: J McCarron (2-6, 1-0 penalty, 0-3 frees); K Hughes (0-2); C Boyle, D Hughes, C McCarthy (all 0-1), G Mohan and S Carey (0-1 free each).

Scorers for Dublin: D Rock (1-9, 1-0 penalty, 0-8 frees); C Costello (0-4); S Bugler (0-2, 0-1 mark); L Gannon (0-2); B Howard, (0-1).

Monaghan: R Beggan; D Wylie, C Boyle, R Wylie; R McAnespie, D Ward, N Kearns; D Hughes, K Hughes; C McCarthy, J McCarron, S Carey; F Kelly, G Mohan, S Jones.

Subs: C Walshe for Carey and A Woods for Jones (both HT); K O’Connell for Kelly (47); K Lavelle for D Hughes (66); K Duffy for K Hughes (71); C McManus for Walshe (75).

Dublin: M Shiel; M Fitzsimons, D Byrne, E Murchan; J McCarthy, J Cooper, R McDaid; B Fenton, T Lahiff; B Howard, S Bugler, N Scully; C Costello, C Kilkenny, D Rock.

Subs: L Gannon for Lahiff (22); C Murphy for McDaid (30); B O’Leary for Scully (59); L O’Dell for Costello (66); A Wright for O’Leary (71).

Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).