Patrick McBrearty blow for Donegal as Monaghan bag first win
ONLY GOAL: Monaghan's Sean Jones celebrates after scoring his side's. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher
Maybe it was a bit of a sliding doors afternoon when Monaghan’s forward line stiffened while news of Donegal’s weakening was made public.
Jack McCarron struck seven points to give Vinny Corey’s side their first win in Division 1 and Conor McManus came off the bench to show he’s still got a huge part to play. Not long after the full-time whistle, Donegal manager Paddy Carr confirmed their captain Patrick McBrearty is not expected to play again in their league.
McBrearty picked up a hamstring injury against Tyrone two weeks ago and is now in a race against the clock to face Down in the Ulster SFC on April 22. In his absence, Donegal are now in a relegation scrap having lost by seven points in Clones against Monaghan.
“Unfortunately the injury is serious enough and he is going to be out for the foreseeable future,” Carr said. “His season has not ended and we have got the best medical advice there now. His surgery will happen very quickly.
“It’s a blow and Paddy is a leader. What can you do? Lots of other teams have marquee players out too. Paddy’s influence is important. It’s a hamstring tear.”
Carr was talking after watching his team go down to a Monaghan side who were driven on by McCarron, who himself had only returned from a hamstring injury picked up on opening night against Armagh.
It took until the 46th minute for either party to get two in front and it was Donegal who reached that juncture, only for Monaghan to spin off six in succession to put daylight between them at 0-15 to 0-11.
In the midst of that Monaghan burst, with the score level, Jamie Brennan had been played in by Michael Langan and the Donegal forward’s strike coming in off the left cannoned back off the hosts’ crossbar. So instead of finding themselves three up, Donegal were soon four down.
Carr’s side were chasing their tails after that and in injury time, Conor McManus, who had taken over from seven-point McCarron, laid off for Sean Jones to smash home the only goal of the game. Monaghan and Corey can now look up instead of over their shoulder.
“It was a huge boost to get Jack, Conor and Sean back,” Corey said afterwards. “Coming in there they were very sharp and we’d be happy with that. We knew this was going to be a cagey game and in the second half they really opened out.
“Momentum is a big thing as nobody wants to lose three in a row. It was important to get back up again. We knew it was a 50-50 and it was all about who blinked first.”
Like a pendulum swinging one way and then back, there was never more than a single score between the rivals in the first half, during which Donegal had the benefit of the wind, which was blowing across the field.
Donegal’s came when Caolan McGonagle intercepted a Rory Beggan kick-out on 15 minutes and the ball was swiftly moved onto Brennan, who pierced a shot that flew across the goal and just over the crossbar, for 0-5 to 0-5.
Nine minutes later, with the scoreboard having not clunked on, Monaghan’s opportunity was thwarted by Shaun Patton, who stood tall, to block from Shane Carey after Michéal Bannigan had picked his way through the Donegal defence, with the follow-up rebounding wide. The lead was Donegal’s at half-time, 0-7 to 0-6.
Just when someone got two up for the first time, which Donegal managed through Oisin Gallen and Langan on 46 minutes, then Monaghan spun off three on the bounce to go ahead 0-12 to 0-11 on 51 minutes - Conor McCarthy, Michéal Bannigan and, with the loudest cheer of the day, O’Hanlon.
Gallen halted the slide momentarily and Conor O’Donnell did kick two late points, but it was Monaghan who were streaking away by then with McManus kicking two marks and Jones ending up with 1-2 off the bench.
Jack McCarron 0-7, 4f, 1m; Sean Jones 1-2; Stephen O’Hanlon 0-3; Rory Beggan 0-2, 2f; Conor McManus 0-2, 2m; Shane Carey, Conor McCarthy, Michéal Bannigan, Kieran Duffy 0-1.
Oisin Gallen 0-5, 4f; Michael Langan 0-4; Conor O’Donnell 0-3; Caolan McGonagle, Jamie Brennan, Daire Ó Baoill 0-1.
R Beggan; T McPhillips, K Duffy, R Wylie; C Boyle, D Ward, D Hughes; K Lavelle, G Mahon; S O’Hanlon, M Bannigan, C McCarthy; S Carey, K Gallagher, J McCarron.
C Lennon for Lavelle (19), S Jones for Carey (48), S Hanratty for Lennon (59),C McManus for McCarron (63), A Mulligan for McCarthy (70).
S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, C Ward; C McColgan, S McMenamin, E Ban Gallagher; C McGonagle, J McGee; M Langan, D Ó Baoill, C O’Donnell; H McFadden, O Gallen, J Brennan.
P Mogan for McColgan (45), L McGlynn for Ward (59); R O’Donnell for McFadden (67), J McGroddy for McGee (70+5).
Noel Mooney (Cavan).
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