Mayo make hard work of overcoming battling 13-man Monaghan

Mayo secure fourth place in the league while Monaghan will drop down to Division 2 next year. 

RECORD EQUALLED: Aidan O'Shea equalled Andy Moran's record of 185 appearances in League and Championship for Mayo. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

National Football League Division 1 

Mayo 2-13 Monaghan 1-14 

Mayo’s habit of doing things the hard way continued as they wrapped up their league campaign with a far from straightforward win against a Monaghan team whose relegation fate had already been sealed.

A small crowd turned out at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones for a match that had very little rhyme or reason from start to finish, with Mayo’s late scoring burst of 1-2 without reply snatching a fourth victory of a largely satisfactory campaign for Kevin McStay.

Monaghan, who finished the game with 13 players after a red card for Andrew Woods on 22 minutes and a raft of second half injuries, can count themselves unlucky not to have taken something from the game.

Despite being a man down for more than 50 minutes, the Farneymen still led by 1-14 to 1-11 on 65 minutes after substitute Kevin Loughran crashed in a goal.

But Mayo finally got their act together in the closing stages and used their extra players to their advantage, as Matthew Ruane goaled in the 66th minute to level the game for the fourth and final time.

Late points from Ryan O’Donoghue (free) and the fit-again Padraig O’Hora proved to be the scores that finally broke Monaghan’s stubborn resistance.

The arrival of the likes of Cillian O’Connor, Fergal Boland and James Carr, who was making his first appearance of the year, off the bench also helped to turn the tide in Mayo’s favour.

This sixth defeat in a row of a disappointing campaign for Vinnie Corey’s team will be hard to take after such a brave and bold effort, in the absence of the likes of key forwards Stephen O’Hanlon, Ryan McAnespie, Jack McCarron and Conor McManus.

In fact, they could have snatched a dramatic win at the death but substitute Joel Wilson saw his goalbound shot blocked by Mayo goalkeeper Rory Byrne.

Monaghan had led at half-time by 0-8 to 1-4 thanks to a brilliant long-range point from the industrious Micheál Bannigan.

Pre-match favourites Mayo made the early running and led by 1-3 to 0-3 lead on 13 minutes after a goal from Darren McHale was quickly followed by a neat point by Matthew Ruane.

But the Westerners lost their way in the second quarter and were unable to make any impression on the scoreboard, bar a free from Aidan O’Shea in the 27th minute.

O’Shea put in a typically hard-working shift on the day he equalled Andy Moran’s record of 185 appearances for Mayo.

Monaghan’s response to the concession of McHale’s goal was impressive, as they rattled off three points without reply from Micheál Bannigan (two frees) and a well-taken mark by Ciaran McNulty to draw level.

Then came Woods’ red card, but Monaghan bounced back by landing a couple of long-range efforts from Seán Jones and the aforementioned Bannigan to go in leading at the interval.

The homeside kept Mayo at arm’s length until the final five minutes, but the visitors finally made their numerical advantage count, and will now focus their attention on a Connacht championship quarter-final against New York in two weeks’ time.

Scorers for Monaghan: M Bannigan (0-4, 2fs), K Loughran (1-0), S Jones (0-2), J Irwin (0-2), D Garland (0-2, 1f, 1 mark), C McNulty (0-1), K O’Connell (0-1), G Mohan (0-1, mark), B McBennett (0-1).

Scorers for Mayo: M Ruane (1-2), R O’Donoghue (0-5, 5fs), D McHale (1-1), C O’Connor (0-2, 1f, 1 mark), P O’Hora (0-1), A O’Shea (0-1, 1f), F Boland (0-1)

MONAGHAN: D McDonnell; R Wylie, C Lennon, R O’Toole; K O’Connell (0-1), K Lavelle, C McCarthy; G Mohan (0-1, mark), D Hughes; C McNulty (0-1), M Bannigan (0-4, 2fs), D Ward; A Woods, S Jones (0-2), J Irwin (0-2).

Subs used: D Garland (0-2, 1f, 1 mark) for Ward (33, inj); K Loughran (1-0) for Lavelle (33, inj); B McBennett (0-1) for Jones (47); C Leonard for Mohan (51); M McCarville for Leonard (55, inj); J Wilson for Hughes (64).

MAYO: R Byrne; E O’Donoghue, R Brickenden, P O’Hora (0-1); S Callinan, J Coyne, S Coen; M Ruane (1-2), D McBrien; D McHale (1-1), E Hession, P Durcan; T Conroy, A O’Shea (0-1, 1f), R O’Donoghue (0-5, 5fs).

Subs used: M Plunkett for Callinan (23, inj); C O’Connor (0-2, 1f, 1 mark) for McBrien (HT); F Boland (0-1) for Durcan (47); J Carr for E O’Donoghue (47); B Tuohy for O’Shea (60).

Referee: N Cullen (Fermanagh)