Beautiful chaos as Mayo survive Farney fightback
ALL IN: Monaghan’s Ryan O’Toole tries to block the progress of Mayo's Ryan O’Donoghue. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
It would be a disservice to start with the numbers. This was glorious chaos to be celebrated. The crowd in Clones wasn’t a full house, but by the end, every soul in the ground was enthralled by this magnificent game that is Gaelic football.
What matters is that warm feeling. The joy, the relaxation in a sport that ensures you should never, ever opt for relaxation, the nonstop buzz. It is a wonder.
The list of talking points from this Sunday afternoon is endless: Kobe McDonald’s first half hat-trick; a one, two and three all from play. Aidan O’Shea’s record as Gaelic football’s first-ever outfield championship centurion. Bobby McCaul’s enthralling impact off the bench, which yielded 1-1 as well as a contentious wide that may have been over. Ten two-pointers, 66 shots, 33 turnovers, a 12-point lead that was almost chased down by another awesome Monaghan fightback. A final kickout that saw McDonald soar, pluck the ball out of the sky and finally allowed Mayo to settle.
What theatre. Even by the standards of some of the recent comebacks we’ve witnessed in recent months with the revolution of the new rules, at the break, the gulf still looked too considerable. Mayo led 1-17 to 0-9 having stormed down the tunnel after Ryan O’Donoghue’s awesome two-pointer just before the buzzer, their sixth of the half.
They started in similar fashion, Jack Carney curling over from range as Monaghan endured a sluggish start. Back-to-back extra-time ties clearly took their toll. Stephen O’Hanlon missed out altogether due to injury, Ryan McAnespie limped off and the low point of the day arrived when Bobby McCaul was carried off on a stretcher having gone down holding the same knee that he injured when suffering an ACL injury last year.
Against that, all of Mayo’s new faces were thriving. Jack Livingstone was sensational in goals, producing at least six big saves before he was eventually beaten. Hugh O’Loughlin was a monster on kickouts. Darragh Beirne finished with four points and teed up the goal for McDonald with an inviting pop pass across the square.
From precious little possession, McDonald was immense in the opening half. Dylan Byrne gave him his fill of it after the break and forced a number of turnovers, but the AFL-bound prospect still came up with that clutch catch at the death.
A simple Jordan Flynn point at the start of the second half extended Mayo’s lead to 12, but the nagging concern all the while was the remarkable number of chances Monaghan were creating. McCaul came in and went for goal but was denied, with Rory Beggan finally finding his radar from the resulting 45 having missed two previous efforts. They missed another three shots after that. All it would take was for some of those opportunities to land for this contest to catch fire.
Cue the revival.
It was instigated by McCaul’s opening point. Moments later, David McBrien tried to pick out Beirne on the back post. Beggan raced off his line, determined to ensure one goal chance was quickly followed by another at the other end.
He picked out Stephen Mooney with a long kick-pass to the opposite 45. The substitute turned and immediately angled a ball towards McCaul on the square. He took one bounce to settle himself before rolling it in. It was absolutely gorgeous football.
Which is why the sense of disappointment when McCaul went down was so acute. The stand offered consoling applause as he was carried off with his hands over his head. He had thrilled the ground. They all want to see him do the same again.
Throughout that final quarter, Monaghan showed all their heart. Dessie Ward curled over a trademark two. Jack McCarron did the same. Mooney brought another burst and found the bottom corner.
In the final minute, they were three down and faced a fascinating choice. Go for goal or try to kick a two, win the final restart and get one more score. It was hard to tell if Max Maguire went for the posts with his effort from outside the arc or struck a long delivery too well but either way it flew over to leave the margin at one.
Mayo survived to enter the winners' draw on Tuesday. Monaghan were left to wonder what might have been. Everyone else can’t wait to see what comes next.
: J. McCarron 0-5 (1 tp, 2 free); B. McCaul 1-1; S. Mooney 1-0; R. Beggan 0-2 (2 45s); M. Maguire 0-2 (tp); D. Ward 0-2 (tp); C. McCarthy 0-2; A. Woods 0-2 (tp); M. McCarville, A. Carey, M. Bannigan (free), O. McGorman 0-1 each.
R. O’Donoghue 0-8 (1tpf, 1tp, 2f);K. McDonald 1-4 (tp); D. Beirne 0-4 (1tpf); J. Carney 0-4 (2tp); J. Flynn 0-2; C. Loftus, P. Durcan 0-1 each.
: R. Beggan; D. Byrne, R. O’Toole, K. Lavelle; A. Carey, D. Ward, C. McCarthy; M. McCarville, K. Gallagher; O. McGorman, M. Bannigan, R. McAnespie; J. McCarron, A. Woods, D. Garland.
Subs: M. Maguire for McAnespie (26 – Inj); R. Hanratty for Gallagher (27-35, temp); B. McCaul for Garland, R. Wylie for Carey (both half-time); S. Mooney for McGorman (54); F. Carolan for McCaul (59 – Inj).
: J. Livingstone; J. Coyne, D. McHugh, E. Hession; S. Callinan, D. McBrien, D. Duffy; J. Carney, J. Flynn; H. O’Loughlin, C. Loftus, S. Coen; D. Beirne, R. O’Donoghue, K. McDonald.
Subs: P. Towey for Coen, P. Durcan for Loftus (both 49); F. Kelly for Duffy (58); A. O’Shea for O’Loughlin (59); D. O’Connor for Beirne (63).
: D. Coldrick (Meath).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
