Monaghan stand united as divided Kerry fall
Monaghan united, Kerry divided
CONTRASTING scenes 200 miles apart. Conor McManus and Rory Beggan displayed two of the widest smiles in Ireland as they lingered in Salthill’s evening sunshine, savouring the feeling of being All-Ireland semi-finalists with Monaghan’s passionate supporters.
Down south, Kieran Donaghy was clapped off the Killarney pitch by supporters for probably the last time as a Kerry player.
His manager Éamonn Fit maurice had taken leave of his job, taking a shot at the negative atmosphere that had surrounded his team since their poor performance against Galway in their Super 8s opener.
‘I didn’t like the fact that some of our younger players were going around the county and there was a negative atmosphere. I didn’t like that a few players got anonymous letters,’ said Fitzmaurice.
‘I’m hoping there will be a more relaxed atmosphere with a new man in charge.
‘I would hope that a new person be given time and space within the county to develop lads and allow them to make mistakes and lose games without it becoming a very negative thing.
‘I did feel over the last few weeks that maybe I was a bit of a lightning rod for criticism and I was drawing criticism into the group.’
In Salthill, Beggan was singing the praises of the Farney Army, suggesting that they helped pushed them over the line.
‘It’s absolutely brilliant to be out here with the fans. They deserved that. They followed us to Waterford, to Leitrim, to here. They are amazing fans.
‘For such a small county, the amount of them that get out to support us is unbelievable and we hope to reward them again in Croke Park.’
Monaghan have spent the past month shattering the pre-conceptions that exist about this team. They were considered just a quarter-final team, something which motivated Beggan and the team.
They had stumbled at this stage on four previous occasions but Monaghan have thrived in the new structure.
Unbeaten in three games, they deservedly top the group.
‘People were saying “Monaghan are a quarter-final team, that’s their limit”. We wanted to put that right,’ stressed the talented goalkeeper.
‘We haven’t shown up in a few quarter-finals but in the three games that we played in the Super 8s, we played very well and deserved to be on five points, maybe six. We are delighted to have topped the group.’
Monaghan are the one side in the group who never let their performance level slip, maintaining a level of focus and intensity that opponents struggled to handle.
However, with their semi-final place assured beforehand, last Saturday was the first time that Kevin Walsh’s Galway team haven’t been switched into a match this year.
They had to have one bad display in them this season. Better that it was in Salthill, rather than next Saturday when they face Dublin’s big blue juggernaut.
The Tribesmen only managed to score three points in the secondhalf as they were overawed in every sector by Monaghan.
‘We all know how much a wounded animal can fight for his life and maybe we weren’t as wounded as we would have liked coming into this game,’ Walsh admitted.
‘At the same time, I have to give the lads credit. Our aim was to be in the top two in the group and we’ve achieved that.
‘We have a week to get things right. There are reasons why you lose by eight points but we will get back to basics.’
Walsh will get an opportunity to restore morale next weekend — a luxury not afforded to Kerry and Fitzmaurice.