Ulster boys make sure of their place in the semi-finals
After years of trying, it’s joy for Farney as they march on to Croker
BY the end, the Farney Army couldn’t contain themselves. There were still a few minutes of injurytime to be played when the first dozen or so supporters spilled onto the field. Malachy O’Rourke would joke afterwards that he was afraid the game would get called off.
No wonder they thought it was all over. This loyal band of followers have grown accustomed to watching their side make life difficult for themselves. It is what allowed them to be caught by that heart-wrenching sucker-punch from David Clifford in Clones.
But life was easy on a sunny August evening in Salthill that ended in a pitch invasion that belonged to a different age. They were in complete control of this match from the first minute until the last. After 30 agonising years waiting for an invite to the All-Ireland semi-final party, this impressive group of Monaghan players confidently strolled through the front door with their chests out and heads held high.
The fear they would suffer any negative after-effects from letting Kerry wriggle off the hook were dispelled inside the opening quarter as they grabbed this game by the lapels. In the final few minutes, it was like they were toying with the out-of-sorts and lethargic Tribesmen.
As the clock ticked past the 67th minute, the huge number of Monaghan supporters among the 15,200 were cheering every block, every pass and every tackle. They even rose to acclaim Drew Wylie, one of their heroes, as he left the fray in the 68th minute, dismissed after picking up two yellow cards.
The oddest thing about this historic evening for the Farney County was that the game ended in a flurry of cards. Wylie and Colin Walshe both receiving marching orders for two yellow cards. Damien Comer did the same for Galway.
But that was the only black mark on a wonderful night for the county that continues to pack a punch well above its weight. The sense that Monaghan are built around Conor McManus and Rory Beggan was put to the bed here.
While McManus ended up with five points, four from play, and Beggan used the famous Salthill wind to nail an extraordinary 63-metre free in the 60th minute, they had other heroes yesterday evening.
Ryan McAnespie stepped up to nail four points from play in an excellent performance. Darren Hughes was, as usual, a calming and assured presence around the middle third, embellishing his display with two fine points. Vinny Corey, given the freedom of Pearse Stadium at times down the left flank, was consistently busy. Karl O’Connell further burnished his AllStar credentials.
O’Rourke, who has masterminded this fine achievement, said he had no fears that his players would still be feeling sorry for themselves after Kerry stole a draw in Clones.
‘We weren’t thinking like that. A lot of pundits said afterwards if you stop Rory Beggan and if you stop Conor McManus, you stop Monaghan. I think our boys proved that we got a lot of scores from a lot of different areas. It was a really good team performance. After the defeat to Fermanagh, we sat down and said we wanted to commit to getting to the Super 8s. We did that.’
Not only that but they topped Group A, undefeated in all three round-robin matches. Given this is a bunch of players who has stumbled at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage on four previous occasions, it is a remarkable achievement.
They played the smarter football yesterday evening, willing to hold onto the ball until the narrowest glimmer of light appeared in the Galway blanket. When it did, it was usually exploited.
For the first time all year, Kevin Walsh’s side didn’t appear fully tuned into a football match. Maybe it was a consequence of having already secured a semi-final place but, they never reached the pitch of the game. Early on, Shane Walsh scuffed a short-range free wide while Damien Comer fisted the ball to the wrong side of the post. They simply didn’t look up for it.
And this polished Monaghan outfit are the wrong side to face if you can’t raise your intensity to the required level. When Comer split the posts moments after the restart, to bring Galway within two, it was a signal for Monaghan to raise things again.
By the time Dermot Malone nailed a lovely score in the 50th minute, it was 0-12 to 0-7 and the Farney Army could already start planning for next Sunday’s mouth-watering semi-final against either Donegal or Tyrone.
Kevin Walsh conceded that perhaps Monaghan having something to play for influenced the result. ‘We all know how much a wounded animal can fight for his life,’ the Galway manager said. ‘Maybe we weren’t as wounded as we would have like to have been coming into this game. I have to give the boys great credit. We are in the last four. Our aim was to be in the top two of this group and we have achieved that. At the same time there is lessons to be learned and it’s good for the team going forward.’
Galway move forward to meet the big blue juggernaut next Saturday evening. The hope for Walsh is that they had their bad performance out of their system.
Monaghan are in dream-land and they won’t even mind the fact that their first All-Ireland semi-final in 30 years will be against a familiar foe.