Ruane rescues Mayo against 13-man Farney
Kevin McStay was accentuating the positives after Mayo finished their campaign with a fourth victory having eventually wrestled authority away from a dogged Monaghan side in Clones yesterday.
A mid-table finish and a clean bill of health left the Mayo boss “very satisfied” with their spring efforts as they now have two weeks before departing for the Big Apple to face New York.
Last year’s league triumph saw them sleepwalk into Connacht action, with Roscommon dumping them out a week later, but McStay insisted that reaching a final would still have been greeted favourably this time around.
“We were looking at so many different things in this year’s league, whereas maybe last year as a new management and a new bunch of players you’re trying to build credits or get a bit of credibility and trying to win a national trophy is very important,” McStay said.
McStay was underselling it when stating that “it wasn’t our top, top” level against a Farney side that defied having just 14 men for most of the game, and just 13 for the last 10 minutes.
Mayo’s attack was blunt to say the least with brilliant midfielder Matthew Ruane their only point scorer from play until after the hour mark as they struggled for any kind of traction up front.
That’s a worry with the summer in mind given many of their big hitters were on the pitch, including Aidan O’Shea as he joined Andy Moran as the most capped player in Mayo history after his 185th appearance in green and red.
There was nothing to play for given that Monaghan’s 10-season stay in Division 1 ended with defeat to Tyrone last weekend but Vinny Corey “couldn’t fault the effort” of his Farney troops.
Monaghan lost Andrew Woods to a straight red card (which will see him miss their Ulster opener) in the 23rd minute for an alleged striking incident on David McBrien, an episode that “seemed very innocuous” in Corey’s view.
Influential attacker Mícheál Bannigan also limped off in the final quarter with no replacement available as all of their substitutions were used up while David Garland should have had a penalty on the hour mark, which would have breathed fresh life into their challenge.
Dessie Ward suffered a hamstring setback as their “relentless” injury list worsened but relegation, and a sixth successive defeat, will not put any dampener on their championship hopes.
Corey is adamant that some “encouraging performances” can help turn the tide and they were much the better side for large chunks of this contest, despite trailing 1-3 to 0-3 early on following a well-worked goal by Darren McHale.
That was a rare bright spot for McStay as Bannigan and Seán Jones led the charge at the other end and the home side deservedly held a one-point lead, 0-8 to 1-4, at the break despite losing Woods.
They continued in that vein upon the resumption with Bannigan and Jones again spearheading their efforts as they opened up a three-point advantage, 0-12 to 1-6, by the end of the third quarter.
It was only in the closing minutes when the game, and Mayo, sprung to life as sub Fergal Boland and McHale levelled it up (1-11 to 0-14) but Kevin Loughran gave Monaghan a shot in the arm with his 64th-minute goal.
Ryan O’Donoghue should have had it in the net at the other end seconds later but he blazed wide and it was left to Ruane to capitalise on a defensive error soon after with a goal before points from O’Donoghue (free) and Pádraig O’Hora saw them eke their way home.
SCORERS – Mayo: M Ruane 1-2; R O’Donoghue 0-5f; D McHale 1-1; C O’Connor 0-2 (1f, 1m); A O’Shea (f), F Boland, P O’Hora 0-1 each. Monaghan: M Bannigan 0-4 (2f); K Loughran 1-0; S Jones, D Garland (1f, 1 m), J Irwin 0-2 each; K O’Connell, G Mohan (m), C McNulty (m), B McBennett 0-1 each. MAYO: R Byrne 6; E O’Donoghue 6, R Brickenden 6, P O’Hora 7; S Callinan 5, J Coyne 6, S Coen 6; D McBrien 5, M Ruane 9; D McHale 7, E Hession 6, P Durcan 6; R O’Donoghue 7, A O’Shea 6, T Conroy 6. Subs: M Plunkett 6 for Callinan (inj, 25), C O’Connor 6 for McBrien (h-t), J Carr 6 for Durcan and F Boland 7 for E O’Donoghue (both 50), B Tuohy 6 for O’Shea (61). MONAGHAN: D McConnell 6; R Wylie 7, C Lennon 6, R O’Toole 7; K O’Connell 7, K Lavelle 6, C McCarthy 6; G Mohan 7, D Hughes 7; C McNulty 6, M Bannigan 8, D Ward 5; A Woods 5, S Jones 8, J Irwin 7. Subs: D Garland 7 for Ward (inj, 35), K Loughran 7 for Lavelle (inj, 35+2), B McBennett 7 for Jones (47), C Leonard 5 for Mohan (50), M McCarville for Leonard (inj, 55), J Wilson 6 for Hughes (62). REF: N Cullen (Fermanagh)