MONAGHAN’S 14 MEN TOO GOOD FOR MAYO
A GOAL from Darren Hughes at the start of the second half proved decisive as 14-man Monaghan held off All-Ireland finalists Mayo to pick up two vital league points in Castlebar.
Mayo held an unlikely lead at halftime, 0-6 to 0-5, after Monaghan dominated the first quarter but after Hughes’ goal they were never pegged back.
Malachy O’Rourke’s charges were full value for their win against a lacklustre Mayo side and their first half wastage almost came back to haunt them.
Monaghan led by 0-5 to 0-1 after 20 minutes and it would have been more were it not for some uncharacteristic wides from their ace marksman Conor McManus.
He did kick their first four points – three frees and a ’45 - while Darren Hughes got up from midfield to stretch the gap to five.
Mayo’s only impression on the scoreboard at that point was the game’s first score, coming from debutant Fergal Boland.
In that first quarter they showed very little fluidity in attack but they came roaring back into the game before the break with their best period of play.
Evan Regan, O’Connor, Kevin McLoughlin, Alan Freeman and Regan again all kicked points and those five unanswered scores had Mayo in front at the short whistle.
Monaghan were left on the field for over five minutes by the hosts at half time on a cold night in Castlebar, but it was the home side who were slower to warm into the second period.
A goal and a point inside a minute gave Monaghan a vital platform their opponents could never quite recover from.
The goal was created by McManus, who skipped inside the cover of Keith Higgins before squaring to Darren Hughes who kicked past David Clarke from close range.
Captain Colin Walshe followed it up with a point and Mayo were playing catch up. Cillian O’Connor was their only player to manage a score in the second half, and while Monaghan are often regarded as over dependent on McManus, they were the ones who had more scoring options. Six different Monaghan players got in on the act during the second half, from goalkeeper Rory Beggan with a monster free to that man McManus. Mayo were at arms length for most of the half but two quickfire scores from O’Connor coming up to the 70th minute had them within one. And they had chances to create an equalising opportunity but failed to do so. In fact, Monaghan could, and should, have sealed the deal themselves with a couple of very threatening overlaps but some excellent sweeping by All Star goalkeeper Clarke kept them at bay.
McManus missed a very kickable free in injury time when Mayo were within a point but he made amends with the game’s last score, an amazing point in the right corner, less then ten yards from the endline.
It’s two vital points for Malachy O’Rourke’s men on the road ahead of their big derby game against Cavan next Sunday in Castleblaney.
For Stephen Rochford’s Mayo it’s a daunting trip to Kerry and, already, Mayo’s league campaign is looking more difficult.