Win comes at a cost for the Farney
Monaghan 1-21 Fermanagh 0-14
MONAGHAN left Clones with injuries to Darren Hughes and Conor McManus their chief concern after another walkover win in the Ulster Championship.
For a province that prides itself as being the most competitive in football, yesterday’s 10-point win for Monaghan came hard on the heels of last Sunday’s 16-point hammering of Donegal over Down, with the potential of another one-sided game in store today at the Athletic Grounds when Armagh host Antrim.
However, having left Clones shellshocked last autumn when they let a seven-point lead slip and got caught by eventual fairytale Ulster champions Cavan, Monaghan will take this one gladly and move on.
They led again by seven at the interval, 1-11 to 0-7, with Jack McCarron bundling the ball into the net after 17 minutes after Fermanagh goalkeeper Sean McNally had brilliantly saved from Kieran Duffy.
But this time there was to be no second-half meltdown, just the efficiency that was needed to keep the scoreboard ticking over without really having to get out of second gear against weakish opposition. Eleven of the starting 15 scored.
The sight of McManus on crutches at the end, his right thigh heavily strapped and iced, after sustaining an impact injury late in the game will worry Monaghan fans most.
Hughes also tried to run off his injury towards the end of the first half before calling it a day.
Both will be anxious to make it back in time for a potential Ulster semi-final against Armagh or Antrim in two weeks’ time.
Fermanagh put little pressure on the Monaghan kickouts and they made hay.
The gap between Division 1 and Division 3 football was again laid bare as Fermanagh failed to put enough pressure on the man in possession or force enough turnovers.
Monaghan excelled in this department. Karl O’Connell in particular was brilliant in stripping ball, setting up attacks and kicking a point from play.
Aaron Mulligan and Killian Lavelle made impressive debuts kicking 0-4 from play between them and the strength of talent coming off the bench – Shane Carey, Niall Kearns, Fintan Kelly and Kieran Hughes – should finally put paid to the myth that Monaghan are operating off a small pool of playing resources.
Seamus McEnaney was again in the stands, his suspension will be over by the time Monaghan next take to the field, and he watched on as his team did a professional job without ever extending themselves.
Fermanagh tried to play a long diagonal ball in to Sean Quigley and Eoin Donnelly, with the Erne skipper operating at times in the full-forward line.
But Fermanagh have always been a ball-carrying team and while they caused a few nervous moments, the Monaghan defence coped well.
After half an hour Ultan Kelm had a goal chance whisked away by the tracking runner Darren Hughes just when it looked Donnelly’s floated pass inside was going to breach the Monaghan wall. A goal would have brought Fermanagh to within two points.
Fermanagh were able to land a few long-range scores from Josh Largo Ellis and Dara McGurn, as well as Ciaran Corrigan and Aidan Breen in the second half, but they were fleeting contributions in a game dominated by Monaghan.
The Erne men rattled over three points in a row midway through the second half but Monaghan were always able to keep them at arm’s length. With bodies back when they needed them and then with the pace to break at speed and in numbers, they picked off scores at will with Lavelle and Conor Boyle picking off easy scores in a pedestrian final quarter.
Monaghan: R Beggan; K Duffy, C Boyle, R Wylie; K O’Connell, D Ward, R McAnespie; D Hughes (N Kearns 30), K Lavelle (K McMenamin 70); S O’Hanlon (S Carey 55), C McCarthy (K Hughes 62), M Bannigan; A Mulligan, J McCarron (C Walshe 51), C McManus (F Kelly 70).
Scorers: J McCarron 1-2 (0-2f), C McManus 0-4 (0-3f), A Mulligan 0-3, C Walshe 0-2 (0-1m), M Bannigan 0-2, R Beggan (’45), C Boyle, R Wylie, K O’Connell, D Ward, K Lavelle, C McCarthy (0-1f) and N Kearns 0-1 each.
FerManagh: S McNally; K Connor, J Cassidy, L Flanagan; D McCusker, J McMahon (T Bogue 64), K McDonnell (A Breen 26); S McGullion (M McCauley 63), E Donnelly; C Corrigan, C McManus (S Cassidy 56), J Largo Ellis; U Kelm, D McGurn (R O’Callaghan 42), S Quigley.
Scorers: S Quigley 0-7 (0-5f, 0-1‘45’), A Breen 0-2, J Cassidy, C Corrigan, J Largo Ellis, U Kelm and D McGurn 0-1 each.
reFeree: Barry Cassidy (Derry).