Monaghan overcome Mayo in difficult Castlebar conditions
Monaghan’s Beggan Breathes Crombie/inpho Pic: Out James Goalkeeper Rory Air Cold
Here we go. The crowd might be sparse, the new pitch markings difficult to make out in the snow, but the game moves on.
Monaghan overcame Mayo by two points in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park as both sides offered a first glimpse of the Football Review Committee’s Gaelic football enhancements.
The challenge fixture in aid of Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association was grand fare. The sides played four 20-minute periods with wholesale changes at half-time.
A burst of snow forced a switch to a yellow ball midway through and that was only one element of the challenging conditions. New prospects, unfamiliar teammates, a heavy block of challenge games, it was never a night likely to catch fire.
Monaghan started brightly with back-to-back points from Sean Jones and the superb Michael Hamill.
There was plenty of goalkeeper involvement early on, with Colm Reape and Rory Beggan both joining the first attack in the opposition half. They both had a shot at the posts, both missed.
A quick burst from Mayo soon saw them lead for the first time. Conal Dawson started it and Ryan O’Donoghue finished a superb goal move after excellent support play by Davitt Neary.
It was 0-4 to 1-4 at the end of the first quarter.
With a host of players involved also playing against Roscommon last Thursday, unsurprisingly Mayo faded before the turnaround. Jones sent Hamill away for a well-taken goal. At half-time, it was 1-11 to 1-6.
As for the new rules? This is still a bedding-in period. In an attempt to get to grips with Beggan, Mayo tried to track him and conceded a 20m free for failing to keep three forwards up as a result.
There were several 50m frees for failing to hand the ball back after a foul, with Shairoze Akram gifting Davy Garland a free shortly after the break. Despite several attempts from play and frees, there was no successful two-pointers.
Mayo roared back in the final quarter with several young prospects shining. Finbarr McLaughlin instigated a run of six successive points with a curling effort after Dylaln Prendergast did brilliantly to win a long ball.
That left the teams level heading down the home straight. Another failure to hand the ball back resulted in a 50m penalty which Oisin McGorman popped over. Monaghan stole the subsequent kickout to push two clear.
On an inky, bitter night, it was at least a bright start for Gabriel Bannigan’s Farney reign.
R. O’Donoghue 1-1; C. McHale 0-2 (1 free), J. Mevlin 0-2; C. Dawson, E. McLaughlin, E. Duffy, T. O’Flaherty, D. Prendergast, D. Joyce, D. Duffy, F. McLaughlin, P. Towey (free) 0-1 each.
M. Hamill 1-2; S. Jones, D. Garland (3 frees) 0-3 each; R. McAnespie, A. Woods, O. McGorman (1 free), D. Garland (2 frees) 0-2 each; S. O’Hanlon, B. McBennett 0-1 each.
C. Reape; E. Hession, D. McHugh, S. Morahan; F. Kelly, D. McBrien, E. McLaughlin; M. Ruane, D. Thornton; C. Dawson, F. Boland, D. Neary; C. McHale, E. Duffy, R. O’Donoghue.
R. Beggan; R. Wylie, K. Lavelle, D. Byrne; A. Carey, K. Duffy, K. Loughran; G. McPhillips, M. McCarville; R. McAnespie, B. McBennett, M. Hamill; D. Garland, A. Woods, S. Jones.
J. Glavey (Mayo).