BY THE TIME Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan had his media duties completed, the full extent of the cruel defeat wasn’t entirely apparent to him.
Only when RTÉ analysts Lee Keegan and Conor McManus came down from gantry and mentioned to him, did he realise there is a good chance that Bobby McCaul’s effort for a point in the 42nd minute should not have been waved wide.
On the far side of the pitch from Bannigan’s vantage on the sideline, it was critical.
“Look, obviously, from where I was, I couldn’t see that,” said Bannigan.
“I didn’t know that was the case. If it was, it is going to make it even tougher. One point defeat, if that is the case, if there was a point waved wide, it shouldn’t happen with two umpires there. It should not happen.
“If it did, that is even more gutting for all of us because a lot of things went against us there today, including the injuries and a couple of other things that went against us at different times. That will be really hard to take if that is true, that a point was waved wide.”
It’s worth stating that games have been replayed in the past over such issues. In this day and age of the microwaved county seasons, such a scenario would seem impossible.
It capped off a day of regrets for Monaghan, a side that could not be any more honest with and about themselves.
Losing McCaul to a knee injury in the second half cast a dark cloud over their dressing room, Bannigan stated.
“It’s an emotional dressing room, mainly because of that. He was brilliant, he was causing havoc. But that’s, unfortunately, real bad luck for him and bad luck for us,” he said.
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“And we’d obviously lost Ryan McAnespie in the first half as well and that was on top of losing Stephen O’Hanlon before the game. So we’re not having a whole pile of luck, lads!”
McCaul was only back on the Monaghan panel the last two months, after rupturing his cruciate playing for the county U20s last May. Unfortunately, this injury appears to be the same knee.
“Looks like the knee again, it doesn’t look good,” said Bannigan of his Aughnamullen club mate.
“His first start was the Ulster final, the conditions didn’t really suit him. He came on against Cavan, as you know, and came on against Derry and made a big impact. We brought him in at half-time today and he was turning the game. Anything that was going in there, he was winning.
“He could have had a couple of goals before his injury, he got a great point. Yeah, it’s such a shame. Whatever about the game, it’s just such a shame to see a young lad like that coming off with a bad injury. Second year in a row, it’s a big blow. But he’s made of bloody good stuff, he’ll be back.”
He went on, “He’s a club man of mine, yeah, from a brilliant family. His dad would have played for years with me. Bobby’s a great kid, too, brilliant kid. From the moment I got a chance to bring him in here, I was bringing him in here. He has a big future ahead of him.
“Please God, it’s not as bad as it looks and we’ll get him back sooner than what it looks in there at the moment.”
Bannigan with goalkeeper Rory Beggan afterwards. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Back to football matters, and Bannigan is struggling to put his finger on the reason for Monaghan’s slow starts that left them trailing by 11 points at the break.
“I honestly don’t plan it,” he said.
“Look, I knew it was going to be a challenge coming here today. Mayo were going to be bursting at the seams after being so disappointed to lose the game the way they did against Roscommon. I knew they were going to be coming, bursting at the seams.
“They would have been trying to get us a bit flat after the emotion of the Ulster final. We tried to guard against that as much as we possibly could, but it looks like that’s what happened in the first half. I can’t put my finger on that because we absolutely did everything we did in our preparation to try and make sure that wasn’t the case, but that’s what it looked like.
“But Jesus, they gave me everything there again in the second half.”
Andy Moran, Bannigan’s former coach this time last year with Monaghan, wore a contented smile as Mayo manager. Mixed with some relief after getting pelters after their ten point loss in the Connacht semi-final against Roscommon.
Mayo manager Andy Moran. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
36 days is a long time waiting on some sort of chink of light, but he agreed that this win was critical in the evolution of this Mayo team.
“We talk about the process a lot and following it and I was saying it to the lads all week, you know, this is the way we go about it, this is the way,” Moran said.
“But if I was coming in here today and losing by a point, it would be a completely different story. So, sometimes you have to just admit you need to get a victory.
“Today was one of those days, I think we played 10 games league and championship this year, we’ve won seven, but sometimes you just need a win. Today was one of those days and I’m very grateful to the boys for digging in and getting it done.”
How did they spend the time since the loss to the Rossies?
“I think we needed the break,” Moran said.
“I don’t think I can answer it completely honestly. I think we needed the break. Back in my day when you started playing first you’d have five weeks between it,” he said.
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“You’d be going home to Cork playing challenge matches and you’d be all over the country so you could state your claim for a position. But everything has just been two weeks, two weeks, two weeks.
“I think this team needed to stop and kind of start again and over the last three weeks particularly the three boys inside; Darragh, Kobe and Ryan I think they’re beginning to link up and beginning to look like a unit and connecting together which was great.
“So a lot of little differences. The energy around the group was huge but it’s all down to the lads. The lads just put everything on the table in the last five weeks.”
A final word then, on his record-breaker Aidan O’Shea, who clocked up his 100th championship appearance.
“Oh yeah it’s amazing. Like Aidan gets a lot of grief, but he gets no grief from us, all the respect in our dressing room – he comes to training, never misses a session, never gets out just comes in and trains and away he goes. Some people can have their opinions on him that’s fine but for us in Mayo 100 caps from an outfield player is huge.”
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'It shouldn’t happen with two umpires there' - Bannigan reacts to ghost point
BY THE TIME Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan had his media duties completed, the full extent of the cruel defeat wasn’t entirely apparent to him.
Only when RTÉ analysts Lee Keegan and Conor McManus came down from gantry and mentioned to him, did he realise there is a good chance that Bobby McCaul’s effort for a point in the 42nd minute should not have been waved wide.
On the far side of the pitch from Bannigan’s vantage on the sideline, it was critical.
“Look, obviously, from where I was, I couldn’t see that,” said Bannigan.
“If it did, that is even more gutting for all of us because a lot of things went against us there today, including the injuries and a couple of other things that went against us at different times. That will be really hard to take if that is true, that a point was waved wide.”
It’s worth stating that games have been replayed in the past over such issues. In this day and age of the microwaved county seasons, such a scenario would seem impossible.
It capped off a day of regrets for Monaghan, a side that could not be any more honest with and about themselves.
Losing McCaul to a knee injury in the second half cast a dark cloud over their dressing room, Bannigan stated.
“It’s an emotional dressing room, mainly because of that. He was brilliant, he was causing havoc. But that’s, unfortunately, real bad luck for him and bad luck for us,” he said.
“And we’d obviously lost Ryan McAnespie in the first half as well and that was on top of losing Stephen O’Hanlon before the game. So we’re not having a whole pile of luck, lads!”
McCaul was only back on the Monaghan panel the last two months, after rupturing his cruciate playing for the county U20s last May. Unfortunately, this injury appears to be the same knee.
“Looks like the knee again, it doesn’t look good,” said Bannigan of his Aughnamullen club mate.
“His first start was the Ulster final, the conditions didn’t really suit him. He came on against Cavan, as you know, and came on against Derry and made a big impact. We brought him in at half-time today and he was turning the game. Anything that was going in there, he was winning.
“He could have had a couple of goals before his injury, he got a great point. Yeah, it’s such a shame. Whatever about the game, it’s just such a shame to see a young lad like that coming off with a bad injury. Second year in a row, it’s a big blow. But he’s made of bloody good stuff, he’ll be back.”
He went on, “He’s a club man of mine, yeah, from a brilliant family. His dad would have played for years with me. Bobby’s a great kid, too, brilliant kid. From the moment I got a chance to bring him in here, I was bringing him in here. He has a big future ahead of him.
“Please God, it’s not as bad as it looks and we’ll get him back sooner than what it looks in there at the moment.”
Back to football matters, and Bannigan is struggling to put his finger on the reason for Monaghan’s slow starts that left them trailing by 11 points at the break.
“I honestly don’t plan it,” he said.
“Look, I knew it was going to be a challenge coming here today. Mayo were going to be bursting at the seams after being so disappointed to lose the game the way they did against Roscommon. I knew they were going to be coming, bursting at the seams.
“They would have been trying to get us a bit flat after the emotion of the Ulster final. We tried to guard against that as much as we possibly could, but it looks like that’s what happened in the first half. I can’t put my finger on that because we absolutely did everything we did in our preparation to try and make sure that wasn’t the case, but that’s what it looked like.
“But Jesus, they gave me everything there again in the second half.”
Andy Moran, Bannigan’s former coach this time last year with Monaghan, wore a contented smile as Mayo manager. Mixed with some relief after getting pelters after their ten point loss in the Connacht semi-final against Roscommon.
36 days is a long time waiting on some sort of chink of light, but he agreed that this win was critical in the evolution of this Mayo team.
“We talk about the process a lot and following it and I was saying it to the lads all week, you know, this is the way we go about it, this is the way,” Moran said.
“But if I was coming in here today and losing by a point, it would be a completely different story. So, sometimes you have to just admit you need to get a victory.
“Today was one of those days, I think we played 10 games league and championship this year, we’ve won seven, but sometimes you just need a win. Today was one of those days and I’m very grateful to the boys for digging in and getting it done.”
How did they spend the time since the loss to the Rossies?
“I think we needed the break,” Moran said.
“I don’t think I can answer it completely honestly. I think we needed the break. Back in my day when you started playing first you’d have five weeks between it,” he said.
“You’d be going home to Cork playing challenge matches and you’d be all over the country so you could state your claim for a position. But everything has just been two weeks, two weeks, two weeks.
“I think this team needed to stop and kind of start again and over the last three weeks particularly the three boys inside; Darragh, Kobe and Ryan I think they’re beginning to link up and beginning to look like a unit and connecting together which was great.
A final word then, on his record-breaker Aidan O’Shea, who clocked up his 100th championship appearance.
“Oh yeah it’s amazing. Like Aidan gets a lot of grief, but he gets no grief from us, all the respect in our dressing room – he comes to training, never misses a session, never gets out just comes in and trains and away he goes. Some people can have their opinions on him that’s fine but for us in Mayo 100 caps from an outfield player is huge.”
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