LAST UPDATE | 7 Apr
Cavan 3-12
Monaghan 1-12
SOME TIME IN THE far-off distant lands when there is no provincial championships, we will gaze upon the weekend fixtures that are packaged in a snazzy ‘Champions League Format’, with all the clean lines, with no glitches in the system, with abundant scents of lemon, where no hammerings ever happen and where every team gets a medal.
And before long someone will say, ‘Aye, but do remember the first weekend in April 2024?’
That one where Waterford – without a league win in two years – beat Tipperary, Munster champions less than four years previous.
The one where Wicklow beat Westmeath.
And finally, the day in Clones.
Which will cause some confusion. Because as that Sunday unfolded, absolutely nothing about it felt like ‘championship TM’.
The small crowd were well lagged against the cold. Virtually everyone had a bobble hat on, like extras in Fargo.
It was too soon, too soon.
And by the end, after Cavan had flipped everything on it’s head with a goal in the 77th minute, it felt like an Ulster final.
There was a shock factor in Cavan winning here. And yet this is their third consecutive win over Monaghan in championship football. There were 8,324 present but you’d imagine that in years to come at least three times that number will claim that, yes, they were there.
The Ulster Council, along with their Munster counterparts, have to listen to a fair bit of jibing about their stout defence of their domestic championships. Their position – Ulster protecting their own because of football reasons and Munster with hurling – is often held up as pure intransigence.
That the whole country could be in on something wonderful if only we didn’t have to go through the procession of Kerry winning Munster and Dublin marching effortlessly towards another meaningless Leinster football title.
And then a game comes along like this and you realise that they owe nothing, to absolutely nobody.
Onto the game. With Rory Beggan having attended the recent Monaghan training camp in Carton House, he was always going to start this game having returned home from his exertions in chasing a career kicking pigskin in American Football.
Former Dublin defender Philly McMahon, in his role as analyst for BBC Northern Ireland, gave him Man of the Match. It would have made perfect sense if the game was frozen on 75 minutes.
Up to then, he had dominated the game. He had scored three points. Saved a goal-bound shot by Paddy Lynch. His kick passes inside were setting up team mates for marks and he had provided the final assist for Karl O’Connell and Jack McCarron points.
On 75 minutes, Monaghan were a point up but Cavan were toothless aside from Paddy Lynch. They had fallen behind on the hour mark when a slip from Kevin Loughran allowed Padraig Faulkner a clear run on goal and he thumped his shot hard and early to elude Beggan and rattle the net.
It was the first time Cavan had led in the game. Though while Monaghan looked more threatening, they couldn’t shake their habit of fouling that went punished every time by referee Brendan Cawley, and converted into scores for Paddy Lynch.
Cavan’s attacking gameplan had been called into question during the league, called out by more than one observer as entirely one-dimensional and entirely reliant on Lynch.
But such bald accountancy hides the clever theory. On a day not suited to shooting, they made the most of the possession they had.
The only chance Lynch missed was a goal opportunity on ten minutes, Cian Madden floating over a delivery and he went low, but Beggan was down smartly to push it out for a ‘45’.
Monaghan’s big chance in the first half came from another Beggan delivery inside to Conor McCarthy. His shot came off the post and while Kevin Loughran was following in, Cavan goalkeeper Gary O’Rourke smothered the shot, and the follow-up from Jack McCarron.
Despite all that pressure, Cavan found themselves three points up with a couple of minutes left on the clock. Karl O’Connell teed up Conor McCarthy for a shot and when it came back out, substitute Michael Hamill drilled home to leave it level.
By this stage Monaghan had suffered the devastating loss of Darren Hughes through a leg injury. It looked like they were going to overcome it with Beggan first spraying a ball to Joel Wilson for a mark, then hitting another to Wilson before taking the return pass before lacing over himself.
Lynch then hit his first score from play of the day, before Gerry Smith played a give and go pass with Cormac O’Reilly and got in behind the cover to smash home on 77 minutes.
With Monaghan chasing an equaliser, Michael Bannigan was adjudged to have held Ciaran Brady’s arm to buy a free. Brady took a quick free to Lynch and with the Oriel defence absent, rolled it into an empty net to take his tally to 1-9.
What a game. What a day. Shifting it to May wouldn’t hurt though.
Scorers for Cavan: Paddy Lynch 1-9 (7f, 1x’45’), Gerry Smith 1-1, Padraig Faulkner 1-0, Brian O’Connell, Oisin Brady 0-1 each.
Scorers for Monaghan: Michael Hamill 1-0, Rory Beggan 0-3, (1f, 1’45’), Conor McManus 0-3, (2f), Jack McCarron 0-2 (1f), Karl O’Connell, David Garland 0-1 each, Sean Jones (1m), Joel Wilson (1m).
Cavan
1. Gary O’Rourke (Ballyhaise)
2. Cian Reilly (Killygarry) 3. Killian Brady (Mullahoran) 4. Brian O’Connell (Ramor)
5. Padraig Faulkner (Kingscourt) 6. Niall Carolan (Cuchulainns) 7. Conor Brady (Gowna)
8. James Smith (Crosserlough) 9. Oisin Kiernan (Denn)
10. Ciaran Brady (Arva) 11. Gerard Smith (Lavey) 12. Oisin Kiernan (Castlerahan)
13. Cian Madden (Gowna) 14. Paddy Lynch (Crosserlough) 15. Oisin Brady (Killygarry)
Subs:
18. Luke Fortune (Cavan Gaels) for J Smith (51m)
24. Tiernan Madden (Gowna) for Oisin Kiernan (Denn) (53m)
25. Cormac O’Reilly (Mullahoran) for Madden (65m)
22. Ryan Donohoe (Gowna) for O Brady (78m)
19. Conor Rehill (Crosserlough) for Oisin Kiernan (Castlerahan) (80m)
Monaghan
16. Rory Beggan (Scotstown)
2. Ryan Wylie (Ballybay) 3. Kieran Duffy © (Latton) 4. Ryan O’Toole (Scotstown)
5. Karl O’Connell (Tyholland) 6. Killian Lavelle (Clontibret) 7. Conor McCarthy (Scotstown)
8. Gary Mohan (Truagh) 9. Darren Hughes (Scotstown)
10. Ciaran McNulty (Inniskeen) 23. Kevin Loughran (Monaghan Harps) 12. Jason Irwin (Oram)
13. David Garland (Donaghmoyne) 14. Jack McCarron (Scotstown) 15. Conor McManus (Clontibret)
Subs:
11. Michael Hamill (Emyvale) for Irwin (HT)
20. Joel Wilson (Aghnamullen) for Hughes (47m)
19. Sean Jones (Inniskeen) for Garland (53m)
21. Micheál Bannigan (Aghnamullen) for McCarron (65m)
18. Stephen Mooney (Creamartin) for McNulty (78m)
Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)
