Monaghan 3-9
Dublin 1-14
UNDERSTRENGTH MONAGHAN MADE light of their losses to record a thrilling Croke Park win over Dublin, Ciaran McNulty emerging as their unlikely gamebreaker.
Substitute McNulty struck an important goal to keep Monaghan in it during a blood and thunder second-half and then snatched the winning point deep into stoppage time.
Stephen O’Hanlon grabbed a goal for Monaghan too and turned in his best display yet in the white jersey, earning him the Man of the Match award.
Jack McCarron’s 1-2 was vital also as Monaghan made light of the talk beforehand about them likely to battle relegation given the personnel losses they’ve suffered.
Manager Vinny Corey was without a host of key performers for various reasons. There was no Conor McManus, Darren Hughes, Kieran Hughes, All-Star Conor McCarty, Conor Boyle, Rory Beggan or Karl Gallagher.
But it didn’t seem to bother them as they bounced back after a slow start and kept pace with the All-Ireland champions throughout.
Dublin were tormented by O’Hanlon’s pace runs through the centre while little known Monaghan players like Michael Hamill, Joel Wilson, Kevin Loughran and Jason Irwin all got their opportunities to impress in the Round 1 encounter.
As for Dublin, they did at least welcome back All-Ireland winning captain James McCarthy, who came on in the second-half for another ultra-experienced performer Jack McCaffrey.
They went with just seven of their All-Ireland final team though and ultimately were unable to match the intensity that Monaghan brought to the contest.
That wasn’t initially apparent as a Dublin side with league debutant Luke Breathnach on board, and Greg McEneaney in defence, shot into a 1-4 to 0-2 lead.
Cormac Costello struck the early Dublin goal after just four minutes though just as Monaghan looked to be in real trouble they hit back with goals themselves from a McCarron penalty and then O’Hanlon.
That left it as a level game at half-time, 2-2 to 1-5, and while Monaghan were a touch fortunate not to be behind, they did drop five point attempts short in the opening half.
The second-half was even more competitive with the momentum swinging both ways at various stages.
Both teams unloaded their bench and Monaghan got the greatest kick from theirs, McNulty conjuring 1-1 and Andrew Woods also scoring.
With the scores tied in the 74th minute, Monaghan’s winner came from a rare Brian Fenton error in Dublin’s half. Fenton tried to offload with a hand-pass but Micheal Bannigan intercepted and launched a counter-attack that led to McNulty’s winning point.
Next up for Dublin is a trip to Mayo in Round 2 while Monaghan will host Kerry.
Monaghan scorers: Jack McCarron 1-2 (1-0 pen), Ciaran McNulty 1-1, Stephen O’Hanlon 1-1, Micheal Bannigan 0-3 (0-2f), Darren McDonnell 0-1 (0-1f), Andrew Woods 0-1.
Dublin scorers: Cormac Costello 1-4 (0-4f), Ross McGarry 0-2 (0-1 mark), Luke Breathnach 0-1 (0-1 mark), Ciaran Kilkenny 0-1, Eoin Murchan 0-1, Cian Murphy 0-1, Paddy Small 0-1, Colm Basquel 0-1, Killian O’Gara 0-1, David O’Hanlon 0-1 (0-1f).
Monaghan
1. Darren McDonnell
4. Ryan O’Toole, 3. Killian Lavelle, 2. Ryan Wylie
5. Ryan McAnespie, 6. Kieran Duffy, 7. Kevin Loughran
8. Joel Wilson, 9. Gary Mohan
10. Stephen O’Hanlon, 11. Micheal Bannigan, 12. Michael Hamill
13. David Garland, 14. Jack McCarron, 15. Jason Irwin
Subs
- 23. Ciaran McNulty for McAnespie (32)
- 19. Stephen Mooney for Garland (46)
- 18. Andrew Woods for McCarron (57)
- 20. Karl O’Connell for Wylie (57)
- 17. Colm Lennon for Irwin (68)
Dublin
1. David O’Hanlon
4. Lee Gannon, 3. Sean MacMahon, 2. Eoin Murchan
5. Greg McEneaney, 6. Cian Murphy, 7. Jack McCaffrey
8. Brian Fenton, 12. Ciaran Kilkenny
13. Paddy Small, 11. Lorcan O’Dell, 10. Ross McGarry
15. Cormac Costello, 14. Con O’Callaghan, 18. Luke Breathnach
Subs
- 17. Colm Basquel for Breathnach (46)
- 21. James McCarthy for McCaffrey (46)
- 24. Killian O’Gara for O’Dell (55)
- 25. Niall Scully for McGarry (61)
- 19. Theo Clancy for Murchan (67)
Referee: Paul Faloon (Down).
