During the All-Ireland SFC Group 4 Round 3, Monaghan triumphed over Meath with a score of 1-17 to 1-14, with the guiding hand of Barry McBennett. Though Monaghan had a significant lead of nine points when the match was at its sixtieth minute, a remarkable finish from Meath thwarted Monaghan’s shot at securing the second position in Group 4.
McBennett’s goal in the 59th minute and his 1-2 packaging were pivotal in assuring Monaghan’s win, even though it wasn’t sufficient to secure second place on the leaderboard. Consequently, the team, semi-finalists of the previous All-Ireland, will be expected to travel next weekend, positioned third in the table.
Although a victory of any scale was a much-needed reprieve for the fanbase, considering they hadn’t savoured a win since Dublin was vanquished at Croke Park the preceding January. The third quarter was particularly electric, as Monaghan went ahead by a point at the half-time mark and subsequently outscored Meath by 1-8 to 0-3 before the Tailteann Cup winners made a late recovery.
Meath’s Ronan Jones and James Conlon played an immense role, contributing to the team’s seven points run, but in spite of their stellar performance, Meath had no luck in avoiding a defeat to conclude their season. Meath’s coach, Colm O’Rourke, asserted post-match that he plans to stick around in 2025, with bright prospects to advance with the young Meath team.
Monaghan, drawing against Louth and defeating Meath, appears to be catching the winds in their sails again. According to Monaghan’s manager, Vinny Corey, the actions of next two weeks would matter the most as only four teams will be remaining in the competition. He seemed unfazed by Meath’s late scoring spree and stated that more disappointment lies in how the game ended than losing the second position. He believed they should have bagged it comfortably. Corey further added that most big championship matches are hosted at neutral locations, and his team isn’t reluctant to travel.
In the first half of the game, Meath strategically allowed Monaghan to kick-off, intending to make a move at the break. They secured a goal courtesy of Cathal Hickey in the 22nd minute using this tactic, after a turnover in the midfield. Despite this, the Ulster team ended the first half on a strong note, leading 0-8 to 1-4.
Maintaining their momentum, Monaghan held the lead at the 60-minute mark with a score of 1-16 to Meath’s 1-7. Their goal was scored by McBennett, who capitalised on a midfield pass from Micheál Bannigan.
It looked as if the game was decided, however, Meath had other plans. They successfully scored seven consecutive points, narrowing the gap to only two points late in the match.
Monaghan’s team was constituted by R Beggan, J Irwin (0-1), K Lavelle (0-1), R Wylie, R McAnespie, R O’Toole, C McCarthy (0-2), G Mohan, J Wilson, with M Hamill, M Bannigan (0-3, 2f), S O’Hanlon (0-2), A Woods (0-1), J McCarron (0-4, 4f), and C McNulty. Subsequent substitutions included B McBennett (0-1) for Wilson due to a blood injury at 2-6, and then McBennett (1-1) again for Wilson at 29-f/t for another blood injury. Finally, T McPhillips, D Garland, C McManus (0-1, 1f), M McCarville, and S Mooney were brought on for O’Toole, McNulty, McCarron, Hamill and Woods respectively.
The match line-up for Meath was as follows: B Hogan found the net making a (0-1, 45); teammates included D Keogan, A O’Neill, R Ryan, C Caulfield, D Campion and S Coffey. Moreover, C Hickey scored a goal (1-0), with C Gray on side; on the field we also had S Ryan, C O’Sullivan (netting 0-1) and B O’Halloran. Furthermore, J Morris, M Costello made a strike with (0-4, 3f) while E Frayne tied with him with a (0-4, 2f). Half way substitutions included R Kinsella who took over from Ryan and C McBride for O’Sullivan. Other subsequent substitutions were R Jones (0-2 replacing Gray at 49, J Conlon (0-2 replacing O’Halloran at 55 and finally D McGowan taking over from Hickey at 62. The match was officiated by Referee J McQuillan who hails from Cavan.