In a closely contested Ulster derby at Healy Park, Monaghan’s 10-year tenure in the Division One of the National Football League came to a heartbreaking end with Tyrone reigning supreme 1-19 to 2-13. Despite an impressive display by veteran forward, Conor McManus, 36, Monaghan couldn’t engineer another last-day save, as done in the past five seasons. Their upcoming showdown with Mayo at Clones promises no resurgence.
Ireland’s smallest counties sported a historic presence in the top tier, with only Kerry outstripping them. Regrettably, their valorous epoch has now culminated in desolation. Tyrone, looking for a reprieve from their relegation anxieties, benefitted enormously from the victory. Their relief was discernible as Darren McCurry, Darragh Canavan, and Kieran McGeary swept them into an initial three-point advantage before Jack McCarron kickstarted Monaghan’s counteroffensive with a fifth-minute goal.
Opting for a defensive strategy, Monaghan bore the weight of the game, hoping for the counterattack and relying on McManus to bring them within two points in the first quarter. However, Canavan’s dazzling breakaway goal placed Monaghan on the backfoot. A persistent attack by Conor McCaron and Conor McCarthy for Monaghan fell short as Canavan and McCurry buoyed Tyrone to a 1-11 to 1-6 lead at halftime.
The Red Hands expanded their dominance to seven points, despite a brilliant performance by McManus. As their injury woes began to subside, with the introduction of Mattie Donnelly for his seasonal debut and a successful shot from Cathal McShane, Tyrone seemed to secure their victory. McManus sporadically reduced the gap with some terrific points, but Canavan’s play at the other end would not be deterred.
The dismissal of Monaghan defender Ryan O’Toole due to a black card momentarily impacted their numbers before Tyrone’s Brian Kennedy was similarly cautioned, levelling the team strengths immediately. Despite these minor setbacks, the outcome remained grim for Monaghan.
Killian Lavelle managed to score a significant 58th-minute goal with an assist from Andrew Woods. The desperate men rallied, marking their presence felt in a major way. Darren Hughes, Micheal Bannigan, and Conor McCarthy masterminded the Farney comeback, seeing survival as a real possibility. They further narrowed the gap to just one point with McManus contributing two more to his count with only five minutes remaining on the clock.
However, Tyrone summoned up another burst of energy for McCurry and Joe Oguz to secure their dominance once more.
Players for Tyrone included N Morgan, C Devlin, P Hampsey, C Quinn, B Cullen, K McGeary (scoring 0-1), N Devlin, B Kennedy, A Donaghy, C Daly (scoring 0-1), S O’Donnell, Joe Oguz, D McCurry (scoring 0-7, with four frees, 1m), and D Canavan (scoring 1-7, with three frees). The substitutes included M Donnelly for McGeary (41), R Canavan for McShane (56), and A Clarke for Hampsey (64).
For Monaghan’s side, the players enlisted were D McDonnell, R Wylie, K Duffy, R O’Toole, J Irwin, K Lavelle, C McCarthy (scoring 0-1) M McCarville, D Hughes, D Ward, M Bannigan (scoring 0-1), R McAnespie, C McManus (scoring 0-6, with one free, 1m), J McCarron (scoring 1-4, with four frees), and C McNulty (scoring 0-1). The substitutions for this team were K O’Connell for Irwin (half-time), G Mohan for McCarville (44), A Woods for McNulty (50), J Wilson for McAnespie (56), and D Garland for Ward (68). The referee of the match was J Henry from Mayo.