Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Cavan 0-15 Monaghan 1-15
IT’S rarely more than a kick of a ball that separates Cavan and Monaghan, and so it proved as the very final act smashed off the post and away to safety.
It was Ryan Connolly’s first major involvement in an Ulster Championship game and to salvage a draw would have been memorable, but his shot beat Rory Beggan and flew to safety as Paddy Neilan crossed his arms to signal the end of the game.
Monaghan just about shaded it and Conor McManus’ well-taken goal just before the hour mark proved the decisive score in a game that saw the teams level nine times up to that point.
For Cavan boss Mattie McGleenan, his first Championship game in charge ended sorely but he, as ever, was looking at the positives of his side’s display and looking towards the Qualifiers.
“Football was the real winner here today. It came down to the kick of a ball, Mansy’s goal was fantastic but I thought the character of our team was fantastic,” he said.
“Both teams went at it, welcome to Ulster Championship football, I loved every minute of it. The important thing is that this is not the end for Cavan, we go into the qualifiers now and they can go as far as they want.
“The key is not to put the head down. We are a young team. We have a lot to learn yet, we made three or four fundamental errors out there and it could have been better, especially with the breeze.
“But Monaghan are the benchmark as far as I’m concerned. They’ve been around this last four or five years and they know how to win these tight games.
“I think the summer will be fabulous for us and the more I learn about these guys the better it will be.”
Their attacking challenge ran out of juice against a serious wind in the second half, with the rate of their breaks slowing up and Monaghan holding them largely at arm’s length.
It was a vastly improved Farney performance from their preliminary round win over Fermanagh and for the sixth year running, they will take their place in an Ulster semi-final, where they will meet Down on June 24.
But it wasn’t until McManus’s goal that the visitors finally took a firm grip on proceedings.
“There’s no doubt the goal gave us a wee bit of breathing space,” said Malachy O’Rourke (inset).
“We felt in the first half we were in a bit of control, we just gave away a few frees that gave Cavan a few handy scores. We were disappointed to give them two scores at the end of the half from our mistakes that gave them a wee boost going in.
“It was just a matter of keeping the heads and knowing the wind would be a help. It still doesn’t kick the ball over the bar and I thought we rushed things a wee bit, but as the half wore on we got the scores.”
They met Down in Clones last year and after a testing first half, Monaghan cruised to a 2-22 to 0-9 win. O’Rourke was present in Newry last Sunday to witness a gutsy Mourne performance against their bitter rivals Armagh and expects a firmer test this time around.
“I was up at the game last week and Down were very impressive. The end of the League they finished very well and their form against a fancied Armagh team was very good,” added O’Rourke.
“They have a lot of good, sharp forwards. I was very impressed with them. I felt we were okay today, we played well at times, but we still have a lot of improving to do and we’ll need it for the next day.”
