Allianz Football League Division One: Monaghan v Mayo
(Sunday, Clones, 2.30pm)
A HOME tie against the second lowest scorers in the division, who haven't picked up a point yet, may seem easy, but Dessie Mone isn't fooled about the task facing Monaghan on Sunday.
The team coming to Clones is Mayo, one of the top four teams in the country in recent years, and even without their star forward Cillian O'Connor, the Clontibret man knows his county is in for a tough test: "I watched the Donegal-Mayo match and thought it was very good, very high intensity in the tackling.
"Both teams were very up for it, but Mayo especially because they were looking for the points and really pushed to get them. They probably were unlucky, the game could have gone either way. Mayo were impressive. I think they're starting to find their form now and they've players coming back."
Mayo, under the new management of Stephen Rochford and with former Crossmaglen boss Tony McEntee among his backroom team, have been missing a few men for various reasons. Their Castlebar Mitchel's contingent, notably Tom Cunniffe, Paddy Durkan, Barry Moran and Neil Douglas remain out as they prepare for the All-Ireland Club SFC final on St Patrick's Day.
However, Lee Keegan, Keith Higgins and Jason Gibbons all started in Ballybofey, while Andy Moran, Chris Barrett and Seamus O'Shea were among those who came off the bench. Higgins seems set to be ruled out for Sunday with the hamstring injury that forced him off in the first-half against Donegal.
Yet, they still pushed the top flight's form team Donegal very hard, the Connacht champions clearly improved after the three-week break.
Mayo lost by nine points in Cork in their opening game, then suffered two-point defeats by both Dublin and Donegal, their cause not helped by the absence of the injured Cillian O'Connor, as Mone acknowledged: "If you take a top forward out of any team, it does be hard to replace them. He gets them 1-4, 1-5 a game and he's solid on free-kicks as well.
"This time of year, you need your good free-takers on the heavy ground when every free-kick is vital. He's a big miss for them at the minute."
In contrast, Monaghan have Mone's clubmate Conor McManus, who scored 0-12 against Dublin, including nine frees: "Conor is a fantastic player, he's enjoyable to watch. It's great to see the top forwards display their talent… Some of the scores he got were unbelievable.
"In training, nobody is looking forward to going into the full-back line to mark Conor. Sometimes, you just can't mark him, you just have to be in awe of his talent."
Monaghan's back obviously benefit from having to operate against McManus on a weekly basis, Mone pointing out: "In Division One football, you're going to be going out against top forwards week after week."
Such is the strength of Monaghan's panel at present, particularly defensively, that the experienced Mone is again named on the bench.
They appear set to be without the versatile Kieran Hughes due to the heel injury sustained in Croke Park last Saturday night, which has led to one personnel change and a reshuffle of the team. His brother Darren moves back from full-forward to midfield, alongside Neil McAdam, with Karl O'Connell named in his more familiar role of left wing-back. Daniel McKenna comes into the attack, selected at full-forward.
Largy College PE teacher Mone knows how important a home win could be, as a third victory could almost secure a third consecutive season in Division One for Monaghan: "We stayed up last year and we want to be more of a consistent team. We want to survive in Division One and come up against these bigger teams, like Mayo, Dublin and Kerry. That can only help us progress further.
"But Mayo really need the two points, so they'll be fully focused. This Sunday could be crucial," he concluded.
TEAM NEWS
Monaghan: R Beggan; C Walshe, D Wylie, R Wylie; K Duffy, F Kelly, K O'Connell; N McAdam, D Hughes; S Carey, D Malone, T Kerr; O Duffy, D McKenna, C McManus; Substitutes: M Keogh, C Boyle, N McKeown, P McKenna, D Mone, M Thornton, G Doogan, P Keenan, R McAnespie, C McCarthy, B McGinn.
Mayo: TBC.
Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).
