Familiar fear crept over Monaghan ace Wylie before O'Toole stunner

RYAN Wylie was close enough to pick up every bit of Darren McCurry’s delighted roar when he split the posts five minutes into added time. It was a sucker-punch, and not the first.

Wylie is one of many Monaghan veterans who need no reminder of the pain Tyrone have inflicted in the past, the All-Ireland semi-final of 2018 and 2021’s nip and tuck Ulster decider both going the way of the Red Hands at the death.

And here, at Healy Park on Sunday, was history repeating itself – the Farney having wrestled away control after a below-par first half, edging their noses in front heading towards the last, only to be pipped at the post.

As McCurry clenched his fist and wheeled away, it all felt too familiar.

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“When they got that point,” recalled Wylie with a grimace, “it was a bit ‘aw no, this all over again…’”

A different ending lay in wait this time around, though.

With the seconds ticking down, Championship debutant Ryan O’Toole drifted into space and gathered a pass from Kieran Duffy before lashing low beneath Niall Morgan without a second’s thought.

The Ulster Championship may not matter in the way it once did, but the reverberations of such magic moments will always carry, a semi-final shot at defending champions Derry the rewards for O’Toole’s bravery.

To Monaghan, given all that has gone before between them and Tyrone, this one meant plenty.

“Ah it’s great to get the win – it felt like it anyway, but I’d say it was a great spectacle, point for point there for a long time. Thankfully we stuck at it and got the goal there at the end… jeez it’s great, and it’s great to see so many supporters here.

“For us in Ulster, we haven’t really done anything in the province the last couple of years, and at the end of day there’s some silverware there to be got. Throughout the country everyone’s talking about the Ulster Championship always having that competitive edge, I don’t think that’s ever really going to change with the calibre of teams you have.

“There’s no easy game, we had Tyrone there today, Derry the next day, you can’t really get much tougher than that.”

After an energy-sapping 70-plus minutes, Wylie isn’t sure where the energy reserves were to be found for another 20 – the sight of O’Toole’s shot rippling the net the adrenaline shot required at just the right time.

“I don’t know what I wanted… I was on the ball a couple of plays before that and all I was thinking was just keeping my legs going.

“Ryan’s come into the scene this year, he’s backed himself every game, no different there now. I suppose it’s the great thing about youth, you’ve no fear and he’s just right. There’s no point being left wondering, everyone’s told to bury them low, you’ll always have a chance, and that’s what he did.

“Fair play to him.”

And, three weeks on from saving their Division One skins with a dramatic final day victory over Mayo in Castlebar, Monaghan showed once more that they possess the hard edge to survive, no matter how the going gets.

Goal hero O’Toole, Thomas McPhillips and Karl Gallagher represent the Farney’s future, but it is the elder statesmen like Darren Hughes (36), Conor McManus (35), Karl O’Connell (35), Kieran Duffy (32), Kieran Hughes (33) - inspired from the bench – and Rory Beggan (31) who continue to set the standard, with Wylie among a clutch of others around the late-20s.

The spirit, the fight, it might surprise others, but never him.

“Ah yeah, youse are trying to bury us this last couple of years,” he smiled.

“There’s no point going out and not giving it your all, that’s what you train hard for, and it’s the mentality of a lot of players. You can even see in training, you don’t want to be losing.”