Allianz National Football League Division One, round seven
Mayo v Monaghan (tomorrow, Hastings MacHale Park, 1.45pm)
THE home dressing room at the end of the corridor under the Clones stand remained closed long after the fans had left the wet and windy stadium last Sunday.
Monaghan had lost their last home game to Tyrone by eight points and soul-searching went on in private after a defeat that left the Farneymen’s top-flight survival hopes hanging by a thread.
To stay up they have to beat unbeaten Mayo and Armagh have to lose to Tyrone.
Who gives Monaghan a chance in Castlebar?
Then again, who gave them a chance against Dublin last year, or Galway the year before that, when they wriggled off the relegation hook so brilliantly?
Jack McCarron (0-7 and 2-6) was the hero on both occasions and after his red card (a combination of yellow and then black) last Sunday the experienced forward may feel he owes his county one tomorrow. They’ll need him at his very best to have a chance against the Division One top dogs.
Midfielder Killian Lavelle was also sent off last Sunday and the news that his red card has been rescinded is a boost for Monaghan hopes.
Lavelle got his marching orders in the second half against Tyrone and Monaghan were already struggling by that stage but aspects of Vinny Corey’s gameplan did work.
The Farneymen had a lot of possession and were very patient with it against a massed Tyrone defence.
They used the mark well and got three points out of it and the frees they drew allowed Micheal Bannigan and, in the second half, Conor McManus to keep them just about in touch.
But without Gary Mohan there was a lack of cutting edge and Monaghan’s first score from open play – a beauty from full-back Kieran Duffy early in the first half – turned out to be their last.
The Farneymen are the fourth-highest scorers in Division One this year but, unusually for a county that prides itself on giving so little away, it has been defensive lapses that have cost them.
Last weekend, Tyrone’s first goal came from a routine high ball into the square and the second came from Cormac Quinn’s unchecked run.
Indiscipline cost Monaghan too and they’ll need to tighten up on both areas to have a chance tomorrow.
Mayo are already assured of a place in the Division One final. Kevin McStay’s arrival has revived spirits in his native county and the Westerners have won four and drawn the other two of their six games so far.
Will McStay rest Aidan O’Shea and others with that League decider on the horizon? Will his players take their foot off the gas with a return to Croke Park on April 2 and their Connacht Championship clash with Roscommon coming up a week later?
McStay said after last weekend’s mauling of Donegal in Ballybofey that he would do “what’s best for Mayo” and that means Padraig O’Hora, Michael Plunkett and Donnacha McHugh could come into defence, while Frank Irwin, Bob Tuohy, Jason Doherty, Conor McStay and Tommy Conroy will be hoping to get a start in attack.
While Monaghan won’t take any pleasure from hearing the news, Rian O’Neill’s injury means a difficult task got much harder for Armagh in Omagh and that may leave the door open for them if they can play their part against a second-string Mayo.
It’s an intriguing possibility and you can expect Monaghan to give it all they have but survival may be beyond them this time.
