Football

"We still look up to him..." New Monaghan manager Vinny Corey will have respect of Farney dressingroom says Rory Beggan

Vinny Corey (left) took over from Seamus McEnaney as manager of the Monaghan senior footballers. Pic Philip Walsh.
Vinny Corey (left) took over from Seamus McEnaney as manager of the Monaghan senior footballers. Pic Philip Walsh. Vinny Corey (left) took over from Seamus McEnaney as manager of the Monaghan senior footballers. Pic Philip Walsh.

RESPECTED during his long playing career with his county, Vinny Corey will have full backing in the Monaghan dressingroom as manager, says long-serving goalkeeper Rory Beggan.

Clontibret clubman Corey – an Ulster Championship winner with the Farney county in 2013 and again in 2015 - was confirmed as the successor to Seamus McEnaney last month. Corey was part of McEnaney’s management team and Beggan is confident that the former full-back will “hit the ground running” with the county next year.

“100 per cent he’s the right man for the job,” said Beggan.

“He’s been in with teams, he was in with Banty over the last number of years and he has a lot of valuable experience.

“He’s very well thought of in the Monaghan dressingroom. The players looked up to him when he was in there and we still look up to him. I’m sure he’ll hit the ground running and I’m looking forward to getting to meet him although hopefully that’s not too soon because I hope we (Scotstown) can keep going in the championship.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he plans to introduce but, for now, I’ll be fully focussed on Scotstown. Once this club season is over, I’ll focus on Monaghan next year.”

Beggan’s club Scotstown contest their 10th consecutive county final on Sunday when they take on Ballybay at Clones.

Scotstown have won seven of the last nine titles and Beggan’s solidity between the sticks has been instrumental to their success. The art of goalkeeping in Gaelic Football has changed dramatically over the last decade but last weekend’s Armagh senior championship semi-finals showed how the increasingly crucial role remains a precarious position.

In the first semi-final, the unfortunate Maghery goalkeeper slipped as a back pass was played back to him and the ball bobbled into the net. In the second, the Killeavy netminder left his goal prematurely to prepare for a quick kick-out in the mistaken belief that a shot was drifting wide.

It didn’t and so he was left red-faced when a Granemore forward gathered the ball and lashed it into the, again empty, net.

Outfield players can get away with a fumbles and wayward passes but goalkeeping mistakes are often costly and both incidents in the Orchard county had a major bearing on the results.

“It is a thankless job, it is surely,” said Beggan.

“The two goals were avoidable but one was a slip and, the other one, the ’keeper thought it was going wide and he was running to take a short kick-out. That was down to the coach looking to keep possession and get the ball out quick.

“Every person on the field slips but if we (goalkeepers) slip the ball’s most likely going to end up in the net. It’s the same with a kick-out – any standard kick-out can be intercepted, it can be intercepted on the 45-yard line and it can lead to a goal chance.

“Any mistake that happens out the field can go unpunished but any little mistake we make could be deadly. If you make one you have to put it behind you, don’t carry the baggage, put it behind you and forget about it and try and do the next thing simple.”