Farney men flummoxed by Mayo’s second-half masterclass
Mayo’s Adrian Phillips under pressure from Monaghan’s Colin Merrick.
A sensational display of second-half shooting saw Mayo easily dispose of Monaghan to launch their claim on this season’s Nicky Rackard Cup in emphatic style.
The Green and Red had won February’s corresponding National League fixture in Castleblayney by 26 points (5-20 to 0-9) and yet at home on Sunday, trailed by two points at half-time. The wind had played its part but a vastly improved attitude was the main factor behind Mayo outscoring the visitors by a whopping 24 points in the second-half.
Monaghan led by 1-4 to 0-5 thanks to Niall Garland’s 16th minute goal and by 2-4 to 0-6 after Mayo ‘keeper Bobby Douglas dropped a long-range Niall Arthur free into his own net. Three first-half points from play by Adrian Phillips kept Mayo in contention but if anything, Monaghan deserved to lead by more than 2-5 to 0-9 at the break having also fired nine wides.
Two goals from Sean Regan, moved from midfield to full-forward, inside eight minutes of the restart, set the tone for a powerful second-half by wind-assisted Mayo, who just never took their foot off the gas from thereon, winning the half by an incredible 4-15 to 0-3. Turnarounds hardly come any more convincing.
It had taken the Farney County only 28 minutes of this game (at which stage they led Mayo by four points) to better what they had scored in the Division 3A clash two months earlier, and yet they had already struck nine wides which meant their advantage could easily have been significantly greater.
Mayo were playing into the teeth of a wind that bordered on a gale for periods of the first-half and while they were to raise the first white flag, courtesy of Adrian Phillips, Monaghan hit back with three points on the spin by Niall Arthur, Conor Gernon and Emmet Walsh.
The Green and Red regained the lead with three of their own, as Sean Regan set-up Eoin Delaney, Shane Boland struck a free, and Liam Lavin opened his account. And Mayo remained a point to the good after a tight-angled Thomas Hughes point was negated by Lavin.
The pendulum, however, was about to swing firmly in favour of the visitors.
Monaghan’s first big break came just after the quarter hour when a long clearance by midfielder Martin Murphy was won by Hughes who beat Danny Hill and popped a pass inside the cover to Niall Garland who drilled the ball across ‘keeper Bobby Douglas into the far right corner.
Boland pared back a point from a free but that was Mayo’s last score for all of 16 minutes, during which time the Ulster side struck five consecutive wides, each by a different player, before nabbing a second goal, this time when Douglas dropped a 65-metre free by Niall Arthur into his own net, giving underdogs Monaghan a 2-4 to 0-6 advantage seven minutes short of the interval.
Regan’s left to right delivery saw Adrian Phillips fetch and eventually end Mayo’s scoreless spell but Monaghan were four points to the good again when Garland was located in acres of space on the left wing and split the posts from 45 metres.
Mayo did finish the half on a positive note however, as Adrian Phillips produced the best score of the half, showing sheer grit to beat three would-be tacklers and squeeze the sliothar inside the near post from close to the sideline, after which Shane Boland received a long-range delivery from Douglas and nailed his first point from play, leaving Mayo’s half-time deficit at just two points, 0-9 to 2-5, with the breeze to come.
Joint manager Ray Larkin later admitted to some honest words being spoken in the Mayo dressing-room at the interval and the impact was instant, with an unanswered 2-5 scored inside eight minutes of the restart to send the hosts from two points behind to nine points in front. Frees by Shane Boland and Cormac Phillips preceded Sean Regan bundling home a goal, after Joe Burke unnerved goalkeeper Hugh Byrne when contesting a long delivery by Cormac Phillips.
Phillips, Regan and Boland, superbly off his weaker right, added points before Sean Regan fired home a second goal that was infinitely more classy than his first, with Douglas picking out Eoin Delaney who pinged a pass that allowed Regan to turn his marker Michael Lyons and smash the ball into the top right corner.
Mayo led 2-14 to 2-5 before Niall Arthur, from play, finally opened Monaghan’s second-half account, but the Farney visitors would concede a further 1-9 before Arthur scored their next point. Shane Boland, Liam Lavin and Cormac Phillips each hit two points apiece and there were singles by Adrian Phillips, John Heraty and Eoghan Collins too, with the major finished by substitute Jack Doocey from 25 metres, as ‘keeper Byrne seemed blinded by the lurking presence of Regan.
Arthur pulled back a couple more points from frees but the game’s remaining scores were both Mayo’s as Regan tagged on another point before midfielder Heraty launched a high ball that evaded Byrne and dropped into the net to sum up Monaghan’s second-half.
Mayo’s Round 2 opponents are Donegal in a game to be played in Letterkenny next Saturday (2pm). The Tir Chonaill outfit were also first round winners, having seven points to spare over their Armagh hosts last Saturday.
