NFL Division Two final: Monaghan 1-26 Roscommon 0-19
Before they shuffled down the tunnel, the Monaghan players and management team gathered for a group photo on the Croke Park pitch. Division Two champions, promotion, a fine National League campaign. Job done.
But what relevance Saturday night’s league final will have on the rest of the season is debatable. The game itself lacked the real bite of competitive fare and played in front of just 11,450 spectators, Croke Park felt empty and the intensity on the field generally reflected that.
The game must also be viewed through the prism of the championship fixtures schedule – Roscommon play London in Ruislip next Saturday while Monaghan are not out again until April 20th in an Ulster quarter-final against either Donegal or Derry.
Roscommon led 0-12 to 0-11 at the interval on Saturday night but Monaghan were superb after the break and won the second half 1-15 to 0-7 to run out comfortable 10-point winners.
Monaghan’s triumph was built on the foundation of six two-pointers. Roscommon managed just one over the course of the contest. It is the first time Monaghan have won the Division Two title since 2014.
“It’s only my second final playing for Monaghan and I’m in the panel since 2017,” said captain Micheál Bannigan. “They don’t come around too often.”
The momentum of the game appeared to swing after the break when Monaghan kicked three two-pointers in as many minutes – two from Rory Beggan and one from Bannigan – to surge from one behind to lead 0-18 to 0-13.
Diarmuid Murtagh replied with Roscommon’s only two-pointer, and after 56 minutes the outcome still hung in the balance with Monaghan leading 0-20 to 0-18.
However, moments later a sweeping Monaghan move involving Stephen O’Hanlon and Ryan McAnespie ended with Jack McCarron smacking home the game’s only goal. He immediately followed it up with a point and Monaghan kicked for home thereafter.
Roscommon were wasteful coming down the stretch and butchered some decent scoring chances but it had all become a tad incidental at that stage because the game had drifted from their grasp.
Four of Monaghan’s six two-pointers were scored in the second half.
“We kicked one today and don’t think we kicked any last week, can’t remember for sure but it’s not enough anyway,” said Roscommon manager Davy Burke. “So obviously we are not kicking enough two-pointers and it’s something we are definitely have to look at in training. We were kicking them but we have gone away from that obviously so we need to look at whatever way our attack play is set up. They are a massive feature now.”
Roscommon will fly out to London on Friday for their Connacht SFC opener.
“It is probably difficult for the players and ourselves to juggle with such a big game coming next Saturday as well and obviously in a different country and all that type of stuff,” added Burke. “The performance for a long time was positive but obviously the result wasn’t overly positive but we got out without too many knocks.”
Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan accepts the fixture schedule worked in his side’s favour given Roscommon’s seven-day turnaround to championship.
“Without a doubt, the cards fell right for us in that regard. We have three weeks until we play Donegal or Derry,” he said. “Whatever about it being a help, we didn’t have any distraction. We were able to come here and let the lads go for it. There’s no doubt, I wouldn’t want to be going out and playing championship next weekend.
“I think that is something that the powers that be need to look at. I think there should be at least a two-week gap between the league finals and your first game in the championship.”
From the off on Saturday night, Ryan O’Toole dropped back to pick up Diarmuid Murtagh while Ryan Wylie was given the task of marshalling Enda Smith.
Murtagh opened the scoring with a neatly placed free in the third minute before Monaghan registered a pair of two-pointers – the first from Dessie Ward and the second from Conor McCarthy.
The teams were level on six occasions in the first half but a pair of quick-fire points by Murtagh and Cian McKeon helped Roscommon lead by the minimum at the break.
That was to be as good as it got for the Rossies though. On the resumption of play, Monaghan turned the screw and long before the final whistle they had boxed off the outcome.
“There is a cup to be presented and there’s not that many national titles Monaghan have won over the years,” said Bannigan. “It is great that’s our first silverware in 10 or 11 years, so it’s great to get a cup and bring it back down the road and that will help our players.”
MONAGHAN: R Beggan (0-3-1; 1 ‘45, 3 tpf); R Wylie (0-0-1), R O’Toole, D Byrne; D Ward (0-1-0), A Carey, C McCarthy (0-1-0); G Mohan (0-0-1), M McCarville; R McAnespie (0-0-1), M Bannigan (0-1-3), C McNulty (0-0-1); D Garland, A Woods (0-0-3, 1f), S O’Hanlon (0-0-1).
Subs: J McCarron (1-0-2) for Garland (45 mins); S Mooney for McAnespie (58); J Irwin for Carey, J Wilson for McNulty (both 67); K Duffy for McCarthy (69).
ROSCOMMON: C Carroll (0-0-1; 1 ‘45); C Neary, D Murray, N Higgins; J McManus, R Fallon (0-0-1), D Ruane; E Nolan (0-0-1), K Doyle; C Lennon, C Murtagh (0-0-2; 2f), C McKeon (0-0-2); B O’Carroll (0-0-1), D Murtagh (0-1-6; 4f), E Smith (0-0-2).
Subs: R Daly for Fallon (35 mins); C Hand for Lennon (43); U Harney for Doyle (52); D Smith (0-0-1) for McKeon (55); C Heneghan for C Murtagh (62).
Referee: B Tiernan (Dublin).
