NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION TWO FINAL Cork 1-14 Monaghan 0-12: THE QUALITY of the fare may have been pedestrian but Cork won't worry unduly about that as they overcame a disappointing Monaghan side in yesterday's Division Two final at Croke Park.
The correct ingredients seemed to be in place for an engaging encounter. Cork and Monaghan have been on the cusp of serious and resonating breakthroughs for the past three years. They have discovered consistent and reliable styles of play. They are settled, yet have an undercurrent of serious talent pushing for selection.
But, as it transpired, Monaghan were a huge disappointment and, despite kicking 11 wides, Cork won a game that struggled to ignite with something to spare.
Daylight was established between the sides around the 15th minute mark when Daniel Goulding’s boot provided a four-point lead. The Cork forward line should make an improved impact in the coming months as they mature into the finished article.
Paul Kerrigan looks sharp, Donncha O’Connor could be a banker for three points each game, while James Masters still has time to regain peak fitness.
There are others to come in as well and next Monday’s under-21 All-Ireland final could yet force two more sharpshooters into the spotlight.
Graham Canty was a serious presence at centre back. With Michael Shields and Anthony Lynch man-marking behind him, there is a well balanced foundation to launch attacks.
Monaghan’s jewel remains Tommy Freeman and while he kicked four second-half points, Lynch kept him quiet early on.
Conor McManus nailed a fine point seconds after a raiding Canty point on 22 minutes but a revival was quickly silenced by Goulding and Ger Spillane scores.
A superb block by Monaghan midfielder Dick Clerkin denied Patrick Kelly a certain goal so when Mark Downey forced a decent save from Alan Quirke down the other end it evened up the goal opportunities.
Early in the second half – clearly after a tongue-lashing from Séamus McEnaney – Monaghan eventually sparked to life with Freeman twice drifting a half yard off Lynch to kick two points, sandwiched by a Paul Finlay free to leave a goal between the teams.
The response was three rapid Cork points from Pearse O’Neill, Goulding and Kelly as a game of no rhythm meandered to the 65th minute when a goal from the previously anonymous Masters confirmed what everyone already knew.
More hard running from Kerrigan allowed the Nemo Rangers man a sight of goal and despite two defenders and a goalkeeper in his way, Masters’s delicate drop kick popped into the net.
Yesterday’s finals were the last occasion the experimental rules were in operation. But Wexford referee Syl Doyle seemed determined not to implement these now defunct rules.
Sure, he flashed the black card to one Cork and three Monaghan men in the opening 35 minutes before eventually issuing Damien Freeman with a yellow on 49 minutes after he grabbed Graham Canty around the neck. No argument there but another two, arguably three, textbook examples of yellow-card offences were only deemed as black ticks and, in one inexplicable case, just a free.
Kerrigan made a neck-high tackle on 11 minutes to concede that free but nothing else. Clerkin’s foul on Canty led to a black warning, while Rory Woods and Shields laughed with everyone else when accidentally shown red cards instead of blacks for tussling. Unmoved by the warning, the pair continued their disagreement.
In the absence of consistency in in the implementation of rules, another summer championship is looming and the disciplinary issue remains the runaway favourite to devour the most column inches.
CORK: A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields, A Lynch; N O'Leary, G Canty (0-1, capt), G Spillane (0-1); A O'Connor (0-1), N Murphy; P O'Flynn, P Kelly (0-1), P Kerrigan (0-1); J Masters (1-0), D O'Connor (0-3, two frees, 45), D Goulding (0-5, one free). Subs: P O'Neill (0-1)for P O'Flynn (48 mins), J Hayes for D O'Connor (50 mins), F Goold for A O'Connor (67 mins), C McCarthy for D Goulding (69 mins), J Miskella for P Kelly (70 mins).
MONAGHAN: S Duffy; D Mone, V Corey (capt), D McArdle (0-1); D Freeman, G McQuaid, D Hughes; D Clerkin, O Lennon; C McManus (0-2, one 45), P Finlay (0-4, free), S Gollogly; M Downey (0-1), R Woods, T Freeman (0-4, one free). Subs: JP Mone for D Mone (27 mins), R Ronaghan for S Gollogly (half-time), C Hanratty for E Lennon (48 mins), G McEnaney for D Freeman (yellow, 49 mins), K Hughes for M Downey (54 mins), S McAleer for R Woods (66 mins).
Referee: S Doyle(Wexford).
