NFL Division Two: Roscommon 0-25 Monaghan 2-14
Diarmuid Murtagh kicked four two-pointers as Roscommon overturned a four-point interval deficit to win the battle of Division Two’s chief promotion chasers at a wintry Dr Hyde Park.
The home side harnessed the wind at their backs after the break to outscore Monaghan 0-17 to 0-8 in the second half – leaving Roscommon top of the table and the only remaining unbeaten team in Division Two.
Roscommon registered a total of five two-pointers in the second half – four from Murtagh and another from Conor Cox – while Monaghan only managed one from outside the arc when they had the benefit of the wind in that opening period.
The visitors also missed a penalty in the 11th minute when Conor McCarthy’s effort was saved by Conor Carroll, and in truth even as Monaghan headed off the pitch leading 2-6 to 0-8 at the interval there was a sense that buffer would not be substantial enough.
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“Going in four down in the Hyde against that breeze, we were very happy to be honest,” said Roscommon manager Davy Burke afterwards.
“[With the new rules], it’s never over any more, it’s a brilliant game of football – it swings so easily, I think it’s a brilliant game. 25 points is nice kicking, isn’t it? It’s great, this new game, I love it anyway.
“We actually now have a creative game, it has reinvigorated us as coaches because it went stale, you probably didn’t even know you were stale but you were. It’s class now.”
If Murtagh – who racked up a total of 12 points – delivered a kicking exhibition, then league newcomer Conor Hand produced several bursts of speed that lit up a grey and damp Hyde Park. Monaghan simply could not stop his blistering incisions through the centre of their defence and Hand finished the game with three points to his name.
Roscommon also created at least four decent goal chances in the opening 20 minutes of the contest but failed to raise any green flags. At times they seemed to try force the issue rather than tap over for a simple point – but in this brave new world for Gaelic football, playing the percentages has thankfully lost some of its lustre.
“There’s two ways of looking at that,” explained Burke. “Can you work the scoreboard against the breeze? Could we have fisted a few scores? But we told them before they went out that we wanted them to enjoy themselves. Forwards want to go for goal, so we left four out there, but on another day [they might go in].”
Roscommon and Monaghan were both relegated from Division One last season so negotiating an immediate return to the top flight would be part of their early-season plan. This was the Farney County’s first defeat of the campaign.
Their madcap opening goal would have been unimaginable a few months back. With Carroll out of his goal to try provide Roscommon with an overload, Monaghan grabbed possession and from near the centre of the field the impressive Micheál Bannigan let fly towards the unattended Roscommon sticks.
The ball bounced off the left stanchion and then bobbled across to hit the right post, before David Garland slid in and redirected it over the line, 1-5 to 0-3.
The second goal was a thunderbolt from Bannigan, the Monaghan captain unleashing an unstoppable 27th-minute shot after the Farney turned over a Roscommon kickout, 2-5 to 0-5.
Roscommon kicked three of the last four points before the turnaround though and it took them just eight minutes of the second half to restore parity.
“I think Roscommon managed the wind better in the second half, they managed to get a few two-pointers in the second half when they had the wind and ultimately that was the difference in the game,” said Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan.
“I knew at half-time that with our lead we were going to have to really turn in a huge performance in the second half to hold on.”
The first of those two-pointers came from Murtagh in the 43rd minute and on the very next play Hand put on the afterburners to score the equalising point. Roscommon had all the momentum and in the opening 15 minutes after the break they outscored Monaghan 0-7 to 0-1.
Conor McCarthy kept Monaghan in touch with a dogged, determined display – he scored two points midway through the half and with five minutes remaining goalkeeper Rory Beggan curled over an equalising score.
But the Roscommon bench made a big impression coming down the straight. Senan Lambe fisted the home side back in front before Cox smacked over a lovely two-pointer and followed that up with a score from inside the arc. They had made the game’s decisive move.
Fittingly, the last action of the afternoon was for Murtagh to kick over his fourth two-pointer. The free had been awarded just before the hooter sounded so supporters had to be ushered back off the pitch to allow Murtagh take the kick. Roscommon travel to Meath next weekend while Monaghan are at home to Cork.
“I was up in Newry last night, that’s a right good Meath team,” added Burke. “They’re very big and strong and it looks like they have a rake of work done, so we’ll get the full pipe in Navan.”
ROSCOMMON: Conor Carroll; Pearse Frost, John McManus, Niall Higgins; Ronan Daly (0-0-1), Brian Stack, Dylan Ruane; Keith Doyle, Shane Cunnane; Cian McKeon, Ultan Harney, Conor Hand (0-0-3); Diarmuid Murtagh (0-4-4, 2tpf, 2f), Donie Smith (0-0-2), Ciaráin Murtagh (0-0-3). Subs: Ruaidhrí Fallon for Stack (40 mins); Eddie Nolan for Harney (49 mins); Senan Lambe (0-0-1) for Daly (54 mins); Ben O’Carroll for Smith (57 mins); Conor Cox (0-1-1) for McKeon (64 mins)
MONAGHAN: Rory Beggan (0-0-1); Ryan Wylie, Killian Lavelle, Dylan Byrne; Ryan O’Toole (0-0-1), Colm Lennon, Conor McCarthy (0-0-2); Gavin McPhillips, Micheál McCarville (0-1-0); Louis Kelly (0-0-1), Micheál Bannigan (1-0-4, 2f), Ciarán McNulty (0-0-1); David Garland (1-0-1), Stephen Mooney (0-0-1), Fergal Hanratty. Subs: Jack McCarron for Lennon (29 mins); Kevin Loughran for Hanratty (ht); Bobby McCaul for Mooney (44 mins); Darren Hughes for McPhillips (62 mins); Seán Jones for Garland (67 mins)
REFEREE: Thomas Murphy (Galway).
