Ultimately, Monaghan's 2002 season boiled down to two summer's evenings in St Tiernach's Park. Unfortunately, neighbouring counties Fermanagh and Louth came, saw and conquered. In all honesty, 2002 was a year Monaghan's senior footballers would gladly erase from memory. With consistency a notable absentee throughout the season, Jack McCarville's team never got into its stride. The end result was that both Monaghan's league and championship campaigns were bitterly disappointing. In the premier competition, the Oriel County once again failed to capitalise on the back-door system, which has apparently been put in place to help strengthen the hand of struggling counties but appears more beneficial to the already established powers. After losing heavily to Fermanagh in the first round of Ulster (despite a very spirited first half performance that saw them compile a four-point interval advantage), Monaghan were pitted against another neighbouring county - Louth - in the first round of the qualifiers. Again they had home advantage, but Monaghan failed to show in the last ten minutes and were edged out by the Wee County. The result brought the curtain down on the season in appropriate fashion. It also spelt the end of Jack McCarville's tenure at the helm. On the evidence of what we saw in '02, his successor Colm Coyle has his work cut out if he's to mould a winning team in time for the first round provincial clash with defending All-Ireland champions Armagh next summer. Monaghan's seniors have been suffering from Revolving Door Syndrome of late. One of the most pressing tasks facing the new boss is to inject stability, as well as balance and consistency. The Meath legend has wisely brought in two shrewd and forward-thinking men in Declan Brennan and Noel Marron as assistants. Time will tell how he fares beyond that - but Monaghan football has never been more in need of a messianic figure. Monaghan kicked off their 2002 championship season by facing by-now-perennial opponents Fermanagh at Clones on Sunday May 12th, with a 6.45 evening throw-in. A crowd of only 8,000 turned up at St Tiernach's Park for the latest instalment of the ongoing saga between the two neighbouring counties. Despite the fact that Monaghan had won the corresponding fixture at Brewster Park in 2001, Fermanagh went into the May '02 game as clear favourites. They'd impressed during the league (only narrowly missing out on a top flight semi-final place) and were viewed by many as genuine contenders for the Anglo-Celt Cup. Monaghan, on the other hand, struggled for consistency over the spring and were generally regarded as possibly the weakest team in the northern province. Fermanagh - themselves once the whipping boys of Ulster - had also enjoyed recent superiority over their neighbours, eliminating them from successive Ulster championship races in 1999 and 2000. Recent league performances provided the only formguide (if such things exist for championship derbys). Fermanagh held a clear edge: they had almost secured promotion out of a very difficult division, while Monaghan's league form fluctuated between mediocre and poor. Monaghan were in Division 2B of the 2002 national football league. They began with a good win over Carlow and more promise was shown in a draw against Meath. From there on, it all went downhill, however, as Lady Luck went on vacation. Amazingly, Monaghan only managed to pick up a single point from their next five games, as they lost their way completely: February 17th: Monaghan 1-6 Wexford 1-8; March 3rd: Longford 1-12 Monaghan 0-11; March 10th: Waterford 0-9 Monaghan 0-9; March 24th: Monaghan 1-11 Laois 2-16; March 31st: Tipperary 2-18, Monaghan 1-13. Crucially, Monaghan had lost their winning habit at the worst possible time. Their young team possessed no shortage of talent or ability, but - following such an alarming league fade-out - approaching the championship with any degree of confidence was always going to be very difficult. It was almost embarrassing: at the end of the campaign, Monaghan lay joint-sixth in Division 2B. Only Waterford were below them. Of course, Monaghan had hardly done themselves justice and everything that could possibly have gone wrong did. But still, there were rumblings that they were now officially the worst team in Ulster... Fermanagh, meanwhile, had raised many eyebrows with a powerful showing in the NFL. They finished third in Division 1B, missing out on a semi-final berth by a single point. A thoroughly impressive campaign had seen the Ernesiders record victories over Clare, Kildare, Sligo and Mayo as well as a draw in Derry. Their tails were up going into the championship; Monaghan's were between their legs! While it was patently obvious that Monaghan were going to be up against it, nobody could possibly have legislated for the record-breaking scoring heroics of Fermanagh full forward Rory Gallagher, who amassed an incredible personal tally of 3-9 . . . more than Monaghan's (pretty substantial) combined total of 2-11! Dominic Corrigan's team prevailed with eight points to spare. Most of the damage was done during the closing 25 minutes, when they scored 2-4. Things had looked much more promising for Monaghan as they stole into a healthy 2-7 to half-time 1-6 lead. But Jack McCarville's side was still clearly suffering from a league hangover and they lost their shape completely in the closing stages as the Ernesiders assumed complete control. Monaghan certainly weren't helped by a very dubious penalty awarded against them at a critical stage in the game - a decision that cost them dearly and could be singled out as a turning point. After Thomas Freeman had come close to opening the scoring for Monaghan, Fermanagh rocked them with an early goal at the other end. Tom Brewster hit the net in the sixth minute after impressive approach play by Rory and Raymond Gallagher. A minute later, Rory extended the winners' lead when he tapped over a close-in free after Brewster's raid on goal had been illegally arrested by Colm Flanagan. Damien Freeman uncharacteristically spurned a handy free-scoring opportunity before John Paul Mone finally opened the home team's account from 30 yards in the tenth minute, benefiting from a superb assist from towering full forward Raymond Ronaghan, who had a magnificent game. Monaghan's movement was slick and was causing the under-pressure Fermanagh rearguard considerable discomfort. They scored again when James McElroy set up Freeman who floated over a beautiful 15th-minute effort. Eoin Lennon missed a glorious opportunity after further fine foraging from Ronaghan but Freeman hit the spot in the 18th minute when landing a 30-metre free to reduce the differential to the minimal amount. Seconds later, Mone calmly drew Monaghan level with another excellent strike. In the 21st minute, Monaghan's supporters were given good cause for celebration when Thomas Freeman bagged his side's first goal. Again, Ronaghan was the catalyst. The Tyholland man sneakily dispossessed Fermanagh full back Paddy McGuinness close to his own goal and put Freeman in the clear. The Magheracloone attacker made no mistake. Within two minutes, Monaghan had crept further clear: this time it was Damien Freeman who found the range from a 40-metre free following a foul on Rory Woods. Twelve minutes remained in the first half and Monaghan were four points to the good, 1-5 to 1-1. Rory Gallagher then registered three unanswered points and Shane McDermott drew the lakesiders level in the 34th minute. Thomas and Damien Freeman fired a point apiece and Gallagher pulled another one back for Fermanagh. With the game deep in first-half injury time, Monaghan led by 1-7 to 1-6. There was still time for them to grab a second Monaghan goal before the short whistle. McElroy sent Woods clear through the middle and the Donaghmoyne dynamo placed an unstoppable arrow in the roof of the net. Half time: Monaghan 2-7, Fermanagh 1-6 In the second half, however, Monaghan only managed to score four more points while Fermanagh added a further 3-7 to their total. Four minutes after the break, Rory Gallagher netted from the penalty spot after he had allegedly been dragged down inside the square by Monaghan captain Dermot McDermott. From that point onwards, the tide had turned. A 43rd-minute Gallagher free brought Fermanagh back on level terms and Raymond Johnston quickly put the Green and Whites back in front. Twelve minutes into the second half, Monaghan equalised through Freeman following good play by substitute Hugh Malone and Ronaghan. But that was as good as it got. They were unable to reproduce the same spirited football as that served up in the first half. Perhaps the wind was a factor. Whatever the reason, Monaghan faded out of contention as Fermanagh inherited complete control. Raymond Gallagher was dragged down in the 47th minute and his cousin Rory duly dispatched his second penalty conversion of the evening. Two minutes later, McIlroy struck a point for the losers and Lennon then saw his effort come back off the upright. A trio of points from Gallagher effectively finished the game as a contest. Suddenly, it was 3-11 to 2-9. The impressive John Paul Mone delivered his third long-range point in the 57th minute. The Gallagher cousins registered a point apiece and, fittingly, it was the supreme Rory who had the final saw when fisting to the Monaghan net in the 70th minute. Fermanagh marched on to play Armagh in the semi-final. Monaghan, meanwhile turned gingerly and headed for the back door... The draw for the first round of the qualifiers took place live on RTE on Sunday June 2nd and paired Monaghan with Louth, whom they had never met previously in championship fare. The neighbouring counties were regular opponents in the league, however, and also clash quite frequently in the O'Fiach Cup tournament in Crossmaglen. Under the guidance of highly-regarded new manager Paddy Carr, Louth had beaten Longford after a replay before bowing out of the Leinster championship following defeat to Kildare. Indeed, they had outplayed the Lilywhites for much of that match and only some poor finishing cost them a place in the provincial 'semis' (Kildare only beat them by a point). The most recent meeting of the teams on record was a challenge match for the opening of the Cremartin clubrooms in 2001 . . . when Louth's experimental side was hammered by 0-18 to 0-7. There was never much fear of a repeat of that result, but at least Monaghan had a clean bill of health, leaving Jack McCarville with a full squad to choose from. As it turned out, however, were forced upon the manager when both Jason Hughes and Dermot McDermott were deemed unfit to start (though they did make effective substitute appearances). Glen Murphy replaced Sean Duffy in goal and Rory Treanor came into the defence at corner back. Dermot McArdle was handed a starting place at wing back in lieu of Gary McQuaid; Jason McElroy started at midfield; and Shane McManus was named at No.13. The game was played on Saturday evening, June 2nd, and Louth ran out 2-11 to 1-8 winners. But Monaghan weren't as comprehensively beaten as the scoreline might suggest, and would have been much closer were it not for a few crucial missed opportunities. Even though Louth were probably the more consistent team, Monaghan did carve out enough second-half chances to snatch victory from beneath their flaring nostrils. Despite making a poor start and only offering brief glimpses of the football they were capable of, Monaghan had the better of the closing stages of the first half and came strong midway through the second half also, drawing within a point of the Wee County at this stage. The game was there for the taking with twelve minutes left, but they were unable to sustain that effort. After squandering three good chances, Louth went ahead through an eighth-minute Mark Stanfield free. A minute later, Stanfield was also involved in the move that ended in Louth's first goal. David Reilly was played in and made no mistake. Reilly almost sneaked in for a second goal almost immediately but the danger was this time averted at the expense of a '45', which Stanfield converted. Raymond Ronaghan pointed after Monaghan's first meaningful attack in the 15th minute but the Louth onslaught was relentless and they hit three unanswered points to lead by seven, 1-5 to 0-1, after 27 minutes. At this stage, Monaghan were at sixes and sevens and appeared dead and buried. To their credit, they made a real fight of it, somehow summoning the reserves of resilience needed to draw level by the interval. Some astute substitutions made a huge difference to the game's pattern. Dermot McDermott replaced Anthony Rooney and had an instant impact when - with assistance from Dick Clerkin and Dermot McArdle - helping set up Shane McManus for a 31st-minute point. Jason Hughes then came into the fray and soon unsettled Seamus O'Hanlon - the veteran Louth star had been having a field day in the middle of the park. What a transformation we saw for the next four or five minutes as Monaghan swarmed all over their stunned opponents! There were further points from McManus (2) and Damien Freeman and Thomas Freeman outpaced the Wee County defence to fire home a classic goal. Having awoken from their slumber, the Oriel County could have done without the half-time whistle at this juncture. In truth, it destroyed the head of steam that they had toiled so laboriously to establish and - for want of a more apt phrase - saved Louth's bacon! At the break, it was 1-5 apiece with all to play for. Both sides missed the target before David Reilly restored Louth's lead in the fourth minute of the second period. JP Rooney stretched their advantage and Monaghan were left frustrated when Damien Freeman's effort dropped short. Stanfield struck again for the visitors in the 45th minute, but the next ten minutes belonged entirely to the Monaghan men. However, they failed to make their superiority tell on the scoreboard, thereby letting the team in red off the hook. Damien Freeman reduced the deficit to two points from a 49th-minute free but Monaghan wasted some very presentable opportunities to draw level before Martin Farrelly popped up to again stretch Louth's lead. Quickfire points from Thomas Freeman and Eoin Lennon brought Monaghan within a single point again with twelve minutes left to play. But Monaghan were not to score again (though Raymond Ronaghan hit the post), while Louth finished with a flurry of scores, adding a goal and two points in the last eleven minutes plus stoppage time. And that was the story of Monaghan's season . . . successive championship defeats to neighbouring counties, both suffered on home territory in Clones. They could have won either match, but lacked that little something extra required to seize victory from the jaws of defeat. (Luck?) While both results disappointed, the Ulster championship reversal hurt most. Monaghan's 2002 Ulster SFC team (V Fermanagh): Sean Duffy (Magheracloone); Padraig McKenna (Eire Og), Dermot McDermott (Drumhowan), Colm Flanagan (Kilmacud Crokes); Gary McQuaid (Tyholland), Anthony Rooney (Clontibret), Dick Clerkin (Currin); Jason Hughes (Castleblayney), Eoin Lennon (Latton); John Paul Mone (Clontibret, 0-3), Rory Woods (Donaghmoyne, 1-0), James McElroy (Drumhowan, 0-1); Damien Freeman (Magheracloone, 0-4), Raymond Ronaghan (Tyholland), Thomas Freeman (Magheracloone, 1-3). Subs used: Hugh Malone, Dermot McArdle, Fergal Mone, Rory Treanor, Nicholas Corrigan. Tweet

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