Rock bottom
December 10, 2001
A year best forgotten with the county taking only one point from their entire national hurling league programme of eight matches and that against lowly Leitrim who came within an ace of registering their first ever win over Monaghan in the competition and a year too that saw Cavan end a lengthy barren spell against them as well, two results that summed up the slump that Monaghan hurling experienced in 2001, writes John Graham.
Add to that the fact that the county had to suffer the ignominy of having to concede its game in the Ulster U21 hurling championship and it gives some idea of the fall off in the state of health of the ancient game
The writing had been on the wall the previous year and the warning signs were there, morale had been slipping, turnouts at training had been less than consistent except in the paucity of numbers and Monaghan were forced to field teams that often included players who had not been holding down a regular club place. The final game against Mayo summed up the whole sorry episode, a makeshift team suffering a heavy defeat and a result that put Monaghan bottom of the pile, occupying the basement in the bottom tier of the league.
No one thought it was going to be easy, the team that had taken unprecedented honours in 1997 had broken up with retirements, transfers and injuries leaving only a few of those players still active but even with that the overall picture should not have been as bleak as it turned out to be. It was a season too that was interrupted by the dreaded foot and mouth disease with the game against Tyrone not played at all although they again proved a bogey team in the championship despite one of the most spirited performances by Monaghan during the year, a year that got under way with a trip to Carrick-on Shannon on Sunday February 4th. Monaghan and Leitrim had finished all square in Scotstown a year previous with Monaghan snatching a draw almost on the stroke of time and it required a similar finish on Sunday February 4th with three points in the final ten minutes giving Monaghan a share of the spoils and a reasonable start to the league, but in hindsight it was a warning that Monaghan failed to take sufficient notice of.
Monaghan came away pleased enough but they should have been further ahead at the break and then made life difficult for themselves but manager Tom Walsh still felt that the team "showed great heart and battled to the end in very difficult circumstances."
Monaghan, showing nine changes from the team that had drawn with Leitrim a year previous started off very well and created a number of early chances and after David Bolger got a stick to a high centre from Tom Ryan to deflect it to the net two minutes later it looked as if Monaghan were on their way and they went on to lead at half time by 1-2 to 1-0.
The early minutes of the second half saw Monaghan again create a couple of good chances but Leitrim hit a purple patch in the third quarter to hit four points without reply and go in front for the first time. When they extended their lead to three points in the 17th minute they seemed to be on their way to a first national league victory over Monaghan but they fought back for a share of the spoils. Fermanagh provided the opposition in their second game a week later and they totally deserved their victory against a very disappointing Monaghan in a scrappy and at times untidy game at Scotstown and but for their wayward shooting they might well have won by a greater margin.
Fermanagh carried the game to the home side from the start and were never headed with the best Monaghan could achieve was to be on level terms twice in the opening fifteen minutes. Thereafter Fermanagh took increasing control to lead by four points at half time, 1-6 to 0-5 and while Monaghan started the second half brightly with two points Mark Kelly and Robbie Healy it proved to be a false dawn as Fermanagh responded with five unanswered points and Monaghan suffered a further blow with the loss of influential midfielder James Gallagher through injury, one of a few bad knocks the same player suffered this season and a late goal by Barry Reilly only put a little more respectability on the final scoreline.
The gloom was temporarily lifted in their next game against Longford when, despite being forced to make a number of adjustments due to injuries and absenteeism Monaghan gave a very creditable performance and could indeed count themselves a little unlucky not to have taken something out of this battling performance in Longford.
Ultimately it was Monaghan's lack of scoring power that cost them in the end as they more than matched the home side in outfield endeavour and even lady luck seemed to have deserted them on the day but team manager Tom Walsh expressed himself well satisfied with the performance and it was only in injury time that Longford wrapped it up with a goal and a point but results elsewhere meant fire fighting from there on.
Donegal were next taking over completely in the second half of the game in Monaghan and but for a sterling display by goalkeeper Michael McHugh and some excellent defending by Aidan Marshall, Niall Traynor and Paul Murphy the margin might have been greater.
In the first half Donegal just about shaded the issue to lead at half time by 0-7 to 0-5 and set the scene for what looked like a close second half but that wasn't how it worked out as Donegal took over almost completely and in an increasingly one way game they hit 1-9 without reply to lead by fourteen points by the 25th minute with Monaghan in complete disarray.
Sligo had always proved difficult opposition and so it turned out again this year as they maintained their push for a playoff spot with a comfortable victory over Monaghan in Scotstown although to be fair their margin of victory flattered a little as they were outplayed for most of the second half and had Monaghan been able to hit the target it could well have been alot closer.
Monaghan's cause wasn't helped either by the loss of James Gallagher with another head injury this one seeing him removed to hospital and his strength in the middle was sadly missed in the second half.
Sligo led at half time by 3-6 to 0-1 but any thoughts they might have had of an easy passage in the second half were quickly banished as Monaghan struck for three early points from Barry Reilly (2) and David Connolly but Monaghan could not hit the target often enough despite enjoying territorial advantage and it took a late goal by Tom Ryan to put some semblance of respectability on the scoreboard.
That defeat was bad enough but worse was to follow when hurling in Monaghan suffered one of its worst blows on Sunday April 29th with defeat by Cavan, the first time in almost 50 years that Monaghan lost out to their neighbours the last being the Junior championship of 1966.
Team manager Tom Walsh was obviously a very disappointed man, a former mentor with Cavan the defeat hit him very hard but it was with the lack of interest by his own players that he was most down hearted. Monaghan fielded what was in effect a makeshift team but they really only had themselves to blame as they missed numerous scoring chances in the earlier part of the game and then let heads go down once Cavan responded in the second half leaving them with a pointless game against Mayo to finish.
And a pointless game it turned out with a makeshift Monaghan having no answer to a rampant Mayo who romped to a sixteen points victory in a very one sided game in Scotstown and consigned Monaghan to the wooden spoon, finishing bottom of the pile with just one point out of eight matches.
And so to the championship and Monaghan's last hope of salvaging anything from a disastrous season, but when you're down you're down and there was no salvation with a depleted Monaghan proving no match for a rampant Tyrone in a very one-sided game in Clones.
Mickey McHugh and centre back Paul Murphy had examination commitments in Maynooth and had asked to be excused but others who had made themselves unavailable did not have similarly understandable excuses or explanations.
However the rearranged lineout came up with a notable feature in that Castleblayney veteran and county team selector Michael Byrne lined out in goals while his son Tom lined out in front of him at corner back, making for a very nice family occasion even if the result didn't match. Veteran Noel McGuigan made a comeback to the county colours, lining out at corner forward, making for his 25th year wearing the county jersey in hurling since he first lined out in 1976, a fact alluded to by team manager, Tom Walsh when he addressed the players in a no holds barred post match analysis during which he also paid tribute to Mickey Byrne for his contribution.
Lack of commitment by too many players and no pride in the county jersey were two reasons outlined by the manager and he went on to say that Monaghan got out of the game what they had put in and the poor turnout at training during the season was ruthlessly exposed by a superior to Tyrone side who controlled the game from start to finish.
Faster to the ball, slicker in the execution of moves and a much speedier hand, eye, stick coordination saw Tyrone establish themselves from the early stages and from quite early in the game it turned into more of a damage limitation exercise by Monaghan that anything else. Tyrone dominated all through, they led by 1-9 to 1-2 at half time and had the result wound up long before the end with Monaghan unable to register any score at all in the second half.
In the second half it was mostly all downhill for Monaghan and but for some strong defending by Aidan Marshall, Tom Ryan, David Connolly and Tom Byrne as well as a couple of timely touches form Mickey Byrne in goals Tyrone could have won by an even greater margin.
An obviously bitterly disappointed Tom Walsh summed it up when he said that he felt "sorry for the lads who had put it in all year and had turned up at training but there is no excuse for the lack of pride that has been evident this year." Final score Tyrone 3-19, Monaghan 1-2.
TEAM AND SCORERS V TYRONE: Michael Byrne, Tom Byrne, Aidan Marshall, Tom Ryan, John McConnell, David Connolly, Niall Traynor, James Gallagher, Martin Hanratty, Pat Walsh 0-1, P. J. Ahearne, Paul Callan, Paul Ward, Paraic McKenna 1-0, Noel McGuigan 0-1. Subs: David Bolger for N. Traynor, John McAnespie for N. McGuigan, Gabriel McQuillan for D. Bolger, Gerry Murphy for P. Walsh, Philip Mone for J. McConnell.
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