Monaghan's indiscipline costs them against Tyrone

NFL Div 1: Tyrone 2-15 Monaghan 0-13

Tyrone's Joe Oguz in action against Killian Lavelle of Monaghan during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match at St Tiernach's Park in Clones. Photo: Sportsfile

Conor McKeon Twitter Email

March 19 2023 04:32 PM

Monaghan's grasp on Division 1 football is slipping away.

A home defeat to Tyrone today in Clones means they’ll have to beat Mayo in Castlebar next weekend and hope Tyrone’s form holds when they host Armagh at the same time on the same afternoon.

In a scrappy, cagey game today, Monaghan’s discipline was their undoing.

They went down to 14 men a minute into the second half, when Jack McCarron walked for a second card – a black to follow the yellow he picked up a minute before half-time.

Ten minutes later they were further reduced.

Killian Lavelle chopped Conor Meyler down off the ball and Joe McQuillan raised a straight red.

In what was already a numbers game, a match where both teams defended with all their might and all their men, Monaghan’s reduction was fatal.

Tyrone also got the bounce of two well-timed goals in the first half.

The first came from a penalty. Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick wandered in and out from midfield to full-forward all day.

On this occasion, Kennedy was isolated with Francie Hughes on the edge of the square. Michael McKernan kicked straight to his team mate and Hughes fouled.

Peter Harte’s penalty was emphatic.

The second goal came from an unlikely source.

After waves of Tyrone runners had had their efforts come to nothing, Cormac Quinn decided to have a go.

Monaghan’s cover had been dragged out a touch too far and Darragh Canavan, the best forward on show, flicked a perfect hand pass over Darren Hughes to allow Quinn a one-on-one with Rory Beggan from which he applied the finish.

That was in the 26th minute and by then, Tyrone’s 2-4 to 0-5 lead seemed like it might stretch into something almost uncatchable.

Three Monaghan points, two from marks, brought them back to just three down at half-time.

If that task seemed manageable, their cause was scuppered when McCarron saw red. On a day when they scored just one point from play, it was rendered impossible when Lavelle walked soon after.

Scorers – Tyrone: P Harte 1-1 (1-0 pen), D McCurry (2f) 0-4, D Canavan 0-3, C Quinn 1-0, C Kilpatrick (1m) 0-2, Kennedy, M Donnelly, R Donnelly, M Morgan (’45), N Devlin 0-1 each. Monaghan: M Bannigan (4f), C McManus (4f) 0-4 each, R Beggan (’45), D Ward (m), S Carey (m), K Gallagher (m), K Duffy 0-1 each.

Tyrone: N Morgan; M McKiernan, P Hampsey, C Quinn; N McCarron, C Meyler, P Harte; B Kennedy, J Oguz; F Burns, D Canavan, K McGeary; D McCurry, C Kilpatrick, M Donnelly. Subs: N Devlin for N McCarron (40), R Canavan for McGeary (55), R Donnelly for Meyler (61), L Rafferty for Oguz (61), M O’Neill for D Canavan (73)

Monaghan: R Beggan; T McPhillips, K Duffy, R O’Toole; K Duffy, D Hughes, J Irwin; K Lavelle, F Hughes; M Bannigan, K Gallagher, C McCarthy; S Jones, S Carey, J McCarron. Subs: S O’Hanlon for Irwin (35 inj), K O’Connell for Jones (40), C McManus for F Hughes (40), D McElearney for Ward (61), A Mulligan for Carey (67)

Ref: J McQuillan (Cavan)