Monaghan hanging on by a thread

By Shaun Casey

SHOULD things work out in Monaghan’s favour, they may just cling onto their Division One status, as unlikely as that sounds. The Farney men have pulled off plenty of Houdini acts in the past, so if any county can pull it off, Monaghan can as they prepare for Sunday’s clash with Galway in Inniskeen.

Remember their 2021 heroics? When Jack McCarron’s late score at Clones saved Monaghan’s bacon and sent Galway tumbling from the top tier. Similar escapes were achieved in 2022 and 2023.

So, how can they do it this time around? Calculators at the ready. They need to beat Galway and Donegal, hope the Tribesmen and Armagh don’t pick up any more points, and Dublin earn at least one more point in the last two remaining games.

That’ll leave Armagh below Gabrial Bannigan’s team. Monaghan will be level on four points with Galway (but in front on head-to-head) and Dublin on five. If Dublin also finished on four, along with Monaghan and Galway, the score difference will dictate things.

The form guide would suggest it’s a tall order for Monaghan to achieve that. They face into round six at the bottom of the table, with zero points on the board. A league final spot is out of Galway’s grasp, but they still have plenty to play for.

Pádraic Joyce’s men aren’t safe from the drop themselves just yet, but a win at Inniskeen on Sunday would be a major leap in the right direction, although they’ve only picked up two points from their last three outings.

For Galway, it’s been draws against Kerry and Donegal either side of a defeat to Connacht rivals Roscommon in recent weeks, and newbies like Oisin McDonagh and Ciaran Mulhearn have really impressed.

They have welcomed 2024 Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy back into their ranks and can still rely on star names such as Seán Kelly, John Maher, Robert Finnerty and Matthew Tierney, even though Shane Walsh and Damian Comer are still sidelined.

Jack McCarron has saw game time in Monaghan’s last two matches, against Mayo and Kerry, but both have ended in fairly hefty hammerings, while Rory Beggan also returned in Killarney having missed the Mayo match.

All in all, it’s hard to be positive for Monaghan at the minute when things are at such a low ebb and perhaps Bannigan’s side have already shifted focus towards the championship, but they’ll still be eager to give a good account of themselves on Sunday, especially at home.