Mooney hails Monaghan’s composure

By Shaun Casey

CONTROL was the key word in Clones on Saturday as Monaghan showed serious patience and composure in the second period to knock Roscommon out of the championship.

Of their 24 shots in the first half, the Farney men marched into the half time break with 1-9 on the board and led by six-points, facing into a stiff breeze in the second period.

But their game management after the turnaround was super. Monaghan held the ball for long periods, draining the travelling side, poking and probing until the correct avenue opened up.

If their conversion rate let them down in the first half, they sorted that problem during the interval and kept the scoreboard ticking over in the second half.

Stephen Mooney fired home a first half goal, delivering back-to-back majors having also hit the net against Mayo the last day out. He felt that most of their shots were on during the first 35 minutes, but the execution was off.

“It was a good win and there was a strong wind going down the field so I thought we probably weren’t ahead by enough at half time but we just held the ball and saw it out,” said the Cremartin clubman after the game.

“There probably was a wee bit (of pressure) with the new rules and the two-pointers but I think overall the shots were on, but it was our execution.

“Our shots went left or right of the posts and we had a couple that dropped short which is never good but they were all on, they just didn’t come off.”

Monaghan knew the game plan they have to plot for the second half and when they returned from their half time interval, Gabriel Bannigan’s men played it to a tee.

“At half time we said we were going to have to keep the ball and keep our depth and get our 1v1s on the top of the arc. We kept the ball and thankfully the scores in the second half went over when they weren’t in the first half.”

In the last three championship games, against Derry, Armagh and Mayo, Monaghan have had to drag themselves back from the dead to be in contention. Saturday was different as they led for most of the game.

“That was a big target coming into it, was to start well, I thought we did that,” Mooney continued. “We didn’t find ourselves in a big deficit and that was the main goal coming into it, not to be chasing a lead in the second half.”

It’ll be back in Clones next weekend for Monaghan in another do or die championship battle. They host Mark McHugh’s Westmeath in Round Three of the All-Ireland series, with a spot in the quarter-final on the line.