Midfield was key for Farney: Finlay

MONAGHAN legend Paul Finlay believes a powerful performance from their middle eight paved the way for a 0-27 to 2-14 victory against their old rivals Cavan in the first round of the Ulster Championship.

Speaking on Gaelic Lives podcast, the Ballybay man said they utterly bossed the midfield exchanges and from there they were able to make their dominance count on the scoreboard in a reasonably comfortable win over their perennial rivals.

“Our dominance really came from a strong middle-third performance. Credit has to go to Micheál McCarville, Karl Gallagher, and everyone operating in that area – anything in the air, Monaghan seemed to be winning it. Then you had Dessie Ward slowing the pace down when needed. Anything they couldn’t do at speed, they controlled, and Dessie got on a lot of ball.

“They found pockets of space quite easily, and their efficiency in front of goal was very good. Once you get that kind of foothold, you can build momentum. Yes, Cavan came back with a couple of goals, which Monaghan won’t be happy with, but overall, Monaghan built a platform in the middle third and were able to pick off scores quite comfortably.

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“Monaghan also put a big zonal press on the Cavan kick-outs, which worked extremely well. I’m not sure how experienced the Cavan goalkeeper is – he didn’t seem comfortable going short. Compare that to Rory Beggan, who we know all about. He’s been around a long time and is one of the top goalkeepers in Ireland. In fairness to his Cavan counterpart, he was under serious pressure.”

He added: “With the new rules, if you can get a platform around the middle of the field, you build serious momentum. Cavan were forced to build from deep and found themselves too far back, while Monaghan always did enough to keep them at arm’s length.”

Gabriel Bannigan’s side struggled throughout their Division One campaign, failing to win a single game, though a litany of injuries didn’t help their case. Victory over Cavan represents a major boost ahead of their looming semi-final clash with Derry.

Indifferent form

“Going into the game, we were a little unsure of how it was going to go. We didn’t have a good record against Cavan in the last number of attempts, and both teams were carrying fairly indifferent form. Monaghan had a really tough campaign in Division One, with seven defeats and well-documented injuries.

“So there was a bit of uncertainty about what we were going to get, but from a Monaghan point of view, the performance was really good. Kicking 27 points is no mean feat on an Ulster Championship day. I was delighted to be there to witness such a strong performance. It’s great for the supporters to finally get a win this season, and Monaghan will be very happy with their day’s work.

“For me, it was quite surreal to be there at the start of the game. You expect a frantic, high-intensity local derby with very little time on the ball, but Monaghan just controlled the game from very early on. They got a foothold, went 5-0 up, then 9-1 at one stage, and dictated the terms throughout.

“From Dermot McCabe’s perspective, it was far from ideal. Listening to his post-match interview, Gerard Smith pulled up in the warm-up, Jason McLoughlin picked up an injury on Friday night, which isn’t not what you want heading into a local derby. Then Dara McVeety getting injured during the game was another blow.”