Ulster SFC Quarter-final: Down 1-12 Monaghan 0-13 Former Meath hero Colm Coyle suffered the anguish of football management at Casement Park yesterday as Down benefited from his team's shortcomings. Coyle, sampling the job in his first season with Monaghan, must have asked himself last night how his former Meath boss, Seán Boylan, has stuck it for 21 seasons.
Despair was Coyle's constant companion in the second half as he watched his charges fail dismally in the scoring zone. It wasn't a case of Monaghan kicking an inordinate amount of wides. They had seven in the second half, only one more than Down, but their attempts to round off precise passing movements were pathetic.
Coyle told the opposing Down players afterwards: "You won a great battle out there today. I always knew that Ulster championship football is tough and very competitive and I am still learning how tough it is." He humorously added: "We are still in the All-Ireland race and maybe we can still ambush ye later on."
And the point was not lost on Coyle's opposite number Paddy O'Rourke: "They missed some bad ones alright but that is the luck in football. We took our chances, they didn't and that was the big difference between the sides today.
O'Rourke admitted: "Of course James (McCartan) steadied the ship when he came on".
McCartan's contribution was badly needed by Down despite the authoritative play of Gregory McCartan in midfield.
James McCartan entered the fray as a replacement for Dan Gordon in the last quarter with Down grimly holding on to a one-point advantage. McCartan was only on the pitch for less than a minute when he set up corner forward Ronan Murtagh with a deft pass from which Murtagh pointed.
In less than a minute McCartan was on the mark to stretch Down's lead to a valuable three points with only a few minutes remaining.
In arrears by two points at the interval, 0-7 to 0-9, Down came out with all guns blazing for the second half. Within a few minutes they had gobbled up their deficit like a shredder in overdrive and hit the front with great composure.
The second half was only less than two minutes in progress when Murtagh found Michael Walsh with a neat pass and the Mayobridge man had the easiest of tasks to shoot home.
Less than a minute later John Lavery took on an attacking role from his wing-back position to score his second point after being placed by Brendan Coulter. And by the time the half was six minutes in progress Gregory McCartan had pointed a long distance free. Monaghan were devastated by this development but to their credit never gave up the battle.
Both managers look forward to their immediate tasks, Down against Fermanagh in the Ulster semi-final, and Monaghan against Westmeath in the qualifiers.
The Freeman brothers, Thomas and Damien, turned in tremendous flashes of attacking power but their solo runs that caused Down's great stress usually came to nothing because of a lack of penetration.
Monaghan were seen at their worst from midway in the second half when even Paul Finlay was seen to kick good chances away.
Finlay was an inspirational figure throughout the first half with his kicking from placed balls. He finished with a personal tally of seven points, five of which were from frees.
Monaghan's inability to improve on the scoreboard was most notable from the ninth minute to the 21st of the second half and fittingly it was Finlay who broke the deadlock with a pointed free.
But by this time Monaghan should have been in front instead of trailing by one point. Apart from not getting a penalty award when Finlay was pulled down in the first half when in a scoring position, Monaghan's inability to erase arrears became more crucial by the minute.
A big cheer from Down supporters in the 21,948 crowd went up when James McCartan made his appearance and he justified his inclusion.
Down, a team largely of new faces, can improve for the Fermanagh challenge according to the experienced Brian Burns who said: "The young fellas give great impetus to the side and we are bound to mould into a more formidable unit than the one you saw today."
Coyle deployed his forces well with Anthony Rooney coming in as a late call-up in defence. It was typical of Monaghan's outfield adventure when he charged through from the wing-back position, covering 70 yards, to kick a magnificent first-half point.
Damien Freeman and Michael Slowey were allowed to run the pitch and they did it in style except when it came to matching their flair with scoring points. Ultimately Gregory McCartan, despite a useful display by Monaghan's Jason Hughes, emerged as the most influential figure.
DOWN: M McVeigh; J Clarke, B Burns, B Grant; J Lavery (0-2), A Malloy, M Cole; S Ward, G McCartan (0-3, one free, one 45); L Doyle (0-4, three frees), B Coulter, C McCrickard (0-1); M Walsh (1-0), D Gordon, R Murtagh (0-1). Subs: R Sexton for McCrickard (56 mins), J McCartan (0-1) for Gordon (58 mins).
MONAGHAN: G Murphy; A Rooney (0-1), D McKenna, P McKenna; D Duffy, J Coyle, JP Mone; E Lennon, J Hughes (0-1); N Corrigan, T Freeman (0-1), P Finlay (0-7, five frees); M Slowey (0-1), R Ronaghan (0-1), D Freeman. Subs: K Tavey for Corrigan (48 mins), R Woods (0-1) for Slowey (64 mins), D McDermott for Hughes (71 mins).
Referee: E Murtagh (Longford).
