VINNIE VINDICATED AS MIGHTY MONAGHAN DEFY THE ODDS

Vinny Corey’s men channelled Rudyard Kipling on Sunday, according to MAITIÚ MONAGHAN, keeping their heads when all doubted them to secure Division 1 survival

There are lines from the poem If by Rudyard Kipling: “If you can keep your head when all about you/ Are losing theirs and blaming it on you”. They came to mind on Sunday, as Conor McManus slotted away the last-minute penalty that put Monaghan 2-16 to 0-16 points ahead in Castlebar. As the news from Omagh filtered in that Armagh were losing, the reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.

Monaghan had once again beaten the odds and avoided relegation. The bookmakers had them at 1/8 to be relegated; they defied those odds. I must admit, I had my worries. After the excruciating loss to Tyrone on the penultimate weekend, it seemed as if the life had petered out of Monaghan’s hunt for survival. All week there was the chatter from our neighbours. Armagh were telling us they were too strong, that they were sure to beat Tyrone. Cavan were talking about their “meteoric rise”, even Louth seemed rejuvenated.

The only people in Monaghan the chatter didn’t infiltrate were the actual team. Even though the clocks went forward on Saturday night, Conor McManus rolled back the years to kick 1-6 against Mayo. The Clontibret man inspired what truly was a vintage Monaghan performance. The forwards pressed and capitalised, and punished Mayo’s mistakes. Having ….