The best of the best.
Monaghan defeated Tyrone in Omagh on Sunday afternoon and they will now progress to an Ulster semi-final tie with Fermanagh on June 3. And just as the sky is blue, that man Conor McManus played a key role in his county’s victory.
As a ball-winner, there’s no-one better, as a kicker there’s no-one better, as an inside forward there’s no-one better. We’ve been hearing this about Conor McManus for years now.
The Clontibret man with the wand for a left foot and the weapon for a right one has been the best forward in the country for some time.
But not only is the Farney number 13 one of the game’s most skilful ambassadors, he’s also a clutch performer who pulls the big scores and the big plays out of the bag when games are in the melting pot.
With the Ulster quarter final in the melting pot, McManus stepped up to the plate to change the game, notching two crucial points from play down the home stretch to send Monaghan soaring above their bitter rivals.
In an age of physicality and packed defences, he has constantly and beautifully managed to dodge the trenches that players have been trying to drag him into his whole life.
There’s no point in lying, this containment mission does work at times. McManus himself admitted to Colm Parkinson immediately after Sunday’s game to getting frustrated at these approaches, but he’s always just waiting for the chance that he knows is going to come.
“I suppose the game is evolving all the time and teams are trying to keep possession and not get turned over as much. It can be difficult to play in, but things do open up,” he assured SportsJOE’s Colm Parkinson in Omagh.
Things did open up in Tyrone. Colm Cavanagh was forced off through injury at the break, and with the opposition’s first choice sweeper gone, Manzy made Tyrone pay down the stretch.
His 66th minute point off his weaker foot was described by spectators as ‘outrageous,’ a ‘privilege to witness,’ among other superlatives. With true Conor McManus modesty, he brushed aside all the praise that came his way as if to say he’d gotten lucky with it. By this stage, we all know that luck has nothing to do with what Conor McManus does.
“If you close your eyes, some of them are bound to go over,” he said to Wooly.
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And he was delighted with the win.
“Yeah, we knew it was going to be tough coming down here. We wouldn’t have a great record against Tyrone in the Ulster Championship. It was tough, we didn’t play that well in the first half, but we probably got the goal at the right time and it helped us play our way into the game.
“We played too our system, luckily we got a few scores towards the end and we pulled away. These games tend to be like that, you just have to be patient, because things do open up eventually.”
And when they open up, there’s no better man to dart through and make the difference.
