Rory Beggan’s commitment to the art of frees cannot be overstated.
Just look at Monaghan’s 1-18 to 1-16 win over Tyrone on Sunday if you want to know what Rory Beggan can do with a placed ball. The Monaghan goalkeeper fired over four of them against the Red Hands. Everyone was raving about Conor McManus’ performance, but Beggan’s two free kicks and two 45s also played a pivotal role in the victory.
Following the performance, Pat Spillane made a bold statement about Beggan on the Sunday Game. He reckons the Monaghan man has overtaken Stephen Cluxton to become the best goalkeeper in the country. He cited his command of the square, his patience, his role as a sweeper, his passing ability and, of course, his free kicks as the evidence to back up this claim.
“Where he stood out today was in his free-taking. He kicked over two 45s and two frees from long distance. It’s like a wonderful golfer. This is technique, this is just stroking. He was absolutely superb.”
Unsurprisingly, Beggan had to work to earn such praise. To get that polished at free-taking, especially from the distances he was hitting them from, there’s no way of avoiding the repetitive work on the training ground. However, the simple senior sessions weren’t enough for Beggan this week.
According to Queen’s University recruitment manager Anthony McGrath, Beggan managed to blag his way into some extra free taking practice with the minors. He pretended to be in their backroom team to get some extra prep work done.
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Up next for Monaghan is Fermanagh on June 3. To the victor of that match will go the spoils of an Ulster final.
