Routine stuff for the Farney army.
Waterford’s surprise victory over Wexford and the celebrations that followed made Tom McGlinchey’s side the story of the first round of the qualifiers. A wounded Monaghan animal ensured it was a short story.
They journeyed down to the sunny-south-east with a task at hand and they carried out their duties ruthlessly. Malachy O’Rourke’s men got off to a blistering start and they never once let up, eventually taking this one with 27 points to spare.
A gulf in class separated the sides and that much was evident from the word go in Dungarvan.
Undoubtedly still reeling from their shock Ulster semi-final defeat to Fermanagh a fortnight ago, Monaghan were keen to put that bad experience to bed. They signalled their intentions early on with six unanswered points before the clock had struck 12, hitting the Fraher Field running early on.
Jack McCarron and Conor McCarthy were to the fore for the Ulster men and while the home side did respond with two quickfire points from play, a 21st minute Conor McManus penalty set them back a peg or two.
Waterford to their credit, kept plugging away but there wasn’t much they could do up against Monaghan’s might. Goalkeeper Rory Beggan chipped in with a free as he often does before galloping half back Karl O’Connell raced forward to raise the second green flag of the day.
The contest was all over bar the shouting by then with Monaghan holding a 16 point, 3-11 to 0-4 lead going into the break. DCU student Fintan Kelly was the scorer of their third goal.
They picked up from where they left off after the interval.
Scotstown’s jinky corner forward Conor McCarthy went to town as the gaps opened up in the Waterford defence, Dessie Mone meanwhile, joined the party with a goal shortly after his introduction to the play.
The Déise men can be proud of their efforts though, with their victory over neighbours Wexford last time out giving football a much needed boost in the county. Thomas O’Gorman will be hurting like any of his teammates, but the Nire club man will surely look back on his individual display fondly here.
The Nire club man was tasked with the unenviable job of picking up Ireland’s best forward Conor McManus. The Clontibret man didn’t register a score from play here.
Conor McManus replaced for Monaghan Thomas O'Gorman shadowed him all day long & kept him scoreless from play
— Tomás McCarthy (@tomasmcc) June 23, 2018
A rare off day for him, he’ll stand up later on when Monaghan need him, but the Waterford number two had his measure today.
