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12th August 2018
06:23pm BST

On Saturday, despite some errand kicks from placed balls, your heart went out to Shane Walsh. The Galway forward had hit some dazzling scores and stood up to the Dubs but walked off with a team well beaten.
Less than 24 hours later and it was even worse for Wylie.
Conor McCarthy and Conor McManus had played well, Vinny Corey was at his tenacious best and Rory Beggan had another fine game but Wylie was Monaghan's star man.
He was an absolute rock for the Farney and another unfortunate to be in his sphere of influence got very little change. Conor McAliskey, Niall Sludden and Richie Donnelly all felt his presence and lost duels to the Ballybay clubman.
Driven on by the likes of Wylie and McManus, Monaghan went from three points down to leading the match 0-12 to 0-11 but a scampering Peter Harte run opened them up and a breaking ball was slammed home, soccer style, by Niall Sludden.
If Sludden's goal renewed Tyrone's belief, Harte's two late points drained Monaghan's.
Malachy O'Rourke, post-match, made a great point about the paltry three minutes of added time being allotted but the men out on the pitch could only work with what they had. Monaghan looked dead and buried but they fashioned three scoring chances in those final three minutes.
They took two of them - Kieran Hughes with a point and Wylie charging forward to point from an acute angle - but missed the third when a far advanced Beggan pulled the trigger but got under his attempt at story-book heroics.
There was injury time to the added time and Tyrone crazily kicked for a score, and missed, when retaining possession seemed the logical move(s).
Monaghan's players put one tired, ragged leg in front of the other and heaved up-field but the whistle blew and they were beaten men.
As Tyrone celebrated their return to the All-Ireland final - their first since 2008 - the players in blue slumped, crumpled or consoled. The RTE cameras cut to Wylie as he sat on the turf and asked himself was their more he or his team could have done.
The answer to the first is definitely but Wylie had given his all for the cause and had defeat smack him in the gut.
It happens. It hurts but it happens. Sport is like that sometimes.
And it will mean little to him now, or for the next few days, but his performance was rightly lauded by knowing GAA fans, and players, across the country, no matter their allegiance.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_GAA/status/1028674579710001152
https://twitter.com/connaire14/status/1028675569112756224
https://twitter.com/glenarchbold/status/1028682881672073216
https://twitter.com/fergaljburke/status/1028673788643368961
https://twitter.com/Murtough91/status/1028674389934522375
Monaghan seem to be forever punching above their weight but the knock-out blow, this time out, came via a Tyrone team that simply would not be denied.
Monaghan are down and out but they'll be back and Wylie will be with them.Explore more on these topics: