Dublin's run of 13 years in Division One brought to an end in Clones
-
Loading... - Alessia Carta
- 28 Mar 2022
- 372 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Monaghan 3-13 Dublin 1-18
Leave it to the experts. Monaghan, leading global practitioners in avoiding the drop, staged another spell-binding demonstration of final-day escapology. For the second year running they had a free at the very end of a match to stay up.
In the 75th minute, his team level with Dublin, Jack McCarron stepped up to address a 40-metre shot. He had done exactly the same from play to Galway a year ago.
McCarron had already bagged the Man of the Match gong with 2-5, 1-3 from play, but to put the tin hat on it, he lofted over the point and not just any point. This was to preserve Monaghan’s eight-year residency in the top flight of the Allianz Football League and officially terminate Dublin’s 13-year run - although at level pegging they were already gone.
Such was its power that it relegated Kildare as well but the focus will be on Dublin, just recently six-in-a-row All-Ireland champions and now playing next season for even the right to take part in the Sam Maguire.
McCarron had scourged Dublin. Even his points cut deeply - one when he didn’t even bother to call a mark but swung over a point and another when he appeared to move through a force field with no-one able to lay a hand on him.
In a way it was a symbolic finale. Having apparently pulled the match out of the fire with Dean Rock’s injury-time penalty, Dublin managed to bungle a dropping ball and when Andrew Woods stepped in to take advantage, he was fouled.
Sunshine start
It had all started so brightly for Dessie Farrell’s team, as they galloped free in the Clones sunshine and built a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by the seventh minute: Seán Bugler opened the scoring with a mark, and Cormac Costello added a couple, including a mark of his own with Rock punishing a turnover to slot the fourth. Read More...
