Monaghan advance to All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals after nervy win over Meath

All-Ireland SFC Group 4 Round 3: Monaghan 1-17 Meath 1-14

With Monaghan nine points up at the hour mark in Cavan, and Louth on their way to a 14-point defeat elsewhere, Farney fans presumed they’d be staying local next weekend.

A 20-point swing across those two games was required to secure second position in Group 4 for Monaghan but a fast finish from Meath ultimately ruined those plans.

Barry McBennett’s 59th-minute goal for Monaghan, and his 1-2 haul, still propelled Monaghan to a crucial victory but just not to second in the table, which would have been the cherry on top.

Instead, last year’s All-Ireland semi-finalists will have to settle for third and a trip away next weekend.

Mind you, having not won a game beforehand since the defeat of Dublin at Croke Park last January, a win of any sort must have come as a boon for beleaguered supporters.

A thrilling third quarter made it possible as Monaghan, leading by just a point at half-time, outscored Meath by 1-8 to 0-3 before the Tailteann Cup holders finally got it going late on.

Meath then rattled off seven points in a row with subs Ronan Jones and James Conlon making a significant impact but they still fell to a season ending defeat.

Meath manager Colm O’Rourke stated afterwards that he intends to stay on in 2025 as “we have the foundation in place” for improvement with a young group.

As for Monaghan, a draw against Louth and now this win over Meath could just ignite their season.

“On this day in two weeks, there’s going to be just four teams left in the competition,” said Monaghan manager Vinny Corey. “It’s what you do in the next two weeks that counts.”

On the late run of Meath scores that cost Monaghan second position and a home preliminary quarter-final, Corey shrugged.

“We’d be more disappointed in the sense that we should have finished the game better, I just thought the ending could have been a lot more comfortable than it was,” he said. “Big Championship games, knockout Championship games, are usually in neutral venues anyway so we’ll travel anywhere.”

Meath conceded the Monaghan kick-out in the first half with a clear plan to pounce on the break. They pinched a 22nd-minute Cathal Hickey goal this way, following a turnover at midfield, though the Ulster side finished the half well to lead 0-8 to 1-4 at the interval.

Monaghan carried that momentum through to the hour mark, at which point they led 1-16 to 1-7, McBennett rifling their goal following a Micheál Bannigan ball through the centre.

And that should have been pretty much that. Meath had other ideas, however, and reeled off seven points in a row to leave just two in it at one stage late on.

Monaghan: R Beggan; J Irwin (0-1), K Lavelle (0-1), R Wylie; R McAnespie, R O’Toole, C McCarthy (0-2); G Mohan, J Wilson; M Hamill, M Bannigan (0-3, 2f), S O’Hanlon (0-2); A Woods (0-1), J McCarron (0-4, 4f), C McNulty. Subs: B McBennett (0-1) for Wilson 2-6 blood, McBennett (1-1) for Wilson 29-f/t blood, T McPhillips for O’Toole 51, D Garland for McNulty 55, C McManus (0-1, 1f) for McCarron 59, M McCarville for Hamill 67, S Mooney for Woods 71.

Meath: B Hogan (0-1, 45); D Keogan, A O’Neill, R Ryan; C Caulfield, D Campion, S Coffey; C Hickey (1-0), C Gray; S Ryan, C O’Sullivan (0-1), B O’Halloran; J Morris, M Costello (0-4, 3f), E Frayne (0-4, 2f). Subs: R Kinsella for Ryan h/t, C McBride for O’Sullivan h/t, R Jones (0-2) for Gray 49, J Conlon (0-2) for O’Halloran 55, D McGowan for Hickey 62.

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).