Nice bright, frosty morning without a puff of wind here in Donegal. A nice day for travelling & we look forward to welcoming the Kerry folk.

Should suit the new look Donegal with a quota of young fellas who reportedly have speed to burn.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 05/02/2017 08:41:29    1951986

Very poor Mayo performance but it's clear monaghan were fitter. No need to press the panic button yet. That said and I agree with my dublin friend....we shouldn't be seeing Andy Moran at this time of year. Younger lads like me Brian Reape should be given a chance.

Aside from that...anyone else frustrated with a team bringing up a keeper to take frees wasting time? I'm not singling out monaghan before ye Juno down my theist because many do it.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11229 - 05/02/2017 09:00:09    1951990

I agree with you 100% about goalkeepers hitting frees, it is a practise that should be banned.

It is a poor state of affairs if a county can't produce an outfield player who can hit a free.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 05/02/2017 10:10:35    1952005

mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 05/02/2017 10:37:10    1952012

Posters What's the problem with keepers taking free kicks ? To start with the score the Monaghan keeper kicked was unbelievable on a February pitch from miles out it was some score and we shouldn't want to see that not in our game also any time wasting is added on at the end so it doesn't matter how long he takes , yeah I agree Muck how can a county not have someone better than the keeper to take frees Jesus , were lucky we have Dean and you's have Murphy but god Monaghan come on goalkeepers taking frees is so 2 thousand and 11.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 05/02/2017 10:51:53    1952018

Any county team that cannot produce a single forward to kick frees should be ashamed of themselves. I include my own county in this. I would love see a ref take a free away from a team who spend 2 mins taking a free by a keeper.
It's an embarrassment that none of the 14 outfield players can't kick a free from 45m.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1105 - 05/02/2017 10:52:18    1952020

We have an excellent free taker in McManus and he takes the vast majority of them. But if Beggan is capable of stroking them over from the 60-65m range, then I don't see why we wouldn't utilise that. He only comes up the odd time for long range ones, so it doesn't really make much difference in the end. Maybe a different story if a keeper is up and down the pitch all day.

patk (Monaghan) - Posts: 936 - 05/02/2017 11:25:40    1952031

I cannot see the amount of time a goal keeper takes for a free is a problem as the time is added on. Time wasting by players near the end of a close match is more of a problem. The goal keeper is the one who kicks most balls off the ground so they are well practiced at that art, although it took a long time for managers to realise that. Maybe if there was more time spent kicking balls in training rather than running around a maze of coloured cones, we may have better free takers.

browncows (Meath) - Posts: 2342 - 05/02/2017 11:45:33    1952032

Agree that frees from 45m in should be within the range of outfield players. And McManus hit the 45s last night for Monaghan as it should be.

What Beggan does is somewhat different, hitting from very long range. He nailed one from bloody 65 metres last night. That adds to the game and was applauded by both sets of supporters to be fair. Did the same 2 years ago into a gale in Kerry, and against roscommon last year. So yeah, keepers running the length of the pitch to kick frees is frustrating. In Beggans case, he only has to go half way.

Eddie the Exile (Monaghan) - Posts: 1057 - 05/02/2017 11:48:18    1952033

Great win on the road for Monaghan one of the best in my time. Yes the discipline was poor from our guys but it was as bad for both particularly Kevin Mc Louglin and Parsons when he came on did all in his power to get Keiran Hughes sent off who has a fiery reputation. Still have to watch the game back to see what O' O'Connell's first yellow card was actually for.
During different parts of the game I couldn't help but thinking we should have been playing the All-Ireland champions last night. The Mayo Goalkeeper was simply outstanding, how he was dropped for the GPA darling is beyond me and is an example of player power at its worst.
Focusing on ourselves, not sure I seen enough to suggest we can take things to the next level but all the things that are good about Monaghan football were on show tonight, particularly in defence the blocking in the game from both teams was great to see.
As for Beegan taking frees he is really only called upon outside the 55 meter range with McManus hitting anything inside that, his point midway through the 2nd half was a crucial score and not something I would like to see leave our game. The mark worked in Monaghans favour tonight crucially in the least 10 minute we were able to relieve pressure with Beegan finding Kieran Hughes on a number of occasions.
It was journey well worth making to a great gaa venue really good atmosphere.
The Cavan game will be a massive test for this group hopefully we can put in back to back performances which we have struggled to do in the past and get another two points on the board.

CurlyFingers (Monaghan) - Posts: 52 - 05/02/2017 12:16:00    1952040

Some very fair points made about keepers taking frees & I think a middle way can be found.

1 Keepers only taking frees from 60m or further.

2 Opposition players allowed To question keeper's relationship with his mother & to kick lumps out of said keeper on his way up & way back.

Just goes to show, with a bit of give & take a reasonable soloution can be found to most problems. Americans & Nordies take note!!

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 05/02/2017 12:21:10    1952043

The Mayo lads didn't complain last year when Robbie Hennelly came up and nailed two late frees against Monaghan last year. Not many players outfield or goalkeeper can do what Beggan done last night. The frustrating thing is Monaghan missed 3 easy freed on the right hand side.

shaggylegend (Monaghan) - Posts: 1928 - 05/02/2017 12:22:08    1952044

Ive no problem with Keepers coming up to hit long range frees, espeiallg Beggan hes got some boot on him, great strike last night..and the ref did add on 5 mins at the end but my problem with refs is they dont add on time to the extra time, thats the most frustrating part when a team clearly wastes a minute or 2 in extra time and ref no matter what blows full time

tommy132 (Mayo) - Posts: 601 - 05/02/2017 12:58:20    1952049

Disappointing start to the year from a Mayo point of view but I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. It was clear to see Monaghan had a bit more work done fitness wise. They were the better team when on the attack too, so deserved to win. Considering we were missing two all star defenders and it was the first proper run out for some of our main players this year it wasn't that bad of a performance.

That said ,

Trooper_Thorn (Mayo) - Posts: 19 - 05/02/2017 13:02:42    1952051

Disappointing start to the year from a Mayo point of view but I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. It was clear to see Monaghan had a bit more work done fitness wise. They were the better team when on the attack too, so deserved to win. Considering we were missing two all star defenders and it was the first proper run out for some of our main players this year it wasn't that bad of a performance.

That said, our forwards were poor (again) and would be a concern going forward. We really struggled and looked clueless when trying to break through Monaghan's defence. It was only when they lost their shape before halftime that we had any joy.

On a side note, just after seeing the Dublin team for today. Looks like they're not going to ease off anytime soon!

Trooper_Thorn (Mayo) - Posts: 19 - 05/02/2017 13:14:38    1952052

Happygilmor (USA) - Posts: 3 - 05/02/2017 13:31:15    1952061

How did David Moran not get a black card for the Donegal penalty? He knocked Mcbrearty to the ground when he was about to score a goal!

Farney (Monaghan) - Posts: 801 - 05/02/2017 16:32:27    1952116

How did David Moran not get a black card for the Donegal penalty? He knocked Mcbrearty to the ground when he was about to score a goal!

Farney (Monaghan) - Posts: 801 - 05/02/2017 16:33:06    1952118

Good to see a lot of the big players out so early even though I expected us to field a much more experimental side. If we were sharp it could have been a cricket score but good to blow the cobwebs off.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8589 - 05/02/2017 17:00:15    1952146

Beggan's free kick was unbelievable, but McManus did hit a 45 off the ground too, Good to get the W anyhow and get off to a positive start, Was well worth the drive and McManus's point at the end was great, Hopefully get a better view of it tonight
McHale Park is a great stadium and Mayo fans are a great bunch,

MonaghanGlory (Monaghan) - Posts: 738 - 05/02/2017 18:38:06    1952238