After a bright start Monaghan were beaten by a hard running Cavan side in the opening round of the Division 2B Lidl League in St Tiernach’s Park, Clones writes Fergal Monaghan.
Monaghan opened much brighter with two frees from Captain Ellen McCarron and they added a third point with an excellent score from play by Laura McEnaney to leave Monaghan three points to the good.
Things got worse for Cavan when Aoibhinn Kiernan received a yellow card for a foot block on Shauna Coyle which meant Cavan were down to 14 players for much of the remainder of the first half.
However it was the Breffini team that responded better to the numerical disadvantage. They rattled off four unanswered points in a six minute period. Their first score came in the 23rd minute courtesy of Aishling Gilsnean free.
Gilsnean added another and two points from Crosserlough’s Lauren McVeety meant Cavan led for the first time in the match on 29 minutes.
Monaghan responded immediately with an Ellen McCarron point from play before Aishling Gilsnean had the last word of the opening half with a point to leave the minimum between the sides at the interval, Cavan leading five points to four.
Cavan picked up the second half where they left off with a point from Lauren McVeety and this was quickly added to by Mullahoran and Collingwood Magpies player Aisling Sheridan to leave three points between the sides.
Castleblaney’s Jodie McQuillan marked an impressive debut with a pointed free for Monaghan. Cavan added a point from the excellent Aishling Gilsnean before Roisin O’Keefe marked her introduction from the bench with a well worked point.
Three points from Monaghan’s scorer in chief Ellen McCarron and another from Cavan’s Lauren McVeety, her fourth point of the day meant Cavan led 10 points to eight at the second water break.
In the 49th minute Geraldine Sheridan got the first of her two goals getting on the end of a Lauren McVeety pass following great approach work from the hard running Cavan midfield as they cut through the heart of the Monaghan defence.
Scotstown corner forward Casey Treanor responded immediately with a well taken point but a Monaghan comeback was not to be. Cavan half-back Sinead Greene who ran at the Monaghan defence throughout the match got her reward when she put the ball past Edel Corrigan in the Monaghan net.
Monaghan’s response was immediate, Ellen McCarron got on the end of a broken ball behind the Cavan defence and coolly slotted the ball past Elaine Walsh to leave the score Cavan 2-10 Monaghan 1-9.
However from the resulting kick-out Cavan worked the ball up the field and Geraldine Sheridan got on the end of a Roisin O’Keefe pass to help herself to her second goal of the afternoon. Sinead Greene completed the Cavan scoring with a fisted point.
Emyvale’s Ciara McAnespie came on as a second half substitute and added some much needed energy to the Monaghan attack.
McAnespie added a point before Jane Drury played a long diagonal ball in over the Cavan defence, Ciara McAnespie got on the end of it and without breaking stride finished with a superb goal. This proved to be the final score of the match.
Cavan deservedly took all two points on offer with a well-earned 3-11 to 2-10 victory.
