Two-pointer becomes gaelic football's game changer

Conor McCarthy's 38th-minute two-pointer suddenly energised a previously subdued Monaghan support

The two-pointer has become the game changer in gaelic football.

Daniel Guinness' shot from outside the 40-metre arc sparked Down's dramatic late comeback against a shell-shocked Fermanagh on Saturday.

And while Monaghan's second-half revival ultimately fell agonisingly short against Donegal in Sunday's concluding Ulster Football quarter-final, it was those two-pointers which suddenly had Jim McGuinness' previously utterly dominant side not looking so assured at Clones.

Monaghan went for double top on 12 occasions in Sunday's contest - landing five and missing seven.

And it's not just the score itself that's making the difference but the need for defensive readjustment which in turn is creating more space for the inside forwards.

The Farney men's first successful two-pointer by Dessie Ward in the 32nd minute reduced Donegal's advantage to 0-13 to 0-7 and the margin remained six at the interval after both sides added a further point.

But it was Conor McCarthy's 38th-minute two-pointer which energised a previously subdued Monaghan support, as the 2023 All-Star frantically urged the Farney support on the Hill to lift the decibel levels.

"We had serious support today but we felt we'd let them down in the first half," said McCarthy.

"You're searching for something to get them back on side. We did get that momentum. There was my two-pointer and two more [soon] after that and you could feel the crowd getting behind us.

"Listen, it's just disappointing not to win in the end."

The successive two-pointers from substitute Jack McCarron and captain Micheal Bannigan within the space of 60 seconds incredibly cut Donegal's lead to 0-16 to 0-15 as the increasingly vocal home crowd scented a famous victory.

But successive scores from late inclusion Michael Langan, a largely quiet Patrick McBrearty and substitute Jamie Brennan put daylight between the sides again at 0-20 to 0-16.

The Monaghan revival appeared to have been repelled when another Brennan score extended Donegal's advantage to 0-22 to 0-17 with eight minutes of normal time left.

But as Fermanagh folk will attest, even a seven-point lead with that amount of time remaining is far from safe.

Thus we had a frantic conclusion, which for a few moments appeared set to be laced with controversy, as a Ryan McAnespie point, which was a sniff of a goal chance, was followed by Dessie Ward's second two-pointer of the afternoon to leave only two between the sides.

As the clock ticked into the final minute, Monaghan won the subsequent kickout and managed to work the ball to Ward once again but on this occasion he pulled the far-from-easy chance wide of the post.

Much as he might have liked to stall, Shaun Patton knew he had to take the kickout - lest he be blown up for time wasting - and after the ball bounced over the sideline off a Donegal fist, Monaghan's Ryan O'Toole was about to take the line ball when the hooter sounded.

Thinking, Monaghan still had a final play, O'Toole found a team-mate in close proximity near halfway but at that very moment, David Coldrick's final whistle blew, quickly to be followed by protests from some Farney players.

However, the Meath whistler had followed the new rulebook to the letter.

"The rule is that if the ball's out for a sideline and the hooter goes, it's game over," said a rueful McCarthy.

"It seems harsh because the rule's there that if you've a chance of build an attack or score, play should be let on. Maybe that rule needs to be looked but we can have no complaints as we missed chances before that."

But while defeat was ultimately Monaghan's lot on this particular Sunday at St Tiernach's Park, McCarthy recalled regrouping from an emphatic Ulster SFC defeat by Derry two years ago to go all the way to the All-Ireland semi-finals where they gave eventual champions Dublin a tough test.

"We have four or five weeks to get ready for the All-Ireland series.

"In 2023, we were in a similar position after being knocked out in Ulster and went on a run to reach the All-Ireland semi-finals so it's within us to make a run in the All-Ireland series."