Monaghan’s smash and grab sent Tyrone crashing out of the Ulster SFC at Healy Park as Ryan O’Toole fired home a sensational winning goal deep into stoppage time.
An epic contest looked like it was heading for extra-time when Darren McCurry gave the Red Hands the lead, but O’Toole arrive on the shoulder of Kieran Duffy, when a fisted point to tie the game looked the sensible option.
The Red Hands started brightly with neat scores from Darren McCurry and Darragh Canavan, who edged his side into a two points lead after wing back Ryan O’Toole had nailed the Farney opener.
Mattie Donnelly had just edged Tyrone into a two points lead when they struck for a goal on ten minutes, Canavan arriving at pace to receive McCurry’s lay-off and smash his shot past Rory Beggan.
Goalkeepers Beggan and Niall Morgan, both expert exponents of the kick-out, kept their respective sides on the offensive with hugely effective restarts, with Monaghan getting a couple of scores off Beggan’s accurate distribution off the tee.
One of those was a trademark Conor McManus effort, the veteran attacker sweeping over a gem from close to the sideline McManus hit six of his side’s eight first half scores, the remainder from frees, and was the only Monaghan attacker to score from play before the break.
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Frank Burns, Michael McKernan and Mickey O’Neill closed down the Farney men as they built from deep, and it was the pace of the Red Hands on the break that made the difference, with Conor Meyler pressing forward to pick off a couple of points, and the experienced Mattie Donnelly displaying immense energy to help with the defensive effort and contribute a couple of scores as well.
Tyrone led by 1-10 to 0-7 at the break, but with wind advantage in the second half, Monaghan set about closing out the gap, hitting early scores through full back Kieran Duffy and a Jack McCarron free.
A quickly taken free sent McManus away with a goal chance, but ‘keeper Morgan was quickly off his line to make the save, but the Farney men kept coming, with Micheal Bannigan’s spectacular effort reducing the deficit to two.
It took Tyrone 16 minutes to register their opening score of the second half, Donnelly fisting over his third from Peter Harte’s assist, a much-needed response to Monaghan’s four on the spin.
Tyrone were still clinging on to their slender two points advantage going into the final quarter as Conor McCarthy and Conn Kilpatrick traded points, but a brilliant Stephen O’Hanlon goal gave Monaghan the lead for the first time in the 57th minute as he cut inside to give Morgan no chance with a fiercely struck angled finish.
Shane Carey stretched the advantage to two, but Canavan, with his first score of the second half, brought the sides level with seven minutes to play.
But Monaghan, building from terrific defensive work from Kieran Duffy, Conor Boyle and Karl O’Connell, swept forward again, Conor McCarthy wining the free from which they regained the lead through McManus with five minutes remaining.
But in a pulsating finish, McCurry hit a couple of scores to regain the lead for Tyrone, but in the sixth minute of stoppage time, O’Toole’s spirit of adventure paid off handsomely when he fired home the golden goal.
