Donegal 1-20 Monaghan 4-11
Conor McCarthy scored a first-half hat-trick for Monaghan, at Ballybofey, but cut a frustrated figure in his post-match interview. Joe Brolly was paying close attention.
Monaghan looked, for all money, to have Donegal beaten when they led by nine points at one point in the second half. Declan Bonner's men rallied, though, and salvaged a draw.
The opening half was all about McCarthy as he showed class and composure to bag three goals at Páirc Sean Mac Cumhaill. His first was very tidy indeed:
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/1396140333575065608
Donegal were kept ticking over with points but a goal by sub Conor McManus in the second half should have been enough to see the Farney home.
Patrick McBrearty was the chief architect of Donegal's comeback and they even overcame Daire Ó Baoill's sending off and clawed back the deficit. McBrearty levelled the game, late on, and it was McCarthy left disappointed as his late kick to win it drifted wide.
It was perhaps for that very reason, and thinking of his team rather than his 3-1 tally, that McCarthy was a bit downbeat in his post-match chat with eir Sport. For Joe Brolly, though, he expected a bit more life from the Monaghan man. Brolly declared:
"You would think Monaghan got beat! What's wrong with young fellas nowadays?
"He scored a brilliant hat-trick and [it's like], 'Oh, I'm going home to see my psychiatrist. I need some counselling after that. It was very disappointing, you know. Really, it was disappointing'.
"What is wrong with people? I can tell you, if I scored a hat-trick in a league game, I'd have been absolutely bouncing - Let's get pints in the Dungiven club. Wasn't I unbelievable? What the hell!
"I mean, it's not every day you do it, and it was a terrific hat-trick. What's wrong with expressing a bit of joy around the game?!"
https://twitter.com/eirSport/status/1396179662775197696
The former Derry forward went on to say McCarthy's downbeat interview was part of 'the board-room-ification of football'.
"We all sound like politicians," he proclaimed. "Everybody is saying the same things."
