Ulster SFC semi-final: Scotstown (Monaghan) 2-20 Newbridge (Derry) 2-20 (aet) – Scotstown win 4-2 on penalties
David McCague struggled to put words on Scotstown’s epic Ulster club SFC semi-final win immediately after the penalty shoot-out triumph over Derry champions Newbridge at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday evening.
“What a game, what drama!” smiled the Scotstown manager. “That sort of drama is unscripted, it’s chaotic. It’s an amazing game that we have.”
A week after their original fixture was blown up at half-time, due to an unplayable pitch in Omagh, the Monaghan and Derry champions were still deadlocked after 80 punishing minutes in Armagh, 2-20 to 2-20.
So it went to penalties and with the rain lashing down and the wind sweeping in sideways, Scotstown held their nerve in the tempest to advance by 4-2.
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Rory Beggan, Jack McCarron, Kieran Hughes and Darren Hughes scored all four of the penalties that Scotstown took while Newbridge could only convert two of theirs. And that was that.
Darren Hughes’s penalty ended up being the winning kick and it was fitting because the veteran former Monaghan player had a brilliant game, one of his very best in the blue jersey.
Goalkeeper Beggan conjured more inspirational moments too, scoring four points and saving Seán Young’s penalty during the shoot-out, providing the platform for Hughes to slot the winner.
Monaghan midfielder Micheál McCarville and Tommy Mallen scored a goal each and 2-5 between them, helping to secure a final fixture with old rivals Kilcoo back in Armagh on Saturday, December 13th.
That will be a tough game for Newbridge to watch because they played their part in an exceptional semi-final, scoring 1-5 without response to turn an eight-point deficit late in normal time into a 2-16 to 2-16 draw.
Derry’s Conor Doherty scored the goal that ignited that late comeback while captain Conor McAteer hit the equaliser, forcing extra-time at 2-16 apiece.
McAteer later fisted over the leveller at the end of extra-time to tie it up at 2-20 to 2-20, necessitating penalties.
“For club players to serve up that fare on the edge of December, in those conditions, it was just phenomenal, from both teams,” said McCague. “The bravery, some of the skills, and the amazing commitment that was made throughout the game for 80-odd minutes, it was just phenomenal.”
Athy had a far smoother passage to the Leinster club final, overcoming Portarlington by 0-19 to 0-11 in Newbridge on Saturday afternoon.
A storming first-half performance proved much more than half the battle for Athy, who led by 0-15 to 0-2 at the interval.
Captain and Kildare player David Hyland registered two two-pointers in that half while Niall Kelly, who hit 10 points overall, struck their other two-pointer.
Portarlington briefly built a head of steam in the third quarter with back-to-back two-pointers from Colm Murphy but never truly looked like going one better than their 2021 and 2022 semi-final losses.
The only downside for Athy was the injuries sustained by key players James McGrath (hamstring), the Tailteann Cup All Star, and teenage full forward Colm Moran (quad).
“With the quick turnaround, we might be pushing it on both but we’ll see how they are,” said joint manager Ross Bell, eyeing next Saturday’s provincial final against Ballyboden St Enda’s at Croke Park.
