Watty Grahams Glen (Derry) 1-18
Scotstown (Monaghan) 0-12
IT WAS ONE of those days where everything you could hope for from a Glen perspective went well, with everything falling to dust for Scotstown.
The Derry men might be in their first Ulster Club Rodeo, but they have the big beautiful Malachy O’Rourke brain helping them. It was in evidence here by the way they set up against several players he intimately knew from his time managing Monaghan.
If Scotstown know Rory Beggan will pull them out of many holes, O’Rourke ensured he was in for a difficult afternoon by stringing big men right across the middle for his kickouts, and then filling the landing zone with break ball merchants.
It made for a frustrating afternoon for Collie McAree’s men. They had Kieran Hughes dismissed for a straight red card just after half-time, while his brother Darren also saw red just prior to the final whistle. Both men will feel hard done by.
Glen’s ability to get hard-running patterns going at Scotstown was the pattern of their attack, while in defence they flooded the area and made the opposition chisel each score out of granite.
By half time they were 0-11 to 0-6 up, two of those Scotstown scores arriving late in the half.
While they rallied and got the margin back to three points, Glen found a bit of momentum of their own after the second water break disturbed Scotstown’s momentum.
The goal arrived at the death, Danny Tallon stabbing home from close range past an exhausted Rory Beggan, who featured prominently throughout.
Scorers for Glen: D Tallon (1-3, 0-3f), E Bradley (0-3, 2f), P Gunning (0-3, 2f), J Doherty (0-2), C McFaul, C Carville, C Glass, E Mulholland, C Convery, C McGuckian, A Doherty (0-1 each)
Scorers for Scotstown: S Carey (0-4, 2f), D McArdle, K Hughes, C McCarthy (0-2 each), M Maguire (0-1), R Beggan (0-1f)
Glen
C Bradley; M Warnock, R Dougan, C Carville; T Flanagan, C McFaul, E Doherty; C Glass, E Bradley; C McDevitt, J Doherty, C Convery; P Gunning, D Tallon, C McGuckian
Subs: C Mulholland for Convery (51m), A Doherty for Gunning (61m), S O’Hara for J Doherty (63m)
Scotstown
R Beggan; M Meehan, R McKenna, D McArdle; J McDevitt, R O’Toole, P Sherlock; M McCarville, K Hughes; F Maguire, C McCarthy, M Maguire; S Carey, D Hughes, D Morgan
Subs: G McPhillips for McCarville (25m), J Carey for F Maguire (40m), S Mahon for McKenna (47m), J Hamill for McDevitt (52m)
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)
