UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, it might seem strange to be talking about a goalkeeper shooting 11 points and propelling his club to a landmark Ulster club SFC triumph.
We’ve come to expect sorcery from Rory Beggan though and the Monaghan magician duly delivered again for Scotstown, powering them to a first provincial title since 1989.
It’s the club’s fifth in total and they certainly won this one the hard way, coming out on top after extra-time for the second game in a row.
Scotstown beat Newbridge in Armagh at the semi-final stage and took out Kilcoo this time at the same venue, gaining revenge for last year’s five-goal mauling at the hands of the Down side.
Former All-Star Conor McCarthy and Beggan split the scoring between them in extra-time as Scotstown outscored Kilcoo by 0-7 to 0-4 in the additional 20 minutes.
It was tough on Kilcoo who’d battled back from eight points down in normal time to force extra-time with a Callum Rogers leveller.
But it’s Scotstown that ultimately advanced to an All-Ireland semi-final against St Brigid’s of Roscommon, the Connacht champions, on January 3 or 4.
Much earlier, Scotstown regretted not making more of the stiff wind when it assisted them in the first-half of normal time.
A 0-6 to 0-1 half-time lead for Scotstown looked good on paper but, in reality, Kilcoo weren’t overly disappointed given the strength of that breeze.
Martin Corey’s Kilcoo were clearly happy to play a patient game, keeping the ball for long spells and apparently waiting until the second-half to do the bulk of their scoring.
And that game plan worked, to a point. They held a Scotstown team bursting with attacking talent to those six first-half points, and only nine scoring chances.
Only two of the Scotstown scores in the first-half came from play, both from Mattie Maguire.
Scotstown’s other scores were two-point frees from Beggan in the ninth and 28th minutes.
Scotstown's Kieran Hughes comes up against Niall Branagan of Kilcoo. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Beggan had a third opportunity to nail a long-range score deep into stoppage time but, unlike his two-pointer at the end of the first-half in last summer’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Donegal, he couldn’t convert.
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It wasn’t until the 21st minute that Kilcoo actually took a shot at the posts and Shealan Johnston dropped it short. A minute later, they registered their first wide.
They finally scored in the 26th minute, a reward for their increased urgency as Eugene Branagan curled one over from the right.
All told, a five-point deficit was more than manageable for Kilcoo – provided they showed the courage to capitalise on the wind after the restart.
But they failed to take anything from five scoring chances in the first eight minutes of the second-half.
Three of those opportunities ended in wides, another was a Jerome Johnston shot at goal that Beggan blocked and Ryan Johnston also dropped a point attempt short.
Meanwhile, Scotstown were loving life, stretching their lead with a converted 45 from Beggan and a well worked Ryan O’Toole point. Then Kieran Hughes sliced a cracking point off the outside off his left foot, from the left of the arc.
Wind or no wind, with a 0-9 to 0-1 lead and 43 minutes on the clock, Scotstown were in the driving seat.
But they couldn’t hold out as Kilcoo somehow took the game to extra-time, remarkably drawing level for the very first time in the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
They reeled off seven points without response between the 43rd and 51st minutes, free-taker Paul Devlin accounting for all but a point in that period.
And when Scotstown reopened a three-point gap thanks to a third long-range free from Beggan on the hour, 0-12 to 0-9, Kilcoo dug deep again.
Their own goalkeeper, Niall Kane, nailed a two-pointer and then, in virtually the last play of the game, Ryan McEvoy worked the ball to Rogers to flick over the equaliser. It was all the more impressive as Shealan Johnston had been black carded at that stage.
Scotstown's Donnchadh Connolly celebrates winning the match with Gavin McPhillips. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Scotstown had the wind for the first half of extra-time and made better use of it this time, outscoring Kilcoo 0-6 to 0-2 in that first period.
Beggan and the rejuvenated McCarthy, injured for most of the club championship, scored a two-pointer each and split that six points between them, leaving Scotstown 0-18 to 0-14 clear.
Again, the question was would it be enough?
It turned out it was – but just about. And Beggan’s 11th point of the game, a relatively routine tap over from a free inside the arc set the seal on a famous win.
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Beggan powers Scotstown to first Ulster title since 1989 after extra-time against Kilcoo
Scotstown (Monaghan) 0-19
Kilcoo (Down) 0-16
After extra-time
UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, it might seem strange to be talking about a goalkeeper shooting 11 points and propelling his club to a landmark Ulster club SFC triumph.
We’ve come to expect sorcery from Rory Beggan though and the Monaghan magician duly delivered again for Scotstown, powering them to a first provincial title since 1989.
It’s the club’s fifth in total and they certainly won this one the hard way, coming out on top after extra-time for the second game in a row.
Scotstown beat Newbridge in Armagh at the semi-final stage and took out Kilcoo this time at the same venue, gaining revenge for last year’s five-goal mauling at the hands of the Down side.
Former All-Star Conor McCarthy and Beggan split the scoring between them in extra-time as Scotstown outscored Kilcoo by 0-7 to 0-4 in the additional 20 minutes.
It was tough on Kilcoo who’d battled back from eight points down in normal time to force extra-time with a Callum Rogers leveller.
But it’s Scotstown that ultimately advanced to an All-Ireland semi-final against St Brigid’s of Roscommon, the Connacht champions, on January 3 or 4.
Much earlier, Scotstown regretted not making more of the stiff wind when it assisted them in the first-half of normal time.
A 0-6 to 0-1 half-time lead for Scotstown looked good on paper but, in reality, Kilcoo weren’t overly disappointed given the strength of that breeze.
Martin Corey’s Kilcoo were clearly happy to play a patient game, keeping the ball for long spells and apparently waiting until the second-half to do the bulk of their scoring.
And that game plan worked, to a point. They held a Scotstown team bursting with attacking talent to those six first-half points, and only nine scoring chances.
Only two of the Scotstown scores in the first-half came from play, both from Mattie Maguire.
Scotstown’s other scores were two-point frees from Beggan in the ninth and 28th minutes.
Beggan had a third opportunity to nail a long-range score deep into stoppage time but, unlike his two-pointer at the end of the first-half in last summer’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Donegal, he couldn’t convert.
It wasn’t until the 21st minute that Kilcoo actually took a shot at the posts and Shealan Johnston dropped it short. A minute later, they registered their first wide.
They finally scored in the 26th minute, a reward for their increased urgency as Eugene Branagan curled one over from the right.
All told, a five-point deficit was more than manageable for Kilcoo – provided they showed the courage to capitalise on the wind after the restart.
But they failed to take anything from five scoring chances in the first eight minutes of the second-half.
Three of those opportunities ended in wides, another was a Jerome Johnston shot at goal that Beggan blocked and Ryan Johnston also dropped a point attempt short.
Meanwhile, Scotstown were loving life, stretching their lead with a converted 45 from Beggan and a well worked Ryan O’Toole point. Then Kieran Hughes sliced a cracking point off the outside off his left foot, from the left of the arc.
Wind or no wind, with a 0-9 to 0-1 lead and 43 minutes on the clock, Scotstown were in the driving seat.
But they couldn’t hold out as Kilcoo somehow took the game to extra-time, remarkably drawing level for the very first time in the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
They reeled off seven points without response between the 43rd and 51st minutes, free-taker Paul Devlin accounting for all but a point in that period.
And when Scotstown reopened a three-point gap thanks to a third long-range free from Beggan on the hour, 0-12 to 0-9, Kilcoo dug deep again.
Their own goalkeeper, Niall Kane, nailed a two-pointer and then, in virtually the last play of the game, Ryan McEvoy worked the ball to Rogers to flick over the equaliser. It was all the more impressive as Shealan Johnston had been black carded at that stage.
Scotstown had the wind for the first half of extra-time and made better use of it this time, outscoring Kilcoo 0-6 to 0-2 in that first period.
Beggan and the rejuvenated McCarthy, injured for most of the club championship, scored a two-pointer each and split that six points between them, leaving Scotstown 0-18 to 0-14 clear.
Again, the question was would it be enough?
It turned out it was – but just about. And Beggan’s 11th point of the game, a relatively routine tap over from a free inside the arc set the seal on a famous win.
Scotstown scorers: Rory Beggan 0-11 (4 2pt frees, 2 ’45, 1 free), Conor McCarthy 0-3 (1 2pt score), Mattie Maguire 0-2, Kieran Hughes 0-2, Ryan O’Toole 0-1.
Kilcoo scorers: Paul Devlin 0-8 (2 2pt frees, 3 frees), Sean Og McCusker 0-3 (1 2pt score), Niall Kane 0-2 (1 2pt free), Eugene Branagan 0-1, Aaron Morgan 0-1, Callum Rogers 0-1.
Scotstown
1. Rory Beggan
5. Donnchadh Connolly, 6. Damien McArdle (captain), 23. Kieran Hughes
19. Ryan O’Toole, 14. Darren Hughes, 4. Darragh Murray
8. Micheal McCarville, 9. Gavin McPhillips
10. Max Maguire, 11. Shane Carey, 26. Nicky Sherlock
15. Jack McCarron, 24. Francis Maguire, 22. Mattie Maguire
Subs
Kilcoo
1. Niall Kane
24. Aaron Branagan, 3. Ryan McEvoy, 4. Niall Branagan
5. Miceal Rooney, 6. Darryl Branagan (captain), 7. Callum Rogers
8. Aaron Morgan, 9. Anthony Morgan
10. Ceilum Doherty, 11. Ryan Johnston, 12. Shealan Johnston
15. Eugene Branagan, 13. Paul Devlin, 14. Jerome Johnston
Subs
Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone).
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GAA Match Report