Gormley uPVC Senior Football Championship

Scotstown 1-16 Ballybay 1-7                                    21/8/11

Scotstown powered through to the SFC semi-finals with an impressive win over Ballybay in Clontibret on Sunday. Ballybay had lost just twice in 16 games before this one, but they weren’t able to cope with Scotstown’s strength and physicality, especially in midfield, where the absence of the injured Drew Wylie hurt the league leaders. Scotstown successfully targeted Ballybay’s kick-outs while dominating on their own kick-outs, starving Ballybay’s dangerous forwards of possession and restricting them to just 1-2 from play (it took them 46 minutes to score their first point from play).

In contrast, Scotstown scored 1-12 from play – 1-4 of which came from Kieran Hughes, whose return from injury has added a new dimension to their attack. Kieran and Darren Hughes, Paul Grant, James Turley, Donal Morgan and Shane Carey were on song for Scotstown, while Ballybay weren’t able to continue their good form, despite the best efforts of Thomas Kerr and Fergal Smyth.

Scotstown set the tone for what was to follow after as little as 15 seconds when good work by James Turley created a point for Nicholas Corrigan. Darren Hughes doubled Scotstown’s lead from a ’45 and his brother Kieran linked up with Turley to make it three-nil on four minutes. A 20-metre free by Thomas Kerr, after a foul on Christopher McGuinness, got Ballybay on the scoreboard, but Scotstown hit back when Darren and Kieran Hughes combined to set up Turley for a fine point.

Kieran Hughes then punched over the bar from a long ball in by Darren Hughes to open up a four-point gap, but Ballybay got right back into it when Shane McGuinness took a pass from Brian McCabe and drilled to the net. A foul on Shane McGuinness allowed Kerr to equalise from a 30-metre free and although Paul Grant restored Scotstown’s lead after a quick free by Turley, Paul Finlay converted a 25-metre free for a foul on Christopher McGuinness to leave the sides level at the end of the first quarter.

Scotstown hit four unanswered points in the second quarter, the first coming when Kieran Hughes tapped over a 20-metre free for a foul on Darren Hughes, before Shane Carey took a pass from Turley for a good point from play. Carey sent over a free from a tight angle after a foul on Kieran Hughes and Darren Hughes sent over his second well-struck ’45 to make it 0-10 to 1-4 in Scotstown’s favour at half-time.

Ballybay got the first score of the second half when Kerr converted a 30-metre free for a foul on Christopher McGuinness, but Scotstown sub Brian McGinnity made a quick impact with a point after good approach play by Darren Hughes and Carey. Grant added a well-taken point and Scotstown’s goalkeeper Rory Beggan kept his side four ahead when he made a good save to deny Hugh Malone, who had raced through after a pass from Finlay. Kieran Hughes got on the end of a McGinnity cross to add another point – at the end of a move started by a burst out of defence by Mark Duffy – before a strong run by Darren Hughes set up a point for Grant.

Shane McQuillan linked up with McCabe to kick Ballybay’s first point in 15 minutes, but any hopes they had of a comeback were ended when Kieran Hughes somehow won a high ball in from McGinnity and slipped a right-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net for his third goal in two championship games. Grant added a great point from distance after a short free by Darren Hughes and Kieran Hughes put ten points between the teams when he split the posts after being well-placed by Carey. Kerr hit a good point from play for Ballybay late on, but they were well beaten on the day and they will have to lift themselves for their quarter-final against Castleblayney in just under two weeks’ time. Scotstown await the winners of the game between Clontibret and Magheracloone in the semi-finals.

Scotstown: R Beggan; M Duffy, D Morgan, E Beggan; F McPhillips, D Hughes (0-2, ‘45s), D McArdle; F Caulfield (Capt.), J Turley (0-1); P Grant (0-4), D McCague, S Carey (0-2, 1f); O Heaphey, K Hughes (1-5, 0-1f), N Corrigan (0-1).

Subs: B McGinnity (0-1) for Heaphey (H-T), C Caulfield for Corrigan, S Sherry for F Caulfield (both 53), M McDevitt for Grant (57), C Treanor for Carey (59).

Ballybay: S Gorman; M McArdle, T O’Neill, R Wylie; F Smyth, P Stuart, B McCabe; P Finlay (0-2f), S McQuillan (0-1); J Kerr, B Wylie, T Kerr (0-4, 3f); S McGuinness (1-0), H Malone, C McGuinness.

Subs: K McEntee for J Kerr (29), E Rutledge for R Wylie (inj., 32).

Referee: M Conlon (Castleblayney).