Gormley uPVC Senior Football Championship Final

Scotstown 2-16 Clontibret 0-7                                  13/10/13

 

Scotstown won their first SFC title since 1993 with a convincing win over Clontibret in the final at Clones on Sunday. Scotstown were on top practically from start to finish and even though Conor McManus brought his side level by the 15-minute mark, the Blues led from there to the finish, with two second-half goals by Shane Carey putting the result completely beyond doubt. Scotstown, who dominated around midfield, had good performances from Carey, Dónal Morgan, Conor McCarthy, Francis Caulfield and James Turley, while Clontibret were far too reliant on McManus, who was their only scorer.

Scotstown were first out of the blocks with a well-taken point by Dónal Morgan and although Conor McManus replied at the fine score at the end of a move started by a Dessie Mone interception, Morgan linked up with Darren Hughes to double his tally. Shane Carey then tapped over a 20-metre free for a foul on Darren Hughes, before setting up Conor McCarthy to kick a point from play, but McManus took a pass from Colum Greenan and beat a couple of Scotstown defenders to send over a great score with his left foot. The All-Star nominee forward converted a brace of 25-metre frees for fouls on himself and Noel Morgan to bring Clontibret level and they threatened to take the lead for the first time when Vincent Corey set off on one of his trademark runs, only for Mark Duffy to cut out his pass intended for Noel Morgan.

McCarthy regained the lead for Scotstown with a good point from play at the end of an attack led by Kieran Hughes and the county minor also sent over a 25-metre free, following a foul on Carey, who hit his first point from play after Clontibret had narrowly avoided conceding a goal when Nicholas Corrigan dropped a ball in on top of Peter O’Hara. Points by Dónal Morgan and William Carroll – the latter after a short free by Kieran Hughes – moved Scotstown five clear, before Kieran Hughes got forward to take a pass from Morgan and split the posts in style. McManus won and scored a 13-metre free to end 14 scoreless minutes for Clontibret, but they still trailed by double scores at half-time: 0-10 to 0-5.

A point-attempt by Corrigan was flicked over the bar by a combination of Shane Carey and Clontibret keeper Darren McDonnell, who had come on at half-time, before Scotstown sub Brian McGinnity landed a fine score with the outside of his boot. Carey then flicked a Darren Hughes centre to the net to leave Clontibret with a mountain to climb, one that became even steeper when Rory Beggan booted a 55-metre free over the bar after a foul on Darren Hughes. McManus won and scored a 13-metre free at the other end, but it was only a temporary reprieve for Clontibret, who quickly conceded a second goal when McDonnell let a high ball from Corrigan slip out of his hands, allowing Carey to again punch home from point-blank range.

It got even worse for Clontibret in the 14^th minute when John Paul Mone was sent off for striking Dónal Morgan, who went on to kick his fourth point from play, after Carey had tapped over a 20-metre free for a foul on sub Orin Heaphey. Another replacement, Paul Grant, added his name to the scoresheet after taking a pass from Damien McArdle, to open up a 16-point gap, before McManus completed the scoring with another close-range free. An already memorable year for Darren Hughes became even better when he got his hands on the Mick Duffy Cup at the end, while his team-mate Dónal Morgan accepted the Man-of-the-Match award.

 

Scotstown: R Beggan (0-1f); D McArdle, K Hughes, M Duffy; P Keenan, W Carroll (0-1), D Morgan (0-4); F Caulfield, P O’Hara; E Caulfield, D Hughes (Capt.), S Carey (2-4, 0-2f); C McCarthy (0-3, 1f), J Turley, N Corrigan.

Subs: B McGinnity (0-1) for E Caulfield (32 mins), O Heaphey for Corrigan (45), D McCague for F Caulfield (50), F McPhillips for Keenan (52), P Grant (0-1) for Carey (55).

 

Clontibret: A Morgan; M Corey, D Mooney, C Boyle; D Mone, P McGuigan, C Greenan; A Rooney, E Greenan; D Savage, V Corey, B Greenan; N Morgan, C McManus (Capt., 0-7, 5f), M McEniff.

Subs: C Lavelle for Savage (26), D McDonnell for Morgan, JP Mone for McGuigan (inj.) (both H-T), F Mone for B Greenan (33).

 

Referee: M McNally (Corduff).