By Peter McGrath jnr
Kilcoo came up just short in their quest for a third Ulster Club title as Scotstown prevailed after extra time. It turned out to be a thrilling finale, as, like they had in normal time, Kilcoo sought vital scores with the wind at their backs. But, in the final reckoning, the Monaghan champions did just enough.
It was a game that could have played out a lot differently. Both tosses, pre-game and for extra time, were won by Kilcoo. Both times they chose to play against the wind. In the first half of normal time, the Magpies did their best to stifle Scotstown by retaining the ball. While mistakes, understandably, were made given the conditions, their attempt to limit how much football was played in the first half was, by and large, successful.
Kilcoo’s only point of that opening half came from Eugene Branagan, but Scotstown’s own scoring threats were massively curtailed. Mattie Maguire was their only scorer from play, landing two one-point scores, while Rory Beggan converted a duo of two-point frees. Those five attempts were the sum total of the scoring efforts to register in a relatively lifeless first half.
Kilcoo would have been delighted leaving the field. A five-point deficit is far from insurmountable at any time, but the Scotstown seemed especially tender given the prevailing conditions. Ultimately, with the benefit of hindsight, the question looms about whether playing against the wind was the right move. Conventional GAA wisdom would say go with it, get a lead, try and hold it. Kilcoo’s way almost worked but, in an Ulster final, almost doesn’t do!
Through the second half, there were moments that, as they happened, appeared as if they could be decisive. Reflecting on the game, the first 12 minutes of the second half were hugely important. In that time, Scotstown outscored Kilcoo 0-3 to 0-0. The Down champions failed to get the scoreboard ticking until the 13th minute, although they had several wides both from frees and play.
They also may well have had a goal two minutes after the restart. Jerome Johnston did very well to catch a long, raking punt into the penalty area but, as he turned and got his shot away, Rory Beggan was out quickly to smother his effort with a vital save. By that stage, Beggan had already scored a point into the breeze with an exceptionally well-struck 45. Ryan O’Toole finished a sweeping Scotstown move with the point it merited before Kieran Hughes swerved over majestically, cutting in from the stand and driving his kick with a low trajectory so the wind had limited impact on the strike.
Eugene and Darryl Branagan also made important defensive interceptions in a spell where Scotstown, arguably, played some of their best football of the evening. Paul Devlin demonstrated his steeliness, breaking Kilcoo’s scoring duck on 43 minutes with a good two-pointer. Having missed a more straightforward free earlier and pulled a sideline wide of the near post, Devlin could have been forgiven for showing a sign of self-doubt. He was unflappable though, punishing Kieran Hughes’ high tackle on Miceal Rooney ruthlessly and, in doing so, started a spell of Kilcoo dominance.
For just under ten minutes, the Magpies hit their fluent best. Runners appeared left and right. Pass, pass, point. Tackle, turnover, point. Kickouts penned in. Scotstown were rattled. Ceilum Doherty executed one of the turnovers on Mattie Maguire, he was fouled, and Paul Devlin tapped over. Less than a minute later, the ball was worked forward to Aaron Morgan, who turned inside and swung over left-footed.
Even Rory Beggan was shaken. He sent a kickout over the sideline. Indiscipline in the Scotstown ranks—a shove before the sideline was taken—was punished by referee Sean Hudson with a 50-meter advancement. Taking the ball just outside the arc, Devlin raised another orange flag. The gap was down to two. Kilcoo pressed up on the restart. Beggan went short but his dink towards Damien McArdle was picked up well inside the big arc. Devlin, and Kilcoo, were gifted another point.
Scotstown needed something to break the momentum. Max Maguire thought he might be the man to do it, but as he went to pull the trigger bearing down on goal, Jack Devlin came sliding across the turf to block. At the time, this felt like a game-changing moment.
Scotstown did still get the next score though. Good play from Conor McCarthy, who was excellent after coming on, saw him work the ball to Kieran Hughes and, using the wind in stunning fashion, he set his shot off away outside the post, using the wind to bend it back in and take it over the bar.
The impact of Kilcoo’s bench was then on show at the other end. Barra McEvoy showed composure beyond his years to slip a pass to Sean Og McCusker, the substitute pointing. McCusker was, once again, very good when brought into the game, as he was on several occasions in the championship previously.
With their lead down to one and the clock approaching 60 minutes, it still felt like Scotstown needed to score again. They did—in the 59th minute. What a score. Rory Beggan! Awarded a free in for a tug of the jersey by Shealan Johnston, the goalkeeper ambled forward to take it. Beggan set the ball on the turf, well outside the arc. The wind whistled against him. As soon as it left his boot, the outcome was never in doubt. A two-pointer of epic proportions. Not just because of the way it was kicked into the wind, but also in the context of the game.
Scotstown were three up. Three added minutes were allotted. A black card for Shealan Johnston seemed a further hammer blow to Kilcoo, but if one quality stands out above all others the perennial Down champions show, it is a refusal to ever lie down. They kept going.
As Sean Og McCusker looked for a route to goal, he, quite literally, had his jersey pulled off him by Darragh Murray. A chance for a two-pointer. Niall Kane came up and delivered. One in it again. Kilcoo won the ball. The three-minute mark came and went. They probed, they rotated, and then they went again. Ryan McEvoy made a burst, it took him past the defense, but motoring towards goal at lightning pace, the shot was not going to be simple.
In the moment of the most intense pressure in the game, McEvoy was ice-cold. Rather than rush a shot, he fisted inside to Callum Rogers who took the easy score. The final whistle blew. Extra time to come.
Again, Kilcoo chose to play against the conditions. Perhaps, given they were a man light for the first five or so minutes of extra time, this was more understandable. Try and slow it down in that period. Scotstown really went after it though. Niall Kane had to make a brilliant catch very early in extra time right under his crossbar. Then Rory Beggan arrived again. Firstly, a two-point free, then a 45 with a value of one. Three in it.
Kilcoo eventually got their hands on the ball and played a patient game once more. This time they did attack and Paul Devlin was the man on hand to score at the end of the move. They looked more open at the other end though. Shane Carey exploited that. His driving run allowed him to assist Conor McCarthy for a point and, with confidence high from that, McCarthy swung a leg from distance a minute later.
The benefit of knowing an advantage was being played and his side would have a free if he missed may have played into his decision to shoot, but there was no worry of having to bring it back for the free. McCarthy’s shot was Scotstown’s fifth two-pointer of the night. Another of those moments that seemed important then occurred. Right before halftime in extra time, a Scotstown breach of the ‘three up’ allowed Paul Devlin to tap over from 20 meters. Half-time in extra time, Scotstown led: 0-18 to 0-14.
In the first minute of the second period, Kilcoo had two wides. Would that be costly? Not so it seemed, when Sean Og McCusker converted a fabulous two-pointer with eight minutes to play and the deficit was halved to just two points. It was Kilcoo’s last score though. Scotstown defended well. They managed another point of their own from a free, predictably from the boot of Beggan, meaning Kilcoo needed a goal in the last couple of minutes.
They searched high and low, left and right, but Scotstown stood firm. Damien McArdle made one particularly telling tackle and then it came, the final whistle. For Scotstown, joy unbridled. Euphoric scenes. Near-disbelief. Having knocked on the door so many times, they had finally opened it. For Kilcoo, dejection. Shock. Disappointment. Once again, so near and yet so far.
A third Ulster crown eludes them again. For now. Because, while a defeat like this could break a lot of teams, Kilcoo have shown time and again their bounce-back ability. They use the pain and hurt as fuel in the same way they use success as fuel. They are a serious outfit. A credit to their club and Down. Their ambition of getting their hands on the McFerran Cup again won’t be dimmed by this loss; if anything, it may be strengthened. But, that’s for another year. Their 2025 campaign ends in disappointment but not failure. They are, once again, Down champions and, this time, it’s a record-breaking seventh in succession.
Scotstown:
Rory Beggan 0-11; Donnchadh Connolly, Ryan O’Toole 0-1, Damien McArdle; Darragh Murray, Darren Hughes, Kieran Hughes 0-2, Michael McCarville, G McPhillips; Max Maguire, Shane Carey, Francis Maguire; Mattie Maguire 0-2, Jack McCarron, Nicky Sherlock.
Subs:
Conor McCarthy 0-3 for F Maguire (48), K McKenna for Mattie Maguire (64).
Kilcoo:
Niall Kane 0-2; Aaron Branagan, Ryan McEvoy, Niall Branagan; Miceal Rooney, Darryl Branagan, Callum Rogers 0-1; Aaron Morgan 0-1, Anthony Morgan; Ceilum Doherty, Ryan Johnston, Shealan Johnston; Paul Devlin 0-8, Jerome Johnston, Eugene Branagan 0-1.
Subs:
Jack Devlin for Anthony Morgan (46), Sean Og McCusker 0-3, for J Johnston (46), Barra McEvoy for E Branagan (50), Anthony Morgan for M Rooney (71), E Branagan for D Branagan (73).
