Football

Ulster Club SFC final - how the Scotstown players rated

Brendan Boylan came on as a late sub for Scotstown in yesterday's Ulster Club SFC final. Picture by Philip Walsh
Brendan Boylan came on as a late sub for Scotstown in yesterday's Ulster Club SFC final. Picture by Philip Walsh Brendan Boylan came on as a late sub for Scotstown in yesterday's Ulster Club SFC final. Picture by Philip Walsh

Rory Beggan: Rode his luck in the 22nd minute when his palmed clearance caught the arm of Cassidy and found itself at the feet of Daire O Baoill, before eventually ending up in the goalkeeper’s grateful arms. Match-winner the last day out with a late free, he dropped one short this time as Scotstown searched for the equaliser that never came. 7

Jack McDevitt: A top notch defensive performance, battled hard and didn’t give Eamonn Collum a look in before he was eventually withdrawn early in the second half. 7.5

Emmet Caulfield: Found Kevin Cassidy a handful, with the Gaoth Dobhair talisman winning the lion’s share of ball that went his direction, scoring two points and bringing others into play. 6

Damien McArdle: Mac Niallais may have been the game-changer for Gaoth Dobhair but McArdle actually had a very strong game on the elegant playmaker, giving him very little room to manoeuvre for most of the afternoon. 8

Paul Sherlock: Barring a handful of quick bursts, limited the influence of the pacy Naoise O Baoill well. The Gaoth Dobhair man was eventually withdrawn before the end of normal time. 7

Donal Morgan: Scotstown’s spare man, he anticipated danger well, mopping up plenty of breaks and producing a superb block towards the end of normal time. Shown yellow cards in normal time and extra-time – a real dogged showing. 7.5

Ryan O’Toole: Nominally playing at wing-back but roved around, keeping speedster Cian Mulligan to a point in an impressive display. 7.5

Ross McKenna: Marked Michael Carroll for most of the afternoon and did little wrong before pushing up the field late on. 6.5

Francis Caulfield: A solid performance, his powerful run led to a converted free early in the second half. 6.5

Darren Hughes: The beating heart of this Scotstown side, had a huge influence driving forward, holding his own aerially and playing some excellent passes to cut through the packed Gaoth Dobhair rearguard. 8.5

Conor McCarthy: Scored one nice point but didn’t contribute a whole lot more as Gary McFadden largely had him under lock and key. 5.5

Kieran Hughes: Landed Scotstown’s first point of the day but struggled to get into the game after that, despite roving around to try and find space. Found Odhran McFadden-Ferry everywhere he turned. A disappointing day. 5.5

Jamie McCarey: Started brightly and worked hard, limiting the influence of semi-final hero Daire O Baoill. 6

Shane Carey: His pace and intelligent movement gave Neil McGee problems throughout as he finished with six, including three from play. His sending off in extra-time, which looked harsh, was a huge turning point in the game. 7.5

Francis Maguire: Won a ball in the lead up to Carey’s point at the end of the first half, but offered little else. 5.5

Substitutes

James Hamill: Lost possession a couple of times and struggled to settle into the game, losing possession a couple of times – including for the free that put Gaoth Dobhair 0-11 to 0-10 ahead. 5.5

Orin Heaphey: Came on towards the end of normal time but was unable to get on the ball much in a tense added 20. 5.5

Brendan Boylan: Contributed well to the Scotstown defensive effort in the second half of extra-time. 6

Fergal McPhillips: Not on long enough to be rated.