MANY believe that, in the absence of the likes of Slaughtneil and Kilcoo, this year’s Ulster Senior Club Championship is up for grabs by whoever wants it the most.
Darren Hughes does not necessarily agree with that assessment though, and cites the return to the stage of Crossmaglen as the chief reason why.
Scotstown came up short in the final against the Armagh giants three years ago, and so the north Monaghan men are understandably wary of them.
Having been asked whether he thinks the Championship is more open this year than in previous seasons, the big Monaghan star replied: “No, I’d say it’s worse then ever because Crossmaglen are still there!
“Cross’ are the kingpins since I have been following it.
“I’m sure they will have their tails up at the minute.
“Slaughtneil had set the bar this past few years, but Cross’ were always the team to beat.
“And obviously they were our downfall in 2015 as well.”
Even given the formidable presence of Crossmaglen, there is surely every chance this time around that Scotstown can add to their four Ulster titles, a total that includes the famous three in a row of 1978-1980.
Having doggedly come through Monaghan, they then convincingly overcame the challenge of Derrygonnelly, themselves four in a row champs in Fermanagh, in the preliminary round.
That set up a tantalising match with Burren, another club with a rich tradition in this competition.
Scotstown are favourites for the game, and indeed are top of the market to scoop the Seamus McFerran Cup. Burren, as an up and coming, hungry team who ended Kilcoo’s domination in Down will be no pushovers though.
“We know they’re strong down the middle, they are missing a few boys with injuries, but it’s no mean feat beating Kilcoo,” said Hughes.
“So we know we have our work cut out. They’ve good forwards and are strong in defence. They have Kevin McKernan there, I know him personally, setting the tone and diving out from defence.
“I think we’re in for an exciting Ulster Club Championship,” said Hughes.
“All the teams involved, there is a high level of quality player throughout.
“Obviously we’re away from Clones this time. You have to go and perform at this level.
“You can’t expect anything just to happen by chance, so we would be hoping for a big performance on the day.”
In their last two Ulster campaigns, Scotstown exited at the first round stage beaten by Kilcoo and Kilcar.
There is a burning desire discernible in Hughes to put those defeats right.
“Especially last year against Kilcar we didn’t do ourselves justice at all,” he said.
“I suppose plenty of people were telling us that we were lucky to get a county title last year, and they were probably right. But we still won and it was disappointing because we were hammered against Kilcar. We weren’t at the races at all, so the boys proved against Derrygonnelly, and proved coming back to win another county title that the hunger’s there.
“There seems to be a good freshness in the squad. There were five boys who started in the county final this year that didn’t start in the county final last year.
“The young boys have come in, there have been boys who were sitting on the bench for a few years or even sitting in the stand and they wanted to get involved in the craic and get involved in the party.
“And they’ve come to the fore and they’re playing, so I think that’s what has brought the whole freshness to the thing.”
Some of the new players who have come in and made a good impression are the likes of Ryan O’Toole, Jack McDevitt, Jamie McCarey and Francis Maguire. And when one considers that the team also contains such established quality as the brilliant Rory Beggan, Hughes and his brother Kieran, Shane Carey, Conor McCarthy, Donal Morgan and Emmett Caulfield, it is not hard to agree with the assessment of the bookies.
Although acknowledging the talent at the disposal of manager Kieran Donnelly, Hughes points out that knowing where each cog in the machine should fit is a challenge for him.
For instance, he and his brother Kieran can, and have, played in a number of positions.
“It’s alright having the players,” he said.
“But it’s hard to know where to play them sometimes. I suppose that was our problem.
“We had started off with Kieran in full-forward and the problem there was that we quit playing football and just kept kicking it in.
“And that was to our detriment because he was maybe winning one in four or five and it was giving teams platforms to attack.
“It wasn’t working for us, so it was just trying to find that balance.
“I think we struck it right come the (Monaghan) final.
“Every game is different and different teams have different propositions for you.
“Versatility has its advantages and disadvantages too, but I think it’s to our benefit that we have players who can play in a variety of positions.”
Scotstown may or may not win the Ulster championship this year, but as the dominant force in their county, like Kilcoo were, like Crossmaglen were, like Slaughtneil were – the desire to win an Ulster title becomes ever more urgent.
And this is especially so when, as is the case in Scotstown, there are men walking around who have a clutch of Ulster medals in the drawer.
I ask Hughes whether it something that the current crop think about – that they will have to land the provincial prize to be considered in the same league as those legends.
“No, there does be plenty of debates around Scotstown in the shops and high stools and everywhere. We don’t get into it to be honest,” he insisted.
“We just tell that they wouldn’t make our team nowadays because we play football now.
“It gets into an ongoing debate. They were a great team, and they set the history that the club has and the legacy for us to follow.
“[But] none of us remember them playing, none of us were born when they were playing.
“We’re only looking back through old clips and reading about it.
“It was a blip for a long time with no Championships, and ultimately that’s what you want to win.
“But we’re into dangerous territory now and difficult opposition.
“There are no guarantees and what people might think from the outside looking in could be very different from the inside looking out.”
