Monaghan Senior Football Championship final: Scotstown v Gael Truagh (tomorrow, Clones, 2.30pm)
IN this David versus Goliath derby battle, Scotstown (Goliath) going into their ninth consecutive county final as overwhelming favourites having won six of the last eight Monaghan crowns.
Truagh, meanwhile, are in just the third senior decider in their history and lost out in previous appearances (2000 and 2001) but the performances of Pascal Canavan’s battling side in the preceding two rounds suggest that a giant-killing act, although improbable, may not be impossible.
Having finished runners-up in the same group as their opponents tomorrow, Truagh were drawn against Clontibret, county champions in 2019, and looked in serious trouble of exiting at the quarter-final stage when they fell behind with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
A Cormac McKenna goal turned a nip-and-tuck encounter on its head however and the underdogs emerged with a 1-8 to 0-6 victory that earned them a place in the semi-final against Ballybay Pearse Brothers.
Underdogs again, Truagh got off to a terrible start and although they regained some ground they trailed by three points at half-time. Again Canavan’s men roused themselves for a grandstand finish and this time it was late goals from Aaron Mohan and Adam Treanor saw them into the decider.
Confidence will by high on the back of those two results but the Truagh camp will be in no doubt of the magnitude of the task facing them at St Tiernach’s Park tomorrow.
Colin McAree’s Scotstown are familiar foes and the ‘An Bhoth’ outfit have won both meetings between these sides this season with plenty to spare. Scotstown won by five points in a league quarter-final fixture and bettered that in the championship group stages with a 2-9 to 0-8 victory.
The reigning champions followed that up by beating Carrickmacross and Inniskeen to top the group and kicked 2-17 to see off Oisin McConville’s Inniskeen again at the semi-final stage.
This Scotstown is packed with household names including the Hughes brothers, Darren and Kieran, Rory Beggan, Conor McCarthy and skipper Shane Carey but, if they have a weakness, it’s that they haven’t been really tested this year and Truagh will feel they can do that tomorrow if they are at their best.
Having already been written off in some quarters, this Truagh side has nothing to lose but there is winning pedigree in the up-and-coming club that sits right on the border with Tyrone. The Gaels were league champions in Monaghan a couple of years ago and there are survivors in their ranks from the All-Ireland intermediate championship-winning team of 2014.
Trained by John McElholm, they will set up defensively tomorrow and look to execute a high-energy gameplan fed by winning turnovers and break forward at pace.
Monaghan panellist James McKenna is a capable midfielder and targetman Gary Mohan should prove a real handful for the Scotstown defence. Mohan missed last season with injury but he has returned to action this year and is the focal point of the attack. Tall and strong, he can win ball, take scores and bring the likes of Paraic and Cormac McKenna and Adam Trainor into the game.
Ronan Boyle and Owen Kelly are reliable operators in a defence that conceded just 1-13 across the victories against Clontibret and Ballybay.
The key to Truagh’s wins in those games was that, despite falling behind, they refused to drop their heads and hung in there doggedly until the closing stages when they produced the quality to kick for home and come out ahead. They will look to do the same tomorrow and, if they are still in the game with 10 minutes to go, then who knows what can happen?
One thing is for sure though, they won’t get away with another sluggish start against a massively experienced Scotstown team that brings proven inter-county quality to the final. A haul of 8-75 across their five games is impressive scoring and some good judges reckon that Scotstown are playing better this year than last season when they hammered Ballybay by 10 points to win the Mick Duffy Cup for the 20th time.
On paper, there is only one winner tomorrow but this is an intriguing match-up. Truagh will bring massive support to St Tiernach’s Park and to drag Scotstown into the trenches where they can beat them they will need to make every ball a battle from first whistle to last.
If they can do that and take their chances when they come then maybe David can slay Goliath, but Scotstown hold the aces here. This is their game to lose.
