The Monaghan Senior Football Championship final will be a repeat of the 2021 decider, with Scotstown and Truagh meeting at St Tiernach's Park, Clones, on Sunday 18 October. Throw-in is at 3.30pm, Northern Sound reported.
Scotstown, the reigning three-in-a-row champions, have reached a 14th consecutive final. Truagh earned their place after the higher-scoring of the two semi-finals, a game their manager Marc Counihan said was hard to keep track of.
Scotstown 1-18 Inniskeen 3-09
The first semi-final was tight and tactical. According to Northern Sound's match report, it took 10 minutes for the first score, before Ciaran McNulty and Rory Beggan swapped two-pointers. James Hamill scored the opening goal for Scotstown, and Andrew Woods answered with a two-pointer for Inniskeen. Woods then finished past Beggan before the break, and the sides went in level at 1-7 each.
Inniskeen were awarded a penalty early in the second half when Darren Hughes was judged to have fouled Donal Meegan, and Woods converted. Beggan responded with a 45 and another two-pointer, and Max McGuire and Jack McCarron also kicked scores from outside the arc as Scotstown went four clear. Beggan finished with nine points. Conor Jones scored Inniskeen's third goal late on, but it came too late, and Scotstown won by three.
In a column for the Anglo-Celt, the paper's writer singled out Woods as the best player across both semi-finals and noted Scotstown's remarkable record: since 2013 they have played in all 14 semi-final Sundays and won every one. The column also described Beggan's kick-outs as decisive, including a long restart to McCarron in the closing stages that effectively ended the game.
Truagh 4-16 Clontibret 2-19
The second semi-final was a shootout. James McKenna had Truagh's first goal on four minutes, and Brian Greenan replied with a Clontibret goal three minutes later. Chrissy McKenna converted a Truagh penalty on 18 minutes, but Clontibret wing-back Jack Brady kicked consecutive two-pointers and Greenan added another before half-time, leaving Clontibret 1-13 to 2-7 ahead at the break.
The first three scores of the second half were all goals: Gary Mohan for Truagh, an Aaron Carey penalty for Clontibret and then Caolan Treacy for Truagh. Points from Chrissy McKenna and Sean Connell and a two-pointer from Luke Hughie McKenna put Truagh four up. Clontibret finished with the last three scores, including a Darren McDonnell two-pointer, but Truagh held on to win 4-16 to 2-19.
The Anglo-Celt highlighted the duel between Truagh's Ronan Boyle and Clontibret's Aaron Carey, both Monaghan county players, and said Clontibret's defence struggled after Dessie Mone, who had been marking Mohan, was taken off early in the second half.
What to know for the final
- When: Sunday 18 October, throw-in 3.30pm.
- Where: St Tiernach's Park, Clones.
- Form: Scotstown are chasing a fourth title in a row; Truagh beat Clontibret by three points in the semi-final.
Check Monaghan GAA's official channels for ticket details before travelling.
