Greenfield Foods Monaghan SFC final: Scotstown 0-17 Inniskeen 0-14
WHEN the curse of emigration struck, Jack McCarron’s grandfather missed out on Scotstown’s first ever county title in 1960.
In search of work he headed for London. Ray was born there and lived in Luton until he was 16, when the McCarrons came home in ‘79.
Scotstown took off and won a clutch of Monaghan and Ulster titles in the ‘80s.
Today, Jack came home.
He emulated his father in winning both a county medal and man-of-the-match in the final.
Shake a tree in Monaghan and somebody will fall out of it with strong opposing views on his switch from Currin to Scotstown.
Most of that is down to his making the strongest team in Monaghan stronger.
This was a performance of near perfection from the man on whom so much focus has centred since his move at the turn of the year.
A lot of Jack McCarron’s best days have been on softer ground. The pitch was October perfect, that bit of autumnal sponginess just starting to settle in.
His six points took his championship tally to 3-29 and for a club whose pursuit to emulate their Ulster-winning teams of old just seemed to be washing into shore of the last few years, his presence could be transformative.
“Maybe it wasn’t easy in terms of some of the noise around the move from Currin to Scotstown but that was something, an ambition he had from when he was very young,” said his manager, David McCague.
“His father is a Scotstown legend and I’m delighted for Jack today he gets to share that moment with his mother and father who, maybe, it wasn't easy for them either.
“That’s a special moment for them and delighted he has that moment.”
Inniskeen’s was not the first poetic finish Scotstown have ruined and it won’t be the last.
On big days like this, an underdog fears its big men not turning up. But Andrew Woods, Sean Jones, Tommy Durnin, they all turned up and then some.
That tells you the extent to which Scotstown had to earn it.
While some of Inniskeen’s first-half finishing had a Ferrari touch about it, the winners ran off a Volkswagen engine.
There was just such an economy of effort about how they attacked.
McCarron’s finishing was sublime but he had half the work done by the time he got the ball in hand. His movement and physical strength was too much Shane Hanratty, who was left isolated and Scotstown spotted it.
Inniskeen played with neither fear nor inhibition. It was a high-quality final blessed by two teams that were happy to take some punishment.
Against a team that loves to kick the ball, led by a management team of John McEntee and Tony Kernan from the home of kicking football, Inniskeen were hoisted on their own petard.
It was An Bhoth whose raking diagonal football shone in the first half.
Donal Morgan, Emmet Caulfield, Jason Carey were all responsible for delivering it on a plate.
It was a brave approach from Scotstown, not just in terms of their style but the identity of their attacking players.
At one stage in the first half they were lined out with McCarron inside, Darren Hughes 15 yards in front of him and Conor McCarthy completing the line of three.
Without ever blitzing the game, that threat always looked like it would be enough.
The Inniskeen cover was never quite sure what best to do. Too many fires to put out. They kept it from ever turning into an inferno but McCarron scorched enough of Clones to get it done.
At one stage Hughes took up station at full-forward and held his body position as if he was attached to a concrete post buried eight feet deep to punch a dropping ball over.
From the kickout they poached straight after, he popped McCarthy through but his right-footed shot was blocked away by Hanratty.
They should have had a goal by then but with the ‘keeper out and only covering defenders, Micheal McCarville smashed the ball into the crossbar and away when anything neater would have done.
Inniskeen’s group stage win was John McEntee’s third over Scotstown in championship football, having previously beaten them with Clontibret and Crossmaglen, and his half-time work was made easier right as the whistle drew in.
Scotstown led by four two minutes from the half but points from Andrew Woods and the outstanding Ciaran McNulty made a 0-11 to 0-9 deficit look very manageable.
They could not shake the Grattans off. Soon it was 0-12 apiece. Then it was 0-13 apiece but Inniskeen’s latest equaliser could have been the winning of it.
McNulty got in behind but his pass across to Seamus Kindlon – tied up all day marking Conor McCarthy – was just imprecise enough to mean Kindlon had to catch rather than palm. He tried to force another pass and it broke down right in front of goal.
The difference was laid bare when Scotstown went back in front. Long kickout to the excellent Michael McCarville. Donal Morgan switches the play with a 50-yard kick pass. Emmet Caulfield looks up, loads the left and drops into McCarron’s basket. Mark, point, lead.
It never left them again. They kicked four on the bounce and while Sean Jones landed one to keep them honest until the very death, Scotstown had simply been more efficient.
For a team whose obituaries have been piling up, there’s a spring about them.
Ulster has another serious contender to speak of.
MATCH STATS
Scotstown: R Beggan (0-2, 0-1f, 0-1 45); B Boylan, R O’Toole; D Morgan; R Malley, D McArdle (0-1), E Caulfield (0-1); D Hughes (0-1), M McCarville; J Carey (0-1), S Carey (0-2), J Hamill, C McCarthy (0-2); M Maguire (0-1), J McCarron (0-6, 0-3 marks, 0-1 free)
Subs: K Hughes for Malley (34), M McPhillips for Hamill (40), F Maguire for J Carey (46), R McKenna for McCarville (60), F McPhillips for Maguire (65)
Inniskeen: R Meegan; M McKenna, C Hanratty, S Hanratty; O Monahan; C Meegan, S Woods, S Kindlon, M Monahan; T Durnin (0-1), C Guernon; C McNulty (0-3, 0-1 free), Andrew Woods (0-3); D Meegan (0-1 free), S Jones (0-6, 0-1 free, 0-1 mark)
Subs: D McConnell for Guernon (52), G Burns for M McKenna (55), H Monahan for O Monahan (57)
Red card: H Monahan (65)
Referee: N McKenna (Emyvale)
