GAA wrap: Scotstown need extra time to beat Kilcoo in Ulster final

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025 - 21:58

Kenneth Fox

It took a taxing and at times agonising decider, but after extra time, Scotstown secured their first Ulster crown since 1989.

Rory Beggan kicked 11 points in a man-of-the-match display.

The crucial period came in the first half of extra time. The goalkeeper nailed a long-range free and 45, and substitute Conor McCarthy added another three.

That four-point margin gave them the boost required to end a long wait.

The first half was a remarkable case study for the current state of Gaelic football. Despite the enormous change, control is still attainable for smart teams.

Kilcoo won the toss and decided to go against a strong wind. If you offered them a 0-6 to 0-1 half-time scoreline, they would likely have taken it.

From their first nine attacks, they scored nothing. They barely had a shot. It was an exercise in keep ball, waiting patiently and killing the clock. They wanted to go slow. Scotstown let them.

Mattie Maguire scored his first of two early points from one early turnover while Beggan landed two frees from outside the arc.

The Monaghan number came sprinting out for a dropping shot but failed to gather it. From that break, Eugene Branagan scored Kilcoo’s only point of the half.

What is smart football in such conditions? Press hard, mark up for any long-range frees to make sure the opposition can’t go short, work some two-point opportunities.

David McCague’s outfit didn’t do much of that. Darren Hughes and Mícheál McCarville did have a go from outside the arc. Both missed.

Elsewhere, in the All-Ireland Ladies' Football Club Senior Club Championship Final, Chloe Miskell and Lynsey Noone grabbed goals as Kilkerrin-Clonberne defeated St Ergnat’s, Moneyglass.

Returning with 14 of the starting line-up from last year’s final win over Kilmacud Crokes, Kilkerrin-Clonberne initially found it difficult to break down a stern Moneyglass defence. Olivia Divilly and Eva Noone eventually kicked a point apiece from frees in the ninth and 10th minutes respectively, before ex-Antrim stalwart Cathy Carey split the posts in fine style at the opposite end.

Team captain Louise Ward fired over an excellent point from play for the title holders off a later attack, but it wasn’t until the closing 10 minutes of the opening period that the game truly sparked into life.

While Moneyglass reduced the gap to a single point through Leah Stewart, Kilkerrin-Clonberne immediately responded with a clinically-taken goal from Chloe Miskell - following excellent approach work from Hannah Noone and Nicola Ward.

This looked like being a significant blow for St Ergnat’s, but they came roaring back into contention when Stewart palmed to the net in the 24th minute after a Carey shot for a point had hit the post. Yet a second free from Olivia Divilly ensured Kilkerrin-Clonberne were two points in front (1-4 to 1-2) at the break, and the westerners increased their advantage on the restart with back-to-back scores from midfielder Aisling Madden and Eva Noone.

Miskell also added to her earlier goal with a point from close range as Kilkerrin-Clonberne slowly asserted their authority on this showpiece affair. First-time finalists St Ergnat’s had come into this game on the back of an outstanding semi-final victory against Kilmacud Crokes, but they found themselves eight points in arrears when Niamh Divilly fed Lynsey Noone inside for a 44th-minute goal.

Another score courtesy of Noone’s sister Eva had Kilkerrin-Clonberne nine points ahead moving into the final quarter, though St Ergnat’s finally interrupted this devastating blitz from their opponents with a fine effort by Maria O’Neill.

Stewart and substitute Bronagh Devlin also found the range for the industrious Ulster side, but Kilkerrin-Clonberne subsequently dominated possession in the closing moments to keep their hands on the Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup.

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