All-Ireland semi-final beckons as Scotstown relish emulating past heroes

By Alan Rodgers

A FIRST All-Ireland campaign since losing in the 1989 semi-final now beckons Scotstown’s latest generation of Ulster Club winners after they made history by defeating Kilcoo in a game of rare tension and quality at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds on Saturday night.

It has been a long and winding road for An Bhoth. Three final defeats since 2015 proved painful, but the belief in their ability to go all the way never wavered, and the famous club got its reward with a thrilling win over the Down champions.

Now, once the celebrations end, the focus will switch to an All-Ireland clash against St Brigid’s early in the new year. That will mark a chance for Scotstown to reach the final again, and perhaps even go one better than their predecessors from the seventies and eighties.

Mattie Maguire did much to ensure their success with a solid performance for them on Saturday night. He was delighted with the win afterwards, and looking forward to seeing if they can go one better on the national stage in the coming weeks.

“For us, this is unbelievable. We didn’t know what way the game was going to go at stages for a while, but we hung in there and the last day (against Newbridge in the semi-final) probably paid dividends for us in the final,” he said.

“That game the last day showed we had resilience. The experience of the Newbridge match and the experience of the county final as well probably helped us. It definitely stood to us.”

Scotstown, of course, led by three points at the end of normal time before being dramatically pegged back by Kilcoo in the closing moments. However, the Monaghan champions came good when it mattered most to seal the title.

Victory on Saturday night earned them a fifth title, following on from the three-in-a-row between 1978 and 1980 and then the fourth in 1989 when they defeated Coalisland in the final.

For Mattie Maguire and no doubt the rest of the players, emulating the stars of the past comes with immense pride with their most recent provincial achievement.

“I think we just had to stay calm after missing out on the win at the end of normal time. But we didn’t look into the losses because Kilcoo had experienced four defeats, so there was no point in looking back,” added Maguire.

“It was very important for this group of players to come back and win the Ulster Club again. Growing up, we would have heard stories about those teams of the seventies and eighties winning it, and this is about the next generation.

“This is very special for everyone in the club, and Rory Beggan’s scores from frees were just amazing. It’s unbelievable what he does. Some of it doesn’t surprise us because we see all the time what he does, but he’s just unbelievable.”

Maguire also weighed in with some important contributions and will be certain to keep the full focus on the All-Ireland semi-final as the glow of Ulster glory reflects on the club and community during the coming weeks.

This week’s podcast looks back at Scotstown’s success and a busy weekend on the All-Ireland front for Ulster clubs.