Dominant Scotstown triumph over Truagh to 25th Monaghan SFC crown

Scotstown's Mark McCaffery and Darren O'Neill of Truagh Gaels during the Monaghan SFC final at St Tiernach's Park ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Scotstown secured a fourth consecutive Monaghan senior football championship crown with a commanding 1-22 to 0-10 victory over neighbours Truagh in Clones.

Ryan O’Toole struck the decisive first-half goal from Tommy Mallen’s pass, while early two-pointers from Conor McCarthy, Kieran Hughes and Mícheál McCarville helped the defending champions seize control.

Truagh stayed in contention through James McKenna and Seán O’Connell, but Scotstown led 1-9 to 0-7 at the interval.

Skipper Rory Beggan then took charge, landing four two-pointers as Scotstown pulled away despite replies from Ronan Boyle and Luke H McKenna.

Max Maguire, McCarthy and O’Toole added further scores as the Ulster champions tightened their grip on the contest.

Truagh failed to score over the final 28 minutes, with Scotstown finishing on an unanswered 0-11 to complete a dominant defence of their Mick Duffy Cup title.