Monaghan SFC: Carrick' stun Inniskeen in dramatic derby / Scotstown power ominously on
Monaghan's Stephen O'Hanlon with Tiernan Kelly of Armagh ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon
Trailing by seven points at half time and by eight with ten minutes left, Carrickmacross came from nowhere to beat neighbours Inniskeen.
Ryan O’Connor completed a remarkable comeback from the town side – last year’s intermediate champions – when he batted to the Inniskeen net five minutes into stoppage time to give the Emmets a memorable 1-21 to 2-17 victory over last year’s beaten senior finalists.
There was little between the teams early on but a pair of two-pointers from county talisman Andrew Woods and a goal by captain Sean Jones helped the Grattans lead by 1-12 to 0-8 at the break.
Conor Jones slotted the second Inniskeen major and there were eleven points between them approaching the midway stage in the second half following another Woods effort from outside the arc.
But back came Andy Callan’s men with a sensational run of second-half two-pointers of their own off the boots of James McGuire (3), Stephen O’Hanlon (2) and Donnchadh Swinburne. A Woods point in added time handed the hosts a two-point lead and they looked good for a third win on the spin but Emmets and O’Connor had other ideas!
Since losing to holders Scotstown in the opening round, Carrickmacross have closed out their round-robin programme by recording three successive victories over Latton, Corduff and now Inniskeen to move onto six points and guarantee themselves knockout football upon their return to the championship top tier.
Inniskeen had already beaten Latton and Corduff prior to today and Scotstown’s thumping 5-26 to 1-3 victory over Corduff in Corduff this evening means both Scotstown and Inniskeen will join Carrick in progressing to the business end. Ulster champions Scotstown are level with Carrick at the top with a game to spare and virtually guaranteed to finish first.
Currently with a 100 per cent record from three outings, their meeting with Inniskeen in the last round – a repeat of last year’s county final – will confirm the final standings at the summit of Group One.
