By Shaun Casey

SCOTSTOWN are once again the champions in Monaghan and the sight of that blue jersey climbing the steps at Clones to accept the Mick Duffy Cup is one that fans inside the Farney County have grown used to.

Sunday’s five-point win over Clontibret was a ninth county title for the An Bhoth men in 12 years, and they’ve competed in all 12 finals. If 2024 is anything to go on, they don’t look like slowing down anytime soon.

David McCague’s side topped their group and advanced to the decider unscathed. There, some may have anticipated an ambush from Clontibret, which they have accomplished in the past, but it wasn’t to be.

The first half was a fairly even affair and a late Jack McCarron point saw Scotstown edge ahead by the minimum of margins before the short whistle sounded, leading 0-5 to 0-4 at half time.

Again, it was nip and tuck after the turnaround before that man McCarron, who picked up the Player of the Match award, lopped his Monaghan teammate Darren McDonnell to raise the first and only green flag of the day.

That gave Scotstown that little bit of daylight and that was all they needed to eventually pull away and win 1-10 to 0-8 in the end. McCarron finished as the top scorer on the day, claiming a tally of 1-3.

Conor McManus, who missed a large chunk of the championship campaign with a hand injury, was the top scorer from a Clontibret perspective with 0-3 while the former Monaghan manager Vinny Corey made a second-half appearance.

Scotstown now advance to the Ulster Championship and await the winners of the Fermanagh final in the first round. They lost last year’s decider to Glen and are aiming for a first provincial title since 1989.