Glen defeat Scotstown to set up mouthwatering semi-final against Mickey Moran's Kilcoo

Glen 1-18, Scotstown 0-12

Glen showed they had learned the lessons of Letterkenny as the defeated Ulster Club Championship stalwarts Scotstown to set up a mouth-watering semi-final aginst Down champions, Kilcoo.

Two weeks ago, the Watty Graham's were fortunate to escape from an O'Donnell Park arm wrestle with manager Malachy O'Rourke admitting it was character which took them over the line. That character was evident again throughout a full blooded encounter that saw Scotstown finish with 13 men but there was no need for any late drama this time. Armed with the knowledge of that difficult Ulster debut, Glen shot out of the blocks early and controlled the game to such an extent that Monaghan frustrations eventually boiled over.

Yet while the second half dismissals of Kieran and Darren Hughes certainly curtailed any Scotstown fightback, they were already chasing a game that was getting away from them as Glen further enhanced their growing reputation. Jack Doherty was superb among some excellent performances with Danny Tallon's late, late goal capping a fully deserved victory even if it perhaps gave the scoreboard a somewhat flattering look after a game that was much closer than the final scoreline suggested .

Billed as the game of the weekend, the first half produced a fascinating tactical battle in which the Derry club enjoyed the upper hand. Glen sat deep out of possession and waited to spring a pacy counter attack when any turnovers were won. It worked well and negated the often marauding Rory Beggan who saw plenty of ball in the Glen half but was unable to provide the extra man spectators up and down the country are used to seeing from the Monaghan No. 1.

The kick-outs too were going in Glen's favour, the Watty Graham's winning their own ball with relative ease while forcing Beggan to kick long where the likes of Glass and Emmet Bradley were breaking ball down and robbing Scotstown of the ability to get decent possession in behind the Glen defensive lines.

There's an old adage that you can score too early in games but two early Danny Tallon frees gave Glen the platform to dominate the half and meant Scotstown were always chasing a first half deficit.

There was less than two minutes on the clock when Glen found themselves 0-2 to no score up and the early success breathed confidence into the Watty's performance.

Conor McCarthy halved the lead with Scotstown's opener on three minutes but the Monaghan men were too often let down by some poor shot selection in the first half. Glen in contrast were more efficient and while Emmet Bradley and Shane Carey swapped score for 0-3 to 0-2, Glen were already looking like they had the foothold they wanted as point from Conleth McGuckian and Jack Doherty stretched the advantage to 0-5 to 0-2 by the 10th minutes.

A Beggan free kept Scotstown in touch but at 0-6 to 0-4, Glen stepped on the accelerator with four unanswered points from Paul Gunning (2f), Conor Glass and Emmet Bradley (free) to establish a six points lead by the 26th minute.

It was a measure of Glen's control that Scotstown's first successful long kick-out arrived on 28 minutes and it led directly to Darren Hughes being fouled and Shane Carey tapping over the free.

When Kieran Hughes tagged on another Scotstown point, Glen's lead was back to four but their response, a brilliant Ciaran McFaul solo effort, illustrated the confidence running through the Derry side as they turned around with a richly deserved 0-11 to 0-06 half-time lead.

The Hughes red card lit the blue touch paper for a fiery second half with Beggan's ability to join in the outfield play meaning Scotstown never felt a numerical disadvantage when in possession. Indeed, Hughes' dismissal led to Scotstown most productive period of the match as they turned 0-12 to 0-6 into 0-14 to 0-10 by the second half water break with points from Damien McArdle (2), Carey and a wonderful effort from Matthew Maguire.

That was matched by an even better score from Glen captain Conor Carville which steadied the Watty Graham's ship once more and when Conor Convery extended the lead to 0-16 to 0-11, Glen had one foot in the semi-final.

Scotstown needed a goal and almost got it in the final minute when Matthew Maguire's first time effort flashed the wrong side of Glen's post after a high ball had been broken down.

It was as close as Scotstown got amid an acrimonious finale that saw a second Scotstown red card, this time for Darren Hughes, and a late Danny Tallon goal with almost the last kick. It mattered little. Glen deserved it and a mouth watering semi-final against Down champions Kilcoo now awaits

Glen scorers: Danny Tallon (1-3, 2f), Emmet Bradley (0-3, 2f), Paul Gunning (0-3, 2f), Jack Doherty (0-1), Conleth McGuckian (0-1), Conor Glass (0-1), Ciaran McFaul (0-1), Jack Doherty (0-1), Conor McDevitt (0-1), Conor Carville (0-1), Conor Convery (0-1), Alex Doherty (0-1)

Scotstown scorers: Shane Carey (0-4, 2f), Conor McCarthy (0-2), Kieran Hughes (0-2), Damien McArdle (0-2), Matthew Maguire (0-1), Rory Beggan (0-1, 1f),

Glen: Conlann Bradley, Michael Warnock, Ryan Dougan, Conor Carville, Tiarnan Flannagan, Ciaran McFaul, Ethan Doherty, Conor Glass, Emmett Bradley, Conor McDevitt, Jack Doherty, Conor Convery, Paul Gunning, Danny Tallon, Conleth McGuckian. (Subs) Eunan Mulholland for C Convery, 52mins; Alex Doherty for P Gunning, 61mins; Stevie O'Hara for J Doherty, 63mins;

Scotstown: Rory Beggan, Michael Meehan, Ross McKenna, Damian McArdle, Jack McDevitt, Ryan O'Toole, Paul Sherlock, Micheal McCarville, Kieran Hughes, Francis Maguire, Conor McCarthy, Matthew Maguire, Shane Carey, Darren Hughes, Donal Morgan. (Subs) Gavin McPhillips for M McCarville, 25mins; Jason Carey for F Maguire, 40mins; Seanie Mohan for R McKenna, 46mins; James Hamill for J McDevitt, 52mins;

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)