Thrilling extra-time victory for Ballybay 

Inniskeen manager Oisin McConvile during the Monaghan County Senior Football Championship Semi-Final between Ballybay Pearse Brothers and Inniskeen at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Photo by Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile

Oisin McConville's Iniskeen suffered a heart-breaking extra-time defeat to Ballybay which denied them a place in the Monaghan SFC final for the first time in 30 years.

A goal in the second half of extra time from Shane McGuinness gave 2012 winners Ballybay a 4-19 to 1-15 win in Clones which sets up a repeat of the 2018 final against Scotstown in two weeks times.

Goals by Thomas Kerr and Paddy O’Neill gave Ballybay a 2-6 to 0-5 lead at half time but a young Iniskeen team, managed by the former Armagh All-Ireland winner this year, had the legs and grew stronger and stronger as the game wore on.

They scored 1-4 without reply in four minutes, the highlight being an outstanding solo goal from midfielder Andrew Woods to put them ahead for the first time.

Goals win games and Ballybay kept getting them. Christopher McGuinness got a third, before three late Iniskeen points – with Donal and Paul Meegan doing most of the scoring – forced extra time after it finished 3-13 to 1-19.

Both teams scored three points in the first half of extra time but Shane McGuinness’ low strike flew into the net in the second half to put Ballybay into their second final in three years.

Earlier at Clones, Scotstown had a more routine semi-final win beating Carrickmacross 0-17 to 1-6 to progress to the final for the eighth year in a row.

They edged a tight first half 0-7 to 1-3, Niall Loughman scoring the game’s only goal after 13 minutes when he rolled a low shot past All Star goalkeeper Rory Beggan.

Scotstown, bidding for a sixth title in eight years, bossed the second half with Matthew Maguire impressing with three points from play.