Scotstown boss McCague unhappy Ulster semi wasn't completed

The Monaghan champions were ahead by four points at O’Neills Healy Park when referee Joe McQuillan called a half

A view of pitch conditions at O'Neill's Healy Park, Omagh after the match was abandoned. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Clohessy

Scotstown manager David McCague insisted the Ulster Club SFC semi-final against Newbridge should have been finished, despite the worsening weather conditions which forced referee Joe McQuillan to abandon the tie at half-time.

The Monaghan champions were ahead by four points at O’Neills Healy Park when the Cavan official called a half, citing concerns over players safety as wind and rain battered the ground on a wintry afternoon in Omagh.

“I can’t answer for the opposition management team, but we wanted to play on,” said McCague.

“I’m annoyed that the game wasn’t finished, but I’m delighted that we’re still in the Ulster Championship. There’s sort of mixed emotions on that.

“It’s about the players as well, this is a big part of players’ lives, they have put an awful lot on the line over the past two weeks.

“We make huge demands off them, and those demands will continue.” 

McCague admitted his position was somewhat influenced by the 1-4 to 0-3 scoreline that favoured his team as they plodded off the squelching surface at the half-time whistle.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. we were in a good position in the game, but the game was somewhat of a lottery out there as well.

“We won the first half by four points, but there’s nothing to say that Newbridge couldn’t have won the second half by five points, and at that point we would have been out of the Ulster Championship, so in that regard, the scoreboard at half-time doesn’t haven any bearing on how I feel at the moment, because it’s only half-time, and nobody ever wins a game at half-time."

The Newbridge management declined to comment on the decision to abandon the game as the Ulster Council prepared to convene an emergency meeting to discuss options for a re-fixture.

Ulster GAA president Michael Geoghan said there was no way of predicting the deterioration of weather conditions as the game progressed through an increasingly turgid first half.

“The way the conditions deteriorated after 30 minutes on that pitch he said it was getting worse and he feared for player safety in the second half. The referee was Joe McQuillan, one of the most experienced referees in the country. His call we trust 100%, that was Joe’s call and he decided to call the game off,” he said.

“The pitch was inspected this morning before the first game. At that stage the forecast was for very, very light rain which was fine.

“The first game went ahead and there were no issues whatsoever. Nobody could have forecast that rain that came in the second half. We live in Ireland, we know it’s winter football, we know the type of weather we can get and unfortunately that’s what happened today. Conditions just got worse.

“The weather apps earlier were giving us windy conditions, no sign or word of rain, so we can’t forecast what the weather will be.”