Ulster Club SFC: Glen earn 1-18 to 0-12 win over Scotstown who have Hughes brothers sent off

Referee Joe McQuillan sent off Scotstown's Kieran Hughes after his second tangle with late Glen inclusion Conor McDevitt

Glen set up an Ulster Club Football semi-final with Kilcoo after earning a 1-18 to 0-12 win over Scotstown, who had both Hughes brothers sent off.

With the superb Jack Doherty kicking two of their points, Glen led 0-11 to 0-6 at half-time at Celtic Park.

Despite Kieran Hughes' dismissal, Scotstown rallied from seven down to cut the margin to three on 45 minutes.

But Glen reasserted themselves as Darren Hughes was then sent off before Danny Tallon's late goal.

Apart from a seven-minute period shortly after Kieran Hughes' dismissal, Glen bossed the contest as Doherty starred in attack and Ciaran McFaul again was able to charge into opposition territory after being curbed by St Eunan's in the low-scoring contest in Letterkenny.

McDevitt inclusion pays dividends

Malachy O'Rourke's late decision to draft Conor McDevitt into his starting line-up as a man marker on Kieran Hughes paid big dividends as he largely curbed the Monaghan star in addition to being an attacking threat when the opportunity presented itself.

McDevitt's close proximity seemed to annoy Hughes with the Scotstown man avoiding any sanction after a tangle which left the Glen player on the ground late in the first half but not so lucky four minutes after the resumption when another clash resulted in the midfielder's red card.

Immediately after Hughes' dismissal, Scotstown slipped seven behind only for them to fight back to within a kick of the ball of the opposition but an Emmett Bradley free steadied Glen and they never really looked back after that.

After the turgid proceedings in Letterkenny, for the neutrals at least, it was a relief to see a more open contest at the city venue in Derry.

Two Tallon frees gave Glen an immediate lead before another Monaghan player Conor McCarthy opened Scotstown's account and the scores continued to come with regularity.

Doherty's running was an immediate feature of Glen's game plan with his delightful jinking in the 10th minute to notch a point which put the Derry champions 0-5 to 0-2 ahead encapsulating his enterprise.

Glen reasserted control in the closing stages after Scotstown had reduced a seven-point deficit to only three with 15 minutes remaining

From the off, Monaghan keeper Rory Beggan's trademark forays to halfway or beyond were a feature of the contest and his pointed free reduced Glen's lead to two in the 13th minute before an unanswered run of four straight points left the Maghera side six clear by the 28th minute, which included a superb Conor Glass effort.

Scotstown responded with points from Shane Carey and Kieran Hughes but a sensational McFaul score in injury time after his own run summed up Glen's ability to regain control when the opposition did begin to threaten.

After Kieran Hughes' dismissal, McDevitt's point only rubbed salt into Scotstown's wounds following a Jack Doherty point seconds earlier.

The most unlikely of comebacks did appear possibly as two points from corner-back Damian McArdle helped Scotstown draw to within three of Malachy O'Rourke's side but Glen quickly regrouped to close the door as a Bradley free before the water break was followed by another score after the resumption from left full-back and skipper Connor Carville.

With the game up for Scotstown, Darren Hughes joined his brother in making a premature exit as he barged into a stationary Michael Warnock after Beggan had fouled the Glen man.

Tallon's Glen goal came in the final seconds as he fly-kicked to the net after the ball had broken off Scotstown defender Paul Sherlock.

Glass penalised for AFL-type leap

Glass' afternoon included a spectacular leap to win possession which fell foul of referee McQuillan who adjudged that the former Australian Rules player had used his knee illegally into the back of Darren Hughes to gain height in a tactic which is common in the code Down Under.

Despite being found to have transgressed, Glass insisted that it was something that he will continue to do if the opportunity arises.

"I'm still going to go for it. I think the rule is that you are not allowed to use your actual knee because it's dangerous for the opposition but if he's going to sit into the ball like that, I'm still going to jump over him."

After the low-scoring game in the previous round, the midfielder acknowledged that Scotstown had "allowed us to play a bit more" but insisted that there was still "plenty of room for improvement" as Glen approach the semi-final against a Kilcoo side who are managed by veteran Maghera coach Mickey Moran.

"We weren't too happy with our performance today."