Four goals in eight minutes either side of half-time were enough to see Kilcoo back into the Ulster senior club football final with a 5-10 to 0-14 win over Scotstown at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.
Goals win games and that mantra rang true in the Orchard County on Saturday night as a Shane Carey’s own goal and fine Christopher Rooney goal inside 60 seconds of each other gave Kilcoo a seven-point lead at the break.
Karl Lacey’s side opened the second half with two further majors from two plays with Miceal Rooney firing to the net seconds before Ceilum Doherty hit the top corner with a sublime finish.
Four goals and one point without reply for the Down champions all but ended the game as a contest early in the second half.
Miceal Rooney added his second goal and his side fifth in the dying embers of the game to cap a five-star performance from Kilcoo.
Scotstown played against a sizeable breeze in the first half but hit the front after a fine score from corner-back Darragh Murray after six minutes.
Kilcoo responded emphatically with three scores without reply with Anthony Morgan levelling the game before Ryan Johnston shot the Down club into the lead. The pick of those three scores in as many minutes came from the boot of goalkeeper Niall Kane as he nailed a 45′.
Scotstown went 14 minutes without a score before Shane Carey tapped over a close-range free which was quickly cancelled out by Shealan Johnston at the other end.
It looked like the Monaghan champions were starting to find their groove and their high press on the Kilcoo kick-out began to bring success as Rory Beggan nailed a free before Conor McCarthy levelled the game at four apiece.
Jerome Johnston and James Hamill traded scores before the decisive first half action arrived at the death with two Kilcoo goals inside sixty seconds.
Beggan did incredibly well to deny Shealan Johnston before Jerome Johnston’s effort was deflected off Carey and into his own net.
The Magpies took possession of the ball from the restart and found Rooney inside and he fired into the bottom right corner of the net.
Jerome Johnston landed his second score of the day and in the blink of an eye Kilcoo led 2-6 to 0-5 at half-time.
Karl Lacey’s side picked up in the second stanza where they left the first and that was by scoring goals.
The first attack of the second half saw Rooney fire into the roof of the net after a superb burst of pace from Doherty’s pass.
Doherty the provider turned goalscorer seconds later as he finished expertly right into the top right corner of the net to put 12 points between the sides early in the second half and effectively kill the game.
Micheal McCarville tried to inspire a Lazarus like recovery for the Farney men but it proved to be in vein as the extra commitment to attack left gaps at the back, allowing Kilcoo with a vastly superior advantage on the scoreboard.
Rooney was on hand to add further gloss in the dying embers as Jerome Johnston’s effort for a point fell into his hands and he blasted his second goal to the back of the empty net.