Donegal 0-18; Tyrone 0-16 (AET)
The force is with Donegal as Jim McGuinness once again weaved his magic to outlast Tyrone in a thrilling Ulster semi-final which needed extra-time to differentiate between two well-drilled outfits at Celtic Park, Derry on Sunday afternoon.
Even when Brian Dooher’s side managed to get three points ahead on the scoreboard, there was something about the Donegal swagger and belief that you felt they would be able to find whatever was necessary to succeed.
Tyrone had gone through the rigmarole of extra time against Cavan the previous Sunday ,so once another bout of added time was required, the dial tilted towards McGuinness’s young guns to outlast a rapidly tiring Red Hand outfit. And so it came to pass that Donegal managed their way through the added 20 minutes much better than their opponents, at least two of whom had to be replaced due to cramp in these periods.
So hands up who will vote against the green and gold going all the way in Ulster when they come up against Armagh on May 12 in Clones?
The inestimable factor of alignment seems to be synched with Donegal’s progress as we see an Ulster final we earlier saw as the Div 2 National League Final some weeks ago.
The 15,000 patrons who watched this game will know there is a limit to what this Donegal team can achieve but winning a league and provincial title isn’t above them in the one season.
Maybe when they are back in the wide open spaces of Croke Park and meet the likes of Kerry or Dublin their lack of big time exposure may be a factor but right now they are thriving on every challenge their manager puts before them.
Tyrone were a much better match than Derry proved for Donegal and even had the temerity to take the game to their opponents. The sides were level on no less than nine times but when extra-time came around, the winners were able to kick on while the losers were left hanging on.
Paddy McBrearty has played many better games but when he returned to the action after being earlier taken off, he kicked a crucial free to level and then was brave enough to go for the insurance score with his left peg which curled inside the far post to end the game as a contest.
With the ageless Mattie Donnelly an inspiration at No. 6 and always probing from deep, Tyrone deservedly led by 0-8 to 0-5 at half-time. Donegal got a half-time roasting and came out firing on all cylinders with big midfielders Jason McGee showing the way with two points in the first five minutes after the restart.
As a team they were working as one, ensuring the Tyrone press was much less effective while also combining in play to get some fine scores.
The two hares in the team Mark Curran and Ryan McHugh were also making their presence felt in creating overlaps and suddenly it was Donegal who now look slightly the more likely to come out on top.
They were level 13 minutes into the second half through Daire Ó Baoill’s fine effort but stubborn Tyrone refused to lie down as man of the match Niall Morgan landed a couple of long frees to restore the Red Hand advantage. Darragh Canavan added to that and it appeared that the underdogs would advance.
Had Donegal shot their bolt or was there more arsenal in their ranks? They fought tooth and nail but it was only in the dying embers of the game before Bre3ndan Mccole deserted his full back duties to pop up on the edge of the Tyrone square to kick the equalizer at 0-14 apiece.
Once extra-time arrived, Donegal got the lead for the first time in over an hour’s play thanks to Jeaic McKelvey’s fisted score. Even when Tyrone got an equalizer through McKernan and then a Donnelly special to lead. Donegal legs were the more sprightly at this stage and when they levelled once more and Niall O’Donnell then tricked his way through the defense to palm over a lead they took to the second half-time, it felt like a big statement.
Both sides were awry with efforts as they fought their different battles and the match was in the melting pot right down to the wire until McBrearty’s second coming produced a magical left-footed score which finally broke the stubborn Tyrone challenge over 90 minutes.
Armagh 0-13; Down 2-6
Armagh will be hoping that the old adage of winning semi-finals ugly and holding your best form for the final will hold true later this month for on the evidence of Saturday evening’s dour derby battle with low-flying Down in Clones, they won’t have the armory to live with Donegal.
At least they’ve qualified for their second successive Ulster final while for Down, it’s the low road to the Tailtean Cup if they are to bring home any sort of silverware this season.
Only the most ardent supporters can see Armagh getting their own hands on silverware as they seem to have regressed substantially from the side which dismantled the same opposition by 10 points at the same stage last year.
Indeed it took late scores from Aidan Nugent to draw level with the Mournemen before sub Jason Duffy swung over the stoppage time winning score in front of the 12,000 attendance.
Orchard Boss Kieran McGeeney praised his charges for finding a way to “win ugly” in this tactical encounter. Speaking to RTE after the game he stated: “Our boys were superb. I thought they were under a lot of pressure, and in the past, when things aren't running freely for us, we haven’t been able to win ugly, and considering a lot of stuff was going against them, I thought they did excellent, and I was really happy with them.”
Referring to the fact this was a derby game, he went on: “Down-Armagh games, you’re always going to get that sort of stuff. In the Ulster championship anybody can beat you on any given day.
“It’s not one for the purists, not even for ones on the sidelines…but it turned into a very tactical game, a lot of things went wrong , but they stuck it out.
“Even when frees went against them, they kept their composure and they really worked that score well in the end and there was a lot of good play in it.”
The first half was set up to bore - and both teams were content to do this as the game failed to ignite. Indeed, the nearest we got to drama was an own goal when Blaine Hughes managed to parry a shot which went in off Paddy Burns to bring Down some hope of getting a result.
Armagh had some sort of spirit to respond with two fine points from Rory Grugan and Aidan Forker which left them ahead 0-5 to 1-2 at the break.
But for Grugan, Armagh would have been a nervous wreck of an outfit as his free kept the side going forward against an opposition which was clearly out to spoil first and ask questions later.
When they appeared to have recovered from the calamitous first green flag, another popped up 11 minutes after the break to give Down an underserved lead again.
Initially Barry O’Hagan shot was blocked, but Ryan Magill followed up to ram home from close range.
Down were up by two and even on the hour mark were still a point to the good as Armagh huffed and puffed to put any sort of coherent forward plan into their play.
In many ways they can thanks Down as much as themselves for the Mournemen seemed to feel they had no right to advance.
The Orchard then slowly found their range with points from sub Oisin O’Neill and Aidan Nugent who levelled two minutes into overtime, and this set the scene for another sub Duffy to gain possession and land the winner eight minutes beyond the seventy.
GAA Results
Ulster SF Championship semi-finals
Armagh 0-13; Down 2-6
Donegal 0-18; Tyrone 0-16
(AET)
Leinster SF Championship semi-finals
Louth 0-17; Kildare 0-13
Dublin 3-22; Offaly 0-11
Leinster SH Championship
(Round Robin Series 2)
Antrim 2-22; Wexford 2-20
Galway 2-23; Kilkenny 0-29
Dublin 1-24; Carlow 0-22
Munster SH Championship
Clare 3-26; Cork 3-24
Limerick 2-27; Tipperary 0-18
