Donegal 0-12
Down 0-9
ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS Donegal reached the Ulster SFC Final as they beat Down by three points at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden shared 10 points for Jim McGuinness’ men in their 0-12 to 0-9 victory. Down were indebted to young Donal O’Hare for the bulk of their scoring but will ultimately rue their inability to score from play — relying on six frees to stay in touch.
Down’s team, mixed with fallow youth an experienced veterans such as Benny Coulter, have paid for their ponderous build-up play and have not taken advantage of a stiff breeze at their back.
Michael Murphy opened Donegal’s account with an early free and added a second from play after deftly stepping inside Peter Turley and calmly slotting over. Colm McFadden made amends for an early missed free when he adjusted for the swirling wind to make it 0-3 to 0-0 after 12 minutes.
McFadden stretched the lead with a nice effort from play before Down’s 22-year-old free-taker Donal O’Hare tagged a point back with a free from 30 yards out. He added a second from long distance on 18 minutes.
Donegal upped the tempo mid-way through the half and profited with a point from play from Murphy. David Walsh then intercepted Down ball as they looked to play out of defence. He found Patrick McBrearty, who launched a steepling effort that earned him a point.
O’Hare got his third free of the half and Declan Rooney tried to point from play but his effort drifted left and wide. James McCartan was able to celebrate his side’s first point from play as Mark Poland took a pass from Coulter and curled a shot over the bar.
Donegal’s Rory Kavanagh with Conor Laverty and Mark Poland of Down. (©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
Rory Kavanagh eased the scoring burden on Murphy and McFadden early in the second half when he popped over a fine score a minute after the restart. Coulter was not giving up the fight and he earned a free for Down after two yellow jerseys knocked him to the turf. O’Hare made no mistake with the free.
There was an interesting piece of officialdom as referee Eddie Kinsella moved a Murphy free forward 10 yards after the Down players encroached on his position to distract him. Murphy’s effort from closer in sailed over. O’Hare added his fifth free on 48 minutes to make it 0-8 to 0-6.
Coulter then squandered a scoring chance when he opted no to shoot for a point when unmarked. He opted to pass for Poland but the ball skipped away on a greasy surface. McFadden added to Down woes when he took advantage of a defensive lapse to point.
O’Hare got a score from open play almost immediately after but the clinical McFadden made it a three-point game on 53 minutes after good work in the build up by McBrearty. McCartan threw on Jerome Johnston for Coulter and the young sub scored a point within 60 seconds of his introduction before McFadden knocked over a free to make it 0-11 to 0-8 with eight minutes to play.
Down, who had hit the post twice in the second half, squandered another decent scoring chance before sub Danny Savage scored from a free on 65 minutes. Murphy and his attacking colleagues dropped back to assist in some blanket defence as Donegal closed out the tie and marched on to the Ulster Final.
The final act of the contest came from Murphy as he curled over a fine free to confirm a three-point win.
Scorers for Donegal: Michael Murphy 0-5(4fs), Colm McFadden 0-5(2fs), Paddy McBrearty 0-1, Rory Kavanagh 0-1.
Scorers for Down: Donal O’Hare 0-6(5fs), Mark Poland 0-1, Jerome Johnston 0-1, Danny Savage 0-1.
Donegal (SFC v Down): Paul Durcan; Paddy McGrath, Neil McGee, Éamonn McGee; Declan Walsh (Martin O’Reilly ’34), Frank McGlynn (Rory McHugh ’35), Anthony Thompson; Ryan Bradley (Martin McElhinney ’34), Rory Kavanagh; David Walsh, Leo McLoone, Mark McHugh; Patrick McBrearty (Dermot Molloy ’65), Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden.
Down SFC: Brendan McVeigh; Daniel McCartan, Brendan McArdle, Keith Quinn (Rory Mallow ’48); Declan Rooney, Peter Turley, Ryan Boyle; Kalum King, Kevin McKernan; Ambrose Rogers, Mark Poland, Niall Madine (Danny Savage ’62); Conor Laverty, Benny Coulter (Jerome Johnston ’56), Donal O’Hare, Kalum King.
Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois)
Attendance: 21,715
