Football

Galway beat Donegal in end-to-end All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park

Jim McGuinness’ men just didn’t have enough in a closely fought tie

Donegal's Michael Langan and Galway's Paul Conroy
Donegal's Michael Langan and Galway's Paul Conroy (Mark Marlow)

Galway overcame Donegal in tightly contested tie at Croke Park on Sunday.

It was end-to-end for most of the game but Galway had the edge in the final few minutes to get over the line.

A hugely fortuitous goal in the first half had Galway in the driving seat as Paul Conroy’s attempted effort dropped short, but Matthew Tierney’s run across the square bamboozled Shaun Patton and the ball bounced into the net.

But a resilient Donegal - who scored 0-09 from play in the first half - fought back to keep things level at the break.

From there it was tit-for-tat until a Liam Silke score almost brought the house down as Galway pushed their lead out to two. A minute later Michael Langan, who couldn’t miss all day, skewed one wide - this time getting level proved a bridge too far.

Galway will face Armagh after the Orchardmen surprised Kerry with an impressive comeback in Croke Park on Saturday.

Recap our updates below.