Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship round two: Derry 2-11 Donegal 1-9
DERRY’S emphatic first half put them in the driving seat in Saturday’s victory over Donegal.
After leading by seven points at half-time, Derry went on to lead 2-11 to 1-4 after 42 minutes when Odhran Murphy won a penalty and dispatched to the net.
It was the Oak Leafers’ last score of the game, but Donegal didn’t have the composure to translate their spell of supremacy into enough scores to pull the home side into a battle.
The victory came at a cost for Derry manager Martin Boyle who lost captain Ryan McNicholl to a knee injury in an innocuous 10th minute challenge and will be a major doubt for the rest of the season.
Derry are now one step away from a sixth final in eight seasons since current senior stars Conor Glass and Shane McGugan powered them to the 2015 title, ending a 13-year famine.
Donegal manager Luke Barrett described his first half display as “flat” will have to pick out the positive aspects from their second half fightback ahead of this weekend’s clash with Monaghan in the ‘back door’.
Derry’s win was built on team play and having a solid midfield platform against Donegal’s kick-outs.
There was a slice of luck attacked to their fourth minute goal. Goalkeeper Zach Conlon directed his kick-out start to Ryan McNicholl who had the composure to lob him to the unguarded net.
Donegal should’ve had a goal two minutes later when Lorcan McGee – brother of senior player Jason – had a shot down off the post into the arms of Cian McGee who blasted over form inside the danger area and only the goalkeeper to beat.
Eoin Higgins and Ciaran Chambers tagged on points for Derry who kept Donegal scoreless for 18 minutes. Key to their performance was the width they brought to their attacking play mirrored with how them closed the middle to any yellow waves on the Donegal counter-attack.
Derry’s performance was typified by defenders Fionn McEldowney and Johnny McGuckian who were exceptional, with Ruairi Forbes having an impact through the centre. In attack, they moved their pieces around the thrived in the space.
Captain Donal Gallagher popped up for a score to end the Donegal drought before they added a goal from a Cian McMenamin penalty after McEldowney pulled Mark McDevitt back as he headed goalwards.
It cut the gap to four points, but Derry pushed into a 1-9 to 1-2 interval lead which could’ve been more had Conlon not blocked a close-range Chambers goal chance.
Derry were out the blocks at the start of the second half with a Forbes point and created another goal chance which saw Conal Higgins denied by goalkeeper Conlon.
When Murphy slotted home his penalty minutes later, it looked like Derry would disappear over the horizon.
They failed to finish Donegal off and Luke Barrett’s charges hit the last five points of the game. They needed a goal and the best chance fell to Karl Joseph Molloy at the end of a move, but his piledriver went to the right and wide.
Derry: B O’Connor; F McEldowney (0-1), J Murray, D McDermott; J McGuckian, O Crozier, S Birt (0-1); D McPeake, R Forbes (0-2); C Higgins, O Murphy (1-1, 1-0 pen), C Spiers (0-1); E Higgins (0-3, 0-1 frees), R McNicholl (1-0), C Chambers (0-2, 0-1 frees)
Subs: C Downey for R McNicholl, A Donnelly for O Murphy (46), T Quinn for C Higgins (58), P McMullan for S Birt (61), J Dillon for R Forbes (62)
Yellow card: C Spiers (41)
Donegal: Z Conlon; S McMenamin, N Prenderville, D Gallagher (0-1); F Roarty (0-1), E Kelly, S Martin; S McLaughlin, L McGee (0-1); KJ Molloy, C McGinty (0-1), C McMenamin (1-1, 1 pen, 1f); M McDevitt, D Gildea (0-1 free), C McGee (0-1)
Subs: P Coyle (0-1) for S McLaughlin (h-t), K Lynch (0-1) for D Gildea (51), O Doherty for E Kelly (56)
Yellow cards: C McGee (36), M McDevitt (37)
Referee: E Mallon (Armagh)
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Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship round two: Down 0-12 Monaghan 5-13
From Elaine Ingram at Pairc Esler
THE old adage that goals win games proved true in Pairc Esler on Saturday afternoon, where Monaghan hit the net five times, to progress to the next round of the Ulster Minor Championship, at Down’s expense.
Monaghan were ruthless in front of goal and while Down had their fair share of the ball, certainly until the game was gone, it was the Farney boys who made the most of their chances throughout.
Monaghan full forwards Max McGinnity and Eoghan McFarland scored 4-8 between them and that in itself tells the tale of this match.
The Mourne County were reduced to 14 men, when Patrick Brady was sent off with a black card, 20 minutes into the first half. Although they trailed 1-4 to 0-4 at that stage, Down were able to contain their opponents for the first eight of those 10 minutes. They kept the ball well until McGinnity, who had scored the opening goal for Monaghan, found a gap and fired into the net. Seconds later it was 3-4 to 0-4 when Bobby McCaul picked out McFarland to the left of goal and he palmed home.
Down responded with a free from James Savage, his third point of the game, but with Monaghan leading by eight points 3-4 to 0-5 at the half-time whistle, Pat Cunningham’s players had a mountain to climb.
It was essentially game over at the start of the second half when, almost from throw-in Charlie McQuillan delivered a high ball into the small square for the unmarked McFarland who scored Monaghan’s fourth goal of the afternoon. Savage replied with a well-taken point, but the Mark Counihan’s boys hit three in a row to make it a 13-point game 4-7 to 0-6 , with six minutes of the half played.
Down kept the scoreboard ticking over, with five of the next seven points but during that spell DJ McElvaney ghosted in and scored goal number five, putting the game to bed with 15 minutes of normal time remaining.
That made it 5-9 to 0-11 and while both sides played right up to the final whistle, Monaghan fully deserved their 5-13 to 0-12 victory.
DOWN: N Howlett; P Brady, M McGuinness, S McEvoy; C Gribben (0-3, 0-2 free), B Christie (0-1 free), C McDevitt; C McLeod, D Murdock; L Green, L Fallon, Eoin Murray, ;Brian Grant, James Savage (0-7, 0-4 frees), Taidgh O’Hanlon
Subs: Dara Og McCoy for O’Hanlon (35mins), Callum Woods for Fallon (37mins), Niall Burden for Murdock (41mins), Odhran Donaldson (0-1) for Murray (41mins), Declan McArdle for McDevitt (48mins)
MONAGHAN: Oran Finnegan (0-1,’45); Conor Curran, Niall Meehan, Jake McDonnell; Johnny Lavelle, Charlie McQuillan, Packie Doogan-Burke; DJ McElvaney (1-0), Sahl Arya; Finlay Foye (0-1), Tommy Mallen (0-3, 1f), Shea Casey; Max McGinnity (2-6,all frees), Eoghan McFarland (2-2), Bobby McCaul
Subs: Canice Murphy for Casey (42mins), Sean O’Connell for Foy (45mins), Shane Freeman for Arya (48mins), Nathan McGeough for McFarland (55mins), Jack Lynch for Curran (59mins)
Referee: Ryan Walshe (Donegal)
