Monaghan 2-10 Donegal 0-17
Donegal dethroned champions Monaghan with a 0-17 to 2-10 replay win at Kingspan Breffni Park to reach the Ulster SFC final for the sixth successive season.
Another gripping encounter went right to the wire, a week after these great rivals had finished level at the same venue.
Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty and Marty O’Reilly weighed in with the vital scores that saw the men from Tir Chonail recover from the shock of conceding first half goals to Shane Carey and Conor McManus (pen).
And despite playing the final ten mintues with 14 men, following the second yellow card dismissal of Rory Kavanagh, Rory Gallagher’s side held on for a slender success and a place in the decider against the winner of the other semi-final replay between Tyrone and Cavan.
In front of a crowd of 17,174, Kavanagh slotted over the opening point after just 30 seconds, setting the tone for a first quarter that saw Donegal take more from their attacking forays.
Committing men in numbers while breaking from deep, they were able to find gaps in the Farney defence to nail the scores that saw them go five clear by the 16th minute.
Anthony Thompson landed a gem from wide on the right, and while Murphy was stationed close to goal for most of the first half, he failed to score from play.
The Donegal skipper did, however, contribute three scores from placed balls, including his opener from a ’45.
Monaghan, on the other hand, struggled to find the target from frees, with Rory Beggan and Conor McManus both striking wide.
But in the 19th minute, they kick-started their challenge with a goal, Shane Carey finishing low to the net after being picked out by a quickly taken McManus free as the Donegal defence switched off.
The Tir Chonail men responded with another volley of scores, with Murphy and Paddy McBrearty both converting frees and Marty O’Reilly slotting over a neat point.
McManus found himself caged in by as many as four players each time he gained possession, but did manage to make the space to angle over a beauty from a tight angle.
And in the 33rd minute he brought his side level from a penalty, smashing home his kick after Thompson brought down Ryan Wylie, earning a black card for the infringement.
Once again, Donegal hit back with a couple of points, and carried a 0-10 to 2-02 lead into the interval.
McManus landed another gem 10 seconds into the second half, but Donegal responded through Mark McHugh and McBrearty.
Retreating deeper to deal with the mounting threat of Farney ace McManus and the probing runs of Owen Duffy and Carey, Donegal had to soak up long spells of pressure, and faced a real challenge when Conor Boyle made it a one-point game going into the final quarter.
Once again, McBearty and Murphy steadied the ship from play, but the defending champions were able to find the target from distance, with substitute Jack McCarron claiming a couple of long-range scores.
Ten minutes from time, another substitute, Conor McCarthy, saw a dipping shot come back off the crossbar when a goal would have levelled the game.
Rory Kavanagh’s rash challenge earned him a second yellow card in the 65th minute, and Monaghan again narrowed the gap to a single point.
But Donegal used all their experience to see the game out, with Murphy bringing his tally to the day to five, all from placed balls.
Donegal: MA McGinley, P McGrath, E McGee, C Gillespie, R McHugh, K Lacey, F McGlynn (0-01), R Kavanagh (0-01), O MacNiallais, A Thompson (0-01), M McElhinney (0-01), E McHugh, P McBrearty (0-04, 3f), M Murphy (0-05, 4f, 1 ’45), M O’Reilly (0-03).
Subs: M McHugh (0-01) for Thomson (BC), C Toye for McElhinney, E Gallagher for O’Reilly
Monaghan: R Beggan, C Walshe (0-01), D Wylie, R Wylie, K Duffy, V Corey, F Kelly, D Hughes, K O’Connell, O Duffy (0-01), R McAnespie, S Carey (1-01), D McKenna, K Hughes, C McManus (1-04, 1-0 pen, 0-1f, 0-1 ’45).
Subs: N McAdam for D Wylie, D Malone for McKenna, C Boyle (0-01) for R Wylie, C McCarthy for Carey, J McCarron (0-02) for K Hughes, D Mone for Kelly, McElhinney for MacNiallais
Referee: M Deegan (Laois).
