Allianz Football League Division One: Donegal 0-14 Galway 1-12
WITH a trip to Croke Park on the agenda this weekend, Donegal’s Division One status is already hanging by a thread after a second successive last-gasp defeat.
Having been caught by two late scores down in Tralee last Sunday, this time it was a fantastic Sean Armstrong effort that undid Declan Bonner’s side just as injury time rolled around in a frantic second half.
And while you could argue about which side deserved to win it on the basis of the 70 minutes, Galway should have put the seal on it time and again in stoppage time, only to miss three gilt-edged chances.
Donegal had chances but theirs were nowhere near as clear cut, with Eoghan Gallagher dropping the best of them into the superb hands of Ruairi Lavelle.
Hugh McFadden had a long-range go with the last kick but it never looked like coming inside the far post as Donegal’s woeful record in Letterkenny continued, with the county having won just twice there in the League since 2007.
Donegal have often been accused of being a one-man team which revolves around Michael Murphy but in his absence, Paddy McBrearty has taken the mantle, kicking 0-19 in the first two rounds of the League.
Galway’s defence simply couldn’t get a handle on him when there was any sort of decent delivery.
The problem for the hosts was that the supply dried up after half-time when Galway changed their approach and went full Ulster.
The first half had been fairly entertaining, though Donegal were not quite so gung-ho as they had been in the first half against Kerry. Caolan McGonigle and Leo McLoone were sitting very deep, and Caolan Ward was, at times, also left as a free man when Galway retreated.
Damien Comer was a real menace for Galway with what little possession he got on the edge of the square, at one stage bustling the whole way through from 25 yards out, barging through a wall of about eight yellow shirts and firing over off his left foot from close range.
It was level at 0-3 apiece when Donegal were cut open for what proved the game’s decisive score. Declan Kyne broke up field and as Hugh McFadden came to meet him near the 45, you could see the huge chasm open up behind him.
There was no cover in position and Eamonn Brannigan raced into the breach, opening his body out to finish superbly past League debutant Peter Boyle.
McBrearty had been holding it all together for the Ulster men, kicking all of their first six scores, including a magnificent score from just inside the 45.
Over the whole 70 minutes, all but a single point (Paul Brennan’s) was finished by a Kilcar man. Stephen McBrearty got two, and Ryan McHugh and Ciaran McGinley landed one each to add to the elder McBrearty’s nine.
Galway led by two at the break, 1-7 to 0-8, with Donegal having hit the final two scores to keep themselves in touch.
There had been little evidence of a Galway blanket in the opening half but they brought it out of the changing room with them for the second period, defending in much greater numbers and from a much deeper starting position.
They almost snatched a second goal fairly quickly, with an error by the Donegal defence allowing Comer to link up with Johnny Heaney, only for Peter Boyle to acrobatically tip Comer’s fisted volley from six yards over.
Paddy McBrearty responded with another brilliant score taken without a second glance at the posts with two defenders throwing themselves to block, and a close range free edged Donegal briefly ahead at one stage, 0-12 to 1-8.
But the lead lasted barely a minute before Walsh landed a spectacular equaliser.
From there it was just an arm-wrestle – literally at one stage as Padraig Hughes had to book four men at once after a dance-off.
Ryan McHugh kicked the best score of the afternoon to make it 0-13 to 1-10, sizing it up from beneath the stand before lacing it over the black spot off the outside of the boot.
But it always had the look of Donegal chasing. After they’d traded scores between Walsh and Ciaran McGinley, the winner came a minute from time courtesy of a sublime Sean Armstrong effort.
There were no shortage of chances at either end thereafter. Three times Galway raced clear and three times they contrived to make a mess of the chance.
There seemed a sense that Donegal were destined to snatch something after such a high-wire defensive act, but they couldn’t find a way through the maroon wall, which now has four points.
Donegal have none, and the difficulty only increases from here.
Donegal: P Boyle; S McMenamin, C Ward, E Gallagher; R McHugh (0-1), P Brennan (0-1), T McCleneghan; L McLoone, H McFadden; M O’Reilly, O Mac Niallais, C McGonigle; P McBrearty (0-9, 0-6 frees), D O’Connor, S McBrearty (0-2)
Subs: E Doherty for McCleneghan (24), C Thompson for McGonigle (HT), N O’Donnell for O’Reilly (HT), M McHugh for Doherty (53), C McGinley (0-1) for S McBrearty (61)
Yellow cards: P Brennan (50), N O’Donnell (50), P McBrearty (62)
Black card: C Thompson (72) replaced by K McBrearty
Galway: R Lavelle; D Kyne, SA Ó Ceallaigh, E Kerin; C Sweeney, G Bradshaw, J Heaney (0-1); P Conroy (0-1), P Cooke; S Kelly, S Walsh (0-6, 0-4 frees), E Brannigan (1-0); P Sweeney, D Comer (0-3), A Varley
Subs: P Cunningham for Varley (49), T Flynn for P Sweeney (60), G O’Donnell for C Sweeney (60), S Armstrong (0-1) for Cooke (62), J Duane for Ó Ceallaigh (65)
Yellow cards: P Conroy (36), S Ó Ceallaigh (50), D Kyne (50), S Armstrong (72) Blood replacement: T Flynn for Cooke (6-8)
Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)
Attendance: 5,053
