Football

How the Down players rated against Donegal

Marc Reid: The Mourne netminder had a torrid time with his kick-outs in the first half. Took too long to decide to kick short. No chance with either goal, he did well to put off Jamie Brennan when he had a chance for a third goal. 5

Colm Flanagan: Picked up Jamie Brennan and restricted him to a point from play in the first half. Brennan added 1-2 in the second half but Flanagan stuck to his task. 5

Benny McArdle: Murphy gave him the slip with an audacious double dragback in the first half. McArdle picked up the in-form Paddy Brearty who scored three points from play. 5

Anthony Doherty: The spare man in the Down rearguard. Wasn’t at his best and was overrun as Donegal flooded forward. Subbed in the second half. 5

Darren O’Hagan: Picked up Ryan McHugh and looked to leave his mark on the Kilcar playmaker. The Clonduff clubman is a warrior in the red and black jersey, tackled ferociously and got Down going for their first score. 6

Niall McParland: The Down skipper is a formidable unit, but he was dwarfed by Michael Murphy who had the edge in the physical stakes. Unable to start the second half after a collision with the Glenswilly man. 5

Caolan Mooney: Landed Down’s first point after 26 minutes. He had Ciaran Thompson for company and was unable to use his pace to hurt the Donegal defence. Gave the ball away cheaply on occasions. 5

Peter Turley: Spare man early on but was then switched on to Murphy. Couldn’t make his presence felt in midfield where Donegal reigned supreme. 5

Niall Donnelly: Lost McLoone for the Donegal goal and couldn’t make a dent in the midfield battle from Down kick-outs. He did beat Murphy to the ball for a Donegal restart and created a point for Harrison. Scored 1-1 late in the game to add respectability to the scoreboard. 6

Kevin McKernan: Passing was typically accurate when he got on the ball but he didn’t see enough of it. Assist for one of Harrison’s points. Had his hands full with Paul Brennan before moving to sweeper late on. 5

Conor Maginn: Booked early on, Maginn was well shackled by Eoghan Ban Gallagher and, like the rest of the Down forward unit, he was starved of possession. Landed two points from play. 6

Shay Millar: It wasn’t his day. He sent an early chance wide and was black-carded in the second half after dropping a shot short as Down tried to find a way back into the game. 5

Donal O’Hare: Four points overall - three from frees - for the Burren forward who had the beating of Paddy McGrath from start to finish. Denied a goal by fine save from Patton. Missed an early chance that might have settled the Mournemen. 7

Connaire Harrison: Down’s best player yesterday. The Glassdrumman forward scored four points from play and always looked dangerous. 7.5

Ronan Millar: Dropped into the middle third and began brightly, combining well with his brother. Black-carded after 21 minutes. 5

Substitutes:

Ryan Johnston: Replaced Ronan Millar. Got on a lot of ball. One brilliant pass but several poor ones. 5

Sean Dornan: In for Shay Millar. Operated at full-forward but couldn’t turn the tide. 5

Ruairi Wells: Replaced McParland at half-time and picked up Murphy. Stuck to his task. 5

Conor Poland: Replaced Doherty after 48 minutes. Looked lively and created a goal chance for O’Hare. 5

David McKibbin: On for Turley after 56 minutes but was black-carded nine minutes later. 5

Jonny Flynn: Not on long enough to be rated.

Down crushed by Donegal juggernaut in one-sided Ulster semi-final