FERMANAGH RATINGS
James McGrath: A late change for Thomas Treacy, McGrath went long with most of his kick-outs with mixed results. Generally well protected by Fermanagh’s defensive blanket. 6
Jonny Cassidy: Making his Championship debut, the 20-year-old did a brilliant man-marking job on Ryan McHugh and still had the lungs to get into a couple of scoring positions and might have got on the score-sheet. 7.5
Che Cullen: Michael Murphy lulls you into a false sense of security; you blink and he’s assisted for a score or pointed himself. Cullen stuck to his task but had a tough afternoon trying to police the Glenswilly man mountain. 5.5
Lee Cullen: The Belnaneck defender tried to ruffle Patrick McBrearty after a couple of early wides, but the Kilcar man is made of sterner stuff. Cullen was completely dominated in the second half as his man claimed three points from play. 5
Ultan Kelm: A real gem of a player that Fermanagh should cherish. Athletic and pacy, the wing half-back is perfect for Rory Gallagher’s demanding game-plan. Grabbed a score in each half and was among the best that Fermanagh had to offer. 7.5
James McMahon: The Roslea man knows the sweeper’s role like the back of his hand, and played really well in the opening half. Held up several Donegal attacks thanks to his excellent positional sense, but one handling error led to a converted 20th minute free. 7
Kane Connor: Once Jamie Brennan got going in this game, Connor was in difficulty. Lucky not to be black-carded in the first half after a crude pull down and even when he did get close to Brennan the Donegal attacker was still able to score. 5
Eoin Donnelly: Not the influence Fermanagh expected. Hugh McFadden competed well against him at midfield. Donegal did well not to bring the ball into the centre of the Fermanagh defence where Donnelly was stationed and was therefore nullified. 5.5
Ryan Jones: Spent the early stages niggling Patrick McBrearty for two misses before he concentrated on his own game. Hit a lovely point on the half hour mark. Less influential in the second half. 6
Daniel Teague: Covered a lot of ground but didn’t trouble Donegal’s posts in the first half. Picked up a booking before being replaced and introduced again in the closing stages. 5
Aidan Breen: Did a thousand shuttle runs up and down the centre of the pitch but wasn’t a scoring threat and didn’t gain a lot of possessions. 5
Ciaran Corrigan: Alongside Ultan Kelm, Corrigan was Fermanagh’s most effective player. Showed great intelligence from kick-outs and was good in possession. The speedy Maguiresbridge wing-forward grabbed a score in each half. 7.5
Declan McCusker: Did a good containing job on ‘Ban’ Gallagher and hoovered up a few breaks. Did a lot of hard yards but with little reward. 6
Conall Jones: Scuffed a free that would have made it a one-point game entering the final 10 minutes. Played very deep and therefore didn’t get into any scoring positions. 5.5
Sean Quigley: Converted an early free and hit some nice kick passes into Daniel Teague early on but was blotted out after that. Subbed in the 44th minute. 5
Substitues
Barry Mulrone: Hit a brilliant point and was unlucky with another effort. Did well. 6.5
Paul McCusker. Played inside and didn’t get any change out of the Donegal defence. 5
Thomas Clarke: Played as a late target man with little service. 5
Ryan Lyons: Not on long enough to be rated.
Daniel Teague: Re-entered the fray in the closing stages for more legs.
DONEGAL RATINGS
Shaun Patton: Did well under a Mulrone Hail Mary in the second off but other than that, a quiet enough afternoon. Went long towards McFadden a couple of times in the first half but Fermanagh didn’t put too much pressure on the short option. 7
Paddy McGrath: Was caught for pace by Ciaran Corrigan’s first half point and handed a yellow card for a lazy late tackle on Conall Jones. 6.5
Neil McGee: Picked up Quigley but, with the Roslea man carrying a hamstring injury, there wasn’t a huge threat posed. 7
Stephen McMenamin: Always an option for the short kick-out, took some superb catches and his boundless energy saw him set Donegal on the front foot time and again. 7.5
Ryan McHugh: The pivotal figure in last year’s Ulster final but peripheral to proceedings yesterday as the pockets of space he so craves rarely presented themselves. 6
Daire O Baoill: Found the direct running of Ultan Kelm hard to deal with. Eventually withdrawn. 6
Eoghan Ban Gallagher: Had a good battle with Declan McCusker - very few flashes of the raiding runs that have become his trademark. 6.5
Hugh McFadden: Broke two early kick-outs, though at that stage Donegal were struggling to make possession pay. Never got too adventurous, holding his position in disciplined fashion. 7
Jason McGee: Fired over a great point from the sideline in the dying embers of the first half to send Donegal in a point up, and hit the upright with a similar effort minutes later. 7
Ciaran Thompson: Worked hard to try and work space where there was none, and landed a beautiful curling effort heading down the straight. 7
Leo McLoone: Struggled to make an impact early on as Fermanagh pressed hard. Scored a point before half-time and eventually withdrawn 20 minutes after the break. 6.5
Michael Murphy: On the two occasions when he escaped Che Cullen’s shadow for a split second, the Glenswilly man made Fermanagh pay with a couple of excellent points. Drove Donegal forward when they needed him to. 8
Michael Langan: A mixed bag. Kicked three bad wides, two of which were snatched at in the early stages when Fermanagh denied Donegal’s forwards any space. Did score a point and also made a crucial block as Daniel Teague advanced on goal late on. 7
Jamie Brennan (STAR MAN) Scored Donegal’s first of the day after 18 minutes, and is brilliant at operating in tight spaces. Able to engineer an inch when that was all he needed to land three class scores from play. Kicked the points that mattered when the game was there to be won. 8.5
Patrick McBrearty: Looked rusty early on in his first Donegal appearance since going off injured in last year’s Ulster final. Soon found his mojo, using the wind to excellent effect to score three from play in the second half, eventually finishing up with five. 8
Substitutes
Frank McGlynn: Went straight on to fellow sub Barry Mulrone, who was causing bother, but soon assumed a screening role in front of the Donegal defence. 6.5
Niall O’Donnell: Kept it neat and tidy after being brought, with Donegal trying to hold Fermanagh at arm’s length. 6.5
Eoin McHugh: Came on when Donegal were slowing the game down and had little effect. 6
Eamonn Doherty: Not on long enough to be rated.
Paul Brennan: Not on long enough to be rated.
