Conor McGurk Cup quarter-final
Donegal 4-25 Derry 1-8
DONEGAL had no trouble seeing off a youthful Derry side at Convoy.
The winners were much bigger and stronger than their much younger opponents, won nearly all the physical battles and were not flattered by the 26-point winning margin.
Donegal now meet neighbours Fermanagh in the semi-final on Tuesday, while Derry will have been given a glimpse of the harsh reality of senior hurling.
With the match won, Donegal threw on plenty of subs and one of those, Josh McGee Cronolly, was most impressive, hitting a fine goal and showing immense physical power.
Gerard Gilmore finished with a tally of 0-8 from frees, while Ruairi Campbell, Conor Gartland and another sub Oisin Marley grabbed the other goals.
Liam McKinney finished with a tally of 0-6, four from frees.
Corner-forward Conor Murtagh was Derry’s goalscorer in the 10th minute but Derry could only manage one more point, from a pointed Eamon Cassidy free, for the rest of the opening half.
The home side, meanwhile, had amassed 1-12 by the short whistle and it did not get any better for Derry on the resumption, with Mickey McCann’s men tacking on another 3-13.
Scorers
Donegal G Gilmore 0-7 (0-6f); L McKinney 0-6 (0-2f); C Gartland 1-3; R Campbell 1-2; J McGee Cronolly 1-1; B MacIntyre 0-3; O Marley 1-0; J O’Loughlin, S Ward & C Finn 0-1 each
Derry E Cassidy 0-5 (0-4f); C Murtagh 1-0; A Duffin 0-2; E Boylan 0-1
Quarter-finals
Donegal 4-25 Derry 1-8
Down 2-22 Louth 3-18
UU 1-13 Antrim 3-13
Queen’s 1-18 Fermanagh 0-29
Semi-finals
Tuesday, January 9 (7.30pm, venues TBC)
Fermanagh v Donegal
Antrim v Down
