Donegal trample Tyrone

Earlier in the week, it was decided that the Ulster final would take place in Croke Park this year, the unwritten basis being that such would the demand for an Armagh vs. Tyrone game be that Clones wouldn’t be as fit to hosts the hordes as the Big House in Dublin. Even if that wasn’t the intention, Donegal could have felt nothing but slighted by the notion. Consequently, great was the joy they took in upsetting matters last Sunday in front of 25,000 drenched supporters up on the hill in the ramshackle old Monaghan town.
Afterward, Tyrone manager Mickey Harte admitted that his side were chasing shadows. He was referring to the way his men were run ragged in a rip-roaring second half, but it doesn’t take much of a leap to touch on a hidden meaning. Donegal, by contrast, are a team inspired. Inspired by their fair share of failure, perhaps, but inspired nonetheless. In Colm McFadden, they’ve sprung a spry new forward, one who can aid and abet Adrian Sweeney and Brendan Devenney by chipping in at least what they manage and maybe even more in every game. He finished last Sunday with 1-7 against his name. Sweeney could add only a point and Devenney never raised a flag. Has Donegal ever won a match with those two offering such a paltry scoring return?
And this was no lucky win either. Indeed, what luck there was went against Donegal, Niall McCready having been a touch unfortunate to have been sent off 3 minutes before halftime. Velcro-tight marker that he is, McCready had been jousting with Owen Mulligan for the whole of the first half and stepped over the line with a crude body check when Mulligan smartly beat him to an incoming ball.
As Mulligan got to his feet, McCready tried a no-hard-feelings handshake, but Mulligan wasn’t having a bar of him and pushed him twice in the chest. By the time the third push came, McCready had had enough and he wrestled Mulligan to the ground. Referee Gerry Kinneavy could easily have told the pair of them to grow up and calm down but instead brandished the yellow card again. McCready walked, Mulligan stayed. The halftime scoreline was 0-4 to 0-3 in the champions’ favor. Time for them to pull away.
Except it wasn’t. It was, instead, time for Donegal to run away with the game and have it as good as wrapped up with 15 minutes to go. Despite the numerical disadvantage, in the first 18 minutes of the second half they outscored Tyrone by 1-6 to 0-1. Brendan Boyle and substitute Stephen McDermott took control of midfield, their relentless haranguing of Sean Cavanagh making last year’s young player of the year look labored for once. Brian Roper and Michael Hegarty buzzed around the half forward line to good effect and inside them, McFadden was blazing himself an impressive trail, knocking over points from frees when called upon.
And then his goal, the icing on Donegal’s cake and the score that just about finished the contest. Hegarty played a clever ball up the right wing for Christy Toye to collect and after a neat change of pace, the St Michael’s man slipped his clubmate McFadden in. A low, skidding shot was past John Devine before he had time to do anything about it.

LAOIS 1-13, MEATH 0-9
In a few weeks Croke Park will host a Leinster football final and for the first time since before man landed on the moon, it won’t be contested by either Dublin or Meath or Offaly or Kildare. Last time that happened, the year was 1968. Now, the rest of Leinster is revolting.
Laois breezed through this Leinster semifinal, carelessly at first but the expertly when they put their minds to it. You know the times have a-changed when a Laois side go in all square at halftime (0-6 apiece) and get a lash of Mick O’Dwyer’s tongue during the interval because they’ve played well below the level they’re capable of. Micko positively purred afterward at the fluidity and finesse of the champions’ play in the second half. The lashing had done the trick and then some.
Laois won the second half 1-7 to 0-3. None of Meath’s points came from open play. Even when they had a chance to forge a bit of a lead, Daithi Regan’s goalbound effort was brilliantly saved by Fergal Byron. That was after 46 minutes. Laois reacted by rattling off 1-5 between then and the end of the game. Meath only managed a Joe Sheridan free.
Laois’ goal came from the boot of Colm Parkinson, their flighty sideburned full-forward. Latching on to a marvelous through ball from Mick Lawlor, Parkinson — who, having already conferred upon Darren Fay the indignity of being switched to cornerback, was giving Mark O’Reilly a torrid time — got away a cracking shot while falling to the ground. It bulleted into the roof of the net.
Laois were 7 points up. The prospect of a final between them and the winners of Westmeath vs. Wexford never looked in any danger from then on.

LEITRIM 1-10, ROSCOMMON 0-13
At Carrick-On-Shannon, the bruises on Leitrim heads must by cartoonish at this stage, so often have they crashed into the glass ceiling they see in Roscommon. Last year, it took a last-minute goal to seal their anguish. This year, they were two points up with 7 minutes left but yet again they coughed up their advantage. Three Roscommon points at the death turned matters in the direction of Tom Carr’s side and, in the end, Leitrim had to find a point from somewhere to force the draw. They did — through Barry Prior — but try finding a man in Carrick-On-Shannon last Sunday who thinks they haven’t blown their best chance. Roscommon will feel pretty confident of seeing them off in the replay at Hyde Park this Saturday.
Mind you, they felt pretty confident going into last Sunday, which Carr afterward pointed to as being a fairly big part of the problem. Roscommon took this for granted and clearly felt that the two games they’d played against Sligo in the previous round were all the preparation they needed. It didn’t turn out that way. Leitrim were disciplined in defence where their whole fullback line was exceptional throughout and industrious in attack where Colin Regan’s reputation was further enhanced.
True, they were on the right side of a curious decision by referee Michael Hughes to award a penalty after Roscommon goalkeeper Shane Curran was adjudged to have overcarried in his own box. But good luck isn’t worth anything unless it’s capitalized on and Michael Foley stroked home the penalty with aplomb.

OFFALY 2-25, DUBLIN 1-13
At Croke Park, Offaly made their customary hard work of this, a Leinster semifinal they never looked like losing but one they in which were far from impressive in winning. True, they only had to rely on three points from placed balls in the whole game and scored a couple of well-taken goals, but, in truth, they looked desperately off the pace. They’ll be delighted Kilkenny aren’t waiting to hand them a hiding in the final. On this evidence, Wexford still could.
Brendan Murphy was the exception to the dross and ennui, the Offaly forward stitching together a nice afternoon’s work that included a final total of 2-5. The goals, one in each half, were fine efforts and he must have been frustrated that his efforts weren’t being matched elsewhere in the side.

HURLING QUALIFIER
LAOIS 3-13, WESTMEATH 4-5
At Portlaoise, Laois earned themselves a meeting with Clare Saturday in the next round of the qualifiers but found Westmeath obdurate opponents at O’Moore Park last weekend. Six points from halftime substitute Damien Walsh turned what should have been an altogether more straightforward assignment their way, although they were also indebted to corner-forward Damien Culleton who chipped in with 2-1.