Donegal well beaten in All-Ireland Tier Two Minor semi-final as Meath hit six goals

The Donegal minors were convincingly beaten in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Tier Two Championship by Meath in the Athletic Grounds.

Against a stiff breeze, Donegal would have been relatively pleased to be five down at the break, although a Sean Smyth penalty just before half-time was a disappointment as they trailed by 1-8 to 0-6.

They did however claw it back in the first ten minutes after the restart with points from Jack Gallagher, Shane Sweeney, Danny McCready and Joseph Gibbions.

And they levelled the game coming into the third quarter through Sweeney to make it 1-9 to 0-12, but Meath then finished strong.

Goals from Niall Lawless, Smyth, Stephen Cahill, Jeff Foley and Luke Casey saw the Leinster men finish strong and a Tomas Carr penalty was saved by Charlie Finnegan which summed up Donegal’s luck

While Donegal won possession from the start and Shane Sweeney kicked a free inside the opening minute, it was Meath who had the brightest start as they raced into a four point lead.

From their kick-out, ‘keeper Charlie Finnegan found Cillian Murphy and as he won a free, Charlie Gallagher kicked over from outside the arc.

Donegal had difficulty getting their kick outs away early on and Stephen Cahill and Sean Smyth tagged on points from play, while Cillian Murphy added another to make it five points in as many minutes.

Barry Ward’s side did begin to settle after that however and Tomas Carr kicked over from play, but they posted three wides by the quarter of an hour mark.

Joseph Gibbions got the next score after a lull in play, but Meath responded again with another two point free from Gallagher.

Aodh Ruadh man Gibbions curled over again on the left foot but Meath quickly responded with Finnegan finding Gallagher who kicked long into Cahill and with a goal chance on, he fisted over.

They did get their goal three minutes before half-time however as a Gallagher free dropped short and Cahill was fouled by Jamie Gavigan, with Enda Mallon signaling for a penalty and Sean Smyth fired down the middle.

Donegal responded with two frees from Carr and Sweeney as they trailed by 1-8 to 0-6 at the break.

With the breeze to their backs, however, Donegal started strong after the restart as Jack Gallagher curled over and Shane Sweeney kicked a free.

Danny McCready pointed next as Carr’s effort dropped short and Kalvin McLaughlin found the Dungloe man to point, while Gibbions got his third score of the game soon after.

Sean Smyth kicked a free for Meath but Donegal replied instantly through Jack Gallagher, and Shane Sweeney levelled the game for the first time on 44 minutes.

Meath however responded well and as Murphy just about got possession away when hounded by three Donegal men to find Niall Lawless and his point attempt dropped into the top corner of the net.

That seemed to make the heads drop for Donegal and they failed to point after this, while Meath would go on to score four more goals, Sean Smyth blasting in on the turn after a point of his own from a free.

Charlie Gallagher kicked another point from play and they got a fourth goal as Declan Byrne played in Stephen Cahill who struck into the roof of the net.

Donegal looked for goals and they got a chance as Sweeney was fouled by Eoghan McBrearty with a penalty given, but Finnegan saved Tomas Carr’s penalty which summed up Donegal’s day.

It got worse after that as Smyth played in Jeff Foley and he found the net, while the ball somehow stayed out at the other end as Gavigan squared across from Oisin Mullan but his punch came off the bar.

Meath got a sixth goal in added time as Cahill played in Luke Casey and he blasted into the top right corner to put icing on the cake for the Royals, who will meet Kildare in the final. 

Donegal scorers: Shane Sweeney 0-4, 3f; Joseph Gibbions 0-3; Tomas Carr 0-2, 1f; Jack Gallagher 0-2; Danny McCready 0-1

Meath scorers: Charlie Gallagher 0-5, 2tpf; Sean Smyth 2-3, 1-0 pen, 2f; Stephen Cahill 1-2; Niall Lawless, Jeff Foley and Luke Casey 1-0 each; Cillian Murphy 0-1

Donegal: Ronan O’Donnell; Christopher O’Donnell, Jamie Gavigan, Daithi Molloy; Cathal Doherty, Evan Daly, Conor Farrell; Kalvin McLaughlin, Cathal Mac Aoidh; Jack Gallagher, Tomas Carr, Joseph Gibbions; Thomas Lenehan, Shane Sweeney, Odhran Ryan.

Subs: Danny McCready for Lenehan (28), Peter McLaughlin and Evan Hickey for Daly and Farrell (ht), Joe Doherty for Ryan (42), Oisin Mullan for Gibbions (57).

Meath: Charlie Finnegan; Charlie O’Connor, Conall O’Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Lewis Ryan,Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher; Will Byrne, Cillian Murphy, Seán Delaney; Jesse O’Rourke, Sean Smyth, Stephen Cahill.

Subs: Adam McEvoy for O’Rourke (26), Luke Casey and Shane Bennett for Lawless and Ryan (47), Robert Johnson for Byrne (52), Jeff Foley for Delaney (57).

Referee: Enda Mallon (Armagh).