Donegal pick up second Nickey Rackard win with victory over Armagh

Donegal turned in an emphatic performance to pick up two valuable Nickey Rackard points away against Armagh in Athletic Grounds. 

Armagh 1-16 Donegal 3-20 

And while two injury time goals from sub Gerry Gilmore and Conor Gartland put a gloss on matters, there was no doubting the winners’ superiority 

But an area of concern was the sight of the excellent Danny Cullen being forced off the field after 18 minutes through injury and there will be an anxious wait to see if he will be fit for next week’s away tussle with Roscommon. 

Although outgunned, Armagh never gave up and will rue a total of 11 wides over the hour. 

Also there was a strong element of fortune about ‘man of the match’ Liam McKinney’s free which dropped short and it seemed to skid off the sticks of Odhran McCann and Tiarnan Nevin into the net in the 11th minute. 

That pushed Donegal into a 1-4 to 0-3 lead and was an ideal platform throughout.  Wasteful Armagh relied excessively on captain and marksman Fionntán Donnelly for inspiration, and he hit 0-12 with coming from frees. 

For Donegal, McKinney struck an impressive 1-11 with ex Armagh star Declan Coulter landing 0-4 and giving Gilmrore an exquisite pass for a cracking goal in extra time. 

Armagh responded with a fine goal of their own in the 47th minute when Thomas Galvin swept the sliotar to the net after Donegal lost possession in their own half. 

But despite considerable possession in the second half, they never looked like winning this game against a much improved Donegal side who banished last week’s blues against Fermanagh.    

Armagh swept down field from the off and earned a quick free which team captain Donnelly coolly converted after just 12 seconds. 

And, they could have had a penalty two minutes later, as Thomas Galvin speared through the Donegal defence and appeared to be pulled down. 

As the ball headed for the net Donegal cornerback Padraig Doherty booted clear. Donnelly added another point from play to put the home side two points in front. 

McKinney then opened Donegal’s account and quickly levelled matters from a free. He added two more points as he and Donnelly traded scores before that somewhat lucky goal. Goalkeeper Luke White also got in on the scoring act with a well struck long range free. 

And the inevitable Donnelly kept his team in touch as Donegal led by 1-10 to 0-8 at the break. The winners ran the bench in the second half as McKinney hit the first three points of the second half to equal his first half feat. 

Galvin’s goal left Donegal leading by 1-13 to 1-8 but some bad shooting by Armagh spoiled any real chance of a comeback. Donegal sub Gerard Gilmore landed a beautiful side cut and posed a real threat to Armagh. 

It was then that Donegal veteran Declan Coulter showed his nous and experience as Armagh kept attacking but to little avail. They were forced to go for it and Gilmore profited richly to smash home those late goals. 

Donegal now face Roscommon away next week and will be in buoyant mood after this fine victory. Armagh will be disappointed that they could not repeat the fine away victory over Roscommon on their home patch. 

Armagh scorers: Fiontann Donnelly(0-12,8f); Thomas Galvin 1-0; Cormac Jennings 0-2; Conor Ranaghnan 0-1; Shea Harvey 0-1. 

Donegal scorers: Liam McKinney (1-11,7f); Gerry Gilmore 1-1,1sl); Declan Coulter 0-4,3f; Conor Gartland 1-0; Ruairi Campbell 0-1 Luke White 0-1,1f; Michael Donaghue 0-1; Ronan McDermott 0-1.    

Armagh: Conor McAnallen; Stefan McParland, Oisin O’Hare, Odhran McCann; Paudie Lappin, Tiarnan Nevin, Odhran Curry; Peadar McBride, Barry Shortt; Thomas Galvin, Connor Renaghan, Cormac Jennings; Tam McKavanagh, Eoin McGuinness, Fiontann Donnelly. 

Subs: Niall Lennon for Odhran McCann (47), Shea Harvey for Peadar McBride (46) Danny Magee for Tam McKavanagh (56), Nathan Curry for Eoin McGuinness (60), Paddy Garvey for Odhran Curry (65), Conor O’Grady for Daire O’Maoileidigh (67). 

Donegal: Luke White; Stephen McBride, Michael Donaghue, Padraig Doherty; Stephen Gillespie, Jack O’Loughlin, Christopher McDermott; Danny Cullen, Brian McIntyre; Declan Coulter, Liam McKinney, Ronan McDermott; Conor Gartland, Daire O’Maoileidigh, Ruairi Campbell. 

Subs: G Bernard Lafferty for Danny Cullen (18), Gerry Giilmore for Brian McIntyre (h-time), Gavin Browne for Christopher McDermott (55) Sean Ward for Ruairi Campebll (71).  

Referee: Matthew Farrell (Roscommon).