Guthrie steals the show as Donegal win Ulster LGFA SFC opener in Cavan

Karen Guthrie rolled back the years and scored 1-4 as Donegal opened their TG4 Ulster championship campaign with victory over Cavan at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Cavan 0-4 Donegal 1-6 

Five points separated the sides at the final whistle with veteran forward Guthrie turning in a five-star performance in her first start of 2023. Her goal before half-time was the game’s defining score and sent Donegal in two ahead at half-time having been 0-3 to 0-1  down  early on.  Katie Dowd was the other Donegal point scorer in those opening exchanges. 

Lauren McVeety  landed two of the Cavan points in the first half and full-forward Aisling Sheridan posted the other. Guthrie also kicked the game’s opening point inside three minutes as Donegal took the game to Cavan from the off. 

With both defences on top it was another six minutes before the locals got off the mark when Australian Rules player Aisling Sheridan unlocked the packed Donegal rearguard to stroke over Clare Friel’s crossbar. Katie Dowds converted from 30 metres out on the left hand side to reduce the Cavan lead to one. 

That was on 20 minutes and five minutes later Guthrie shot first-time to the back of the Cavan net when the ball broke in a crowded goalmouth. Moments earlier Guthrie had appeals for a penalty turned down  when the referee judged for barging and awarded a free.

The goal opened up a 1-2 to 0-3 Donegal lead and that is how it remained until half-time. 

Cavan scored the first point of the second half with Neasa Byrd splitting the posts three minutes in. But that was the Breffni ladies’ only score of the second half and while it took Donegal close on 15 minutes to open their second half account. Donegal finished strong even though they lost Guthrie to the sin-bin for 10 minutes in the middle of the second half. 

Susanne White converted a close-in free for to restore Donegal’s two-point advantage and the ladies from the north west finished the game strong with three unanswered late points.

Donegal were so much on top that they had the luxury of a missed penalty. 

Niamh McLaughlin, who had another fine game, failed from the penalty spot after she was fouled as she bore down on the Cavan goal. The Moville player pulled her shot just wide of the Cavan right hand upright. 

This was a big win for a new look Donegal and their manager Maxi Curran and brought an end to a losing sequence. They lost all seven games in Division One of the Lidl Ladies National Football league and were relegated but can now look forward to next week’s visit of Armagh, the three-in-a-row Ulster champions.

Cavan scorers: Lauren McVeety 0-2,1f; Aisling Sheridan and Neasa Byrd 0-1 each. 
Donegal scorers: Karen Guthrie 1-4; Katie Dowd 0-1; Susanne White 0-1,1f.  

Cavan: Roisin O’Reilly; Geraldine Faulkner, Shauna Lynch, Christine Charters; Zara Fay, Neasa Byrd, Rebecca O’Reilly; Ciara Finnegan, Ally Cahill; Sophie Slowey, Aisling Gilsenan, Annie Denegher; Lauren McVeety, Aisling  Sheridan, Geraldine Smith. Subs: L O Reilly for A Dennegher (half-time); G Sheridan for G Smith (45); A Walls for A Cahill (48).  

Donegal: Clare Friel; Niamh Carr, Abigail Temple Asokuh, Nicole McLaughlin; Amy  Boyle Carr, Shannon McGroddy, Tara Hegarty; Shelley Twohig, Niamh McLaughlin; Roisin Rodgers, Katie Long, Katie Dowds; Karen Guthrie, Katy Herron, Susanne White. Subs: Ciara McGravey for S McGroddy (52); Emer Gallagher for K Long (60).

Referee: Philip  Conway (Armagh).