Donegal come good in the second half to ease their way past Meath

Donegal finished their Division 2 campaign in style as they rattled off an eight-point win over Meath, which will no doubt add huge momentum for their league final next weekend in Croke Park.

It was a start from heaven for the Royals when from the throw-in Ruairí Kinsella darted through the heart of the Donegal defence, his chip inside found space for Diarmuid Moriarty in the box who placed it to his wing-forward partner Cathal Hickey who, sprinting like a train, rattled the back of Shaun Patton’s net after only 12 seconds. 

It took Donegal a number of attacks to find their groove, with Caolan McGonagle slipping a shot wide, while dropping a second into the hands of Billy Hogan, while Oisin Gallen and Patrick McBrearty were each turned over when attempting a shot. 

Patton was nearly caught for a second goal when his kickout on the 11th minute mistakenly landed to Kinsella who attempted to chip the Donegal ’keeper, but the St Eunan’s man calmly collected the shot to his relief. 

Jim McGuinness’s side eventually landed their names on the scoresheet when an unmarked Shane O’Donnell struck the ball between the posts on the 12th minute, but Donegal were again caught on the attack when full-forward James Conlon received a quick ball on top of the Donegal box only for his shot to be stopped by Patton. 

It took Donegal until the 24th minute to hit their second and by then they were fully in control as they unlocked the Meath kickout and fired four points in 90 seconds with Gallen turning the Meath defenders inside out to hit over two.  

Jamie Brennan found space to nail over Donegal’s third, while Aaron Doherty could’ve so easily raised a green flag but instead blasted over from the right side of the goalmouth as Donegal took the lead for the first time in the match. 

Conlon would nail over Meath’s second score, their first since the first minute of the game, but Donegal would reply with a long-range effort from O’Donnell, while Gallen fisted over for his third to make it 0-7 to 1-1 at the half-hour mark. 

Keith Curtis would aim to narrow the margin from a tight angle and make it easier for his Meath side after Adam McDonnell was black carded on the 31st minute, but McGuinness’s side would nail over the next three scores with Donegal easily dominating their opposition’s kickouts and finding gaps in the Meath defence to find Gallen who would place the ball to runners at speed or opt for the shot himself. 

From a darting run on the wing, Peadar Mogan would feed the ball to Hugh McFadden who found his range just outside the box, while Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí and Ryan McHugh each exploited the space inside Meath’s 45-metre line to bring Donegal’s tally to 0-10 at the break. 

Corner-forward Shane Walsh would have the final say with a 30-metre point, but they knew there was a lot more to do as Colm O’Rourke’s side marched to the dressing room at half-time trailing on a score of 0-10 to 1-3. 

Kinsella would open the scoring for Meath in the first minute of the second period to bring the match back to a one-score game. But McHugh would put daylight again between the sides moments later when he would fire off his left, as the rain started to fall across Ballybofey.  

Both sides traded points for the next 10 minutes with Doherty and Ciarán Thompson slotting over for Donegal, while Ronan Jones would keep Meath’s hopes alive. 

But the home side would firmly stamp their mark on the game, when a diagonal ball on the 45-metre line from Doherty floated on top of the Meath box for Brennan to win, a push from the Meath full-back propelled the Bundoran man to turn in on goal and slot the ball into the back of the Meath net for Donegal’s opening goal. 

Thompson and Gallen would put double figures between the sides as Donegal dominated every area of the second half. 

Conlon, Curtis, Danny Dixon, Aaron Lynch, and Donal Keoghan would all add second-half scores to put some credibility in the scoreline, but it never panicked McGuinness or his side as they ran out worthy eight-point victors on the night, despite finishing with 14 players following a McGonagle black card. 

Donegal scorers: Oisin Gallen 0-4; Jamie Brennan 1-1; Ciarán Thompson 0-3, 2fs; Shane O’Donnell, Ryan McHugh, and Aaron Doherty 0-2 each; Hugh McFadden Luke McGlynn, Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí and Niall O’Donnell 0-1 each.
Meath scorers: Cathal Hickey 1-0; James Conlon and Keith Curtis (1f) 0-2 each; Shane Walsh, Ruairí Kinsella, Ronan Jones, Danny Dixon, Aaron Lynch and Donal Keogan 0-1 each 

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Mark Curran, Stephen McMenamin, Ciaran Moore; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Peadar Mogan; Hugh McFadden, Aaron Doherty; Shane O’Donnell, Ciarán Thompson, Jamie Brennan; Patrick McBrearty, Oisín Gallen, Dáire Ó Baoill. Subs: Jeaic MacCeallbhuí for McBrearty (19); Niall O’Donnell for Ó Baoill (HT); Caolan McColgan for McHugh (44); John Ross Molloy and Luke McGlynn for McMenamin and McFadden (both 54) 

Meath: Billy Hogan; Harry O’Higgins, Adam O’Neill, Brian O’Halloran; Adam McDonnell, Donal Keogan, Ross Ryan; Ronan Jones, Cian McBride; Diarmuid Moriarty, Ruairí Kinsella, Cathal Hickey; Shane Walsh, James Conlon, Keith Curtis. Subs: Jack O’Connor for Moriarty (46); Danny Dixon for McBride (50); Aaron Lynch for Walsh (55); Michael Murphy for O’Higgins (58); Ciarán Caulfield for McDonnell (61) 

Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)