Donegal crush Galway to book quarter-final date with Mayo
Saturday 1 August 2015 23:14, UK
Donegal silenced their critics with a superb second-half performance to defeat Galway by 3-12 to 0-11 in Croke Park.
Rory Gallagher's side faced some tough questions ahead of this Round 4B Qualifier but they blew Galway away with a final quarter flourish that yielded two goals and oozed class.
Paddy McBrearty got Donegal off to a brilliant start when he combined with Colm McFadden to goal after a searing run from Ryan McHugh but Gallagher's charges dropped back a gear as Galway jabbed their way into the contest.
The Tribesmen packed their defence and found space behind Donegal's rearguard often enough to make Gallagher's side look very beatable.
Danny Cummins and Damien Comer made gains from there to the break and Donegal's frustration grew in a barren period that saw Michael Murphy yellow-carded.
But if his contributions were sporadic until then, his influence ignited Donegal after the interval with the sides tied at 1-4 to 0-7.
Galway may feel aggrieved that Murphy was on the pitch to assert that influence after a 50-50 challenge that was more man than ball in the third quarter.
But he remained, began to boss the contest and executed a brilliant score from distance after a huge catch under pressure.
He wasn't done either. Along with Colm Mcfadden and Odhran Mac Niallais - both excellent throughout - Donegal's key players began to stomp a march that had Galway back-pedalling.
They did lose Paddy McGrath to a black card with 20 minutes to go but their momentum continued to build in the face of any such setbacks.
It was nearing its peak when Mac Niallais hit the third of his wonder scores, and then he combined with McFadden who kicked long to Murphy just inside the box. Now positioned at full-forward, the Donegal captain flicked a sublime knock-down to Ryan McHugh who side footed to the net.
It was a brilliant team goal and Donegal's place in the quarter-finals was secure. But just for show, substitute Christy Toye goaled in the opposite corner to McHugh to cap a final quarter that now makes those 'tired' tags sound foolish.
Donegal: P Durcan; P McGrath, N McGee, E McGee; R McHugh (1-0), E Doherty, F McGlynn; N Gallagher, M O'Reilly; H McFadden, O Mac Niallais (0-3), M McHugh; P McBrearty (1-1), M Murphy (0-3, 1f), C McFadden (0-4, 1f).
Subs: M McElhinney for O’Reilly (h/t), A Thompson for E McGee (h/t), Declan Walsh for McGrath (52, black card), L McLoone (0-1) for McBrearty (54), C Toye (1-0) for H McFadden (68), David Walsh for C McFadden (71).
Galway: B O'Donoghue; J Duane, F Hanley, C Sweeney; G Bradshaw, G O'Donnell, L Silke; F Ó Curraoin, T Flynn (0-1); G Sice (0-4, 4f), P Conroy (0-1), M Lundy; D Cummins (0-1), A Varley (0-2), D Comer (0-1, 1f).
Subs: S Walsh (0-1) for A Varley (57), P Sweeney for Conroy (57), P Og O Griofa for Cummins (63), S Denvir for Lundy (67), M Martin for Flynn (69), E Tierney for Sice (69).
Ref: E Kinsella (Laois).
