Donegal defeat Cork to set up All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin
By John Graham
Last Updated: 31/07/16 11:56am
Donegal produced a superb second-half display to advance to a quarter-final showdown with All-Ireland champions Dublin as they carved out a deserved 0-21 to 1-15 win over Cork at Croke Park.
The hero of this Round 4B qualifier win for Donegal was corner-forward Paddy McBrearty who hit 0-11, with seven of his points coming from play.
Cork just had no answer to the masterclass performance from the Kilcar man, who kicked scores at will from a variety of angles to set up a date with Dublin next Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
It was a disappointing way for the Rebels to conclude their 2016 championship, having been shocked by Tipperary in the Munster semi-final.
But they could have few complaints after managing to score just one point in the concluding 25 minutes of this encounter.
That was a point in stoppage time from Colm O'Neill which cut the gap back to a goal and gave the Rebels a chance at finding an equaliser.
But that never looked like materialising against a packed Donegal defence which kept Cork at bay for most of the second-half.
Cork were hopeful of victory when they led by 1-9 to 0-11 at the interval, with Paul Kerrigan blasting home a superb goal at the end of the opening quarter after a good burst from Tomas Clancy.
Donegal responded in excellent fashion with McBrearty kicking a string of excellent scores, but Cork led by a point at the break thanks to a point from Donncha O'Connor.
It was Donegal who dominated the second half and restricted Cork to shooting from distance as they once again managed to get plenty of men back behind the ball.
The sides twice exchanged points after the restart with McBrearty and Ryan McHugh hitting the target for Donegal and Mark Collins and Colm O'Driscoll raising white flags for the Rebels.
But it was clear that Donegal were getting on top in key positions and after being level five times in the second half, Rory Gallagher's men edged in front.
McBrearty, unsurprisingly, provided the inspiration with another excellent point before Michael Murphy landed a free to put two between them.
McBrearty, who picked up a black card in the dying moments, increased the lead to a goal and then flashed over his 11th point, a superb effort over his right shoulder to make the game safe.
O'Neill's point during the six minutes of stoppage time ensured a nervous finish for Donegal but there was little danger that their crowded defence was going to be breached in the dying moments.
Donegal: MA McGinley; P McGrath, N McGee, E McGee; R McHugh (0-3), K Lacey (0-1), F McGlynn (0-1); R Kavanagh, M McElhinney; A Thompson, O MacNiallais (0-1), E McHugh (0-2); P McBrearty (0-11, 4f), M Murphy (0-2, 1f)), M O'Reilly.
Subs: C Gillespie for E McGee (43), L McLoone for Kavanagh (45), C Toye for Thompson (55), M McHugh for McGlynn (60), E Doherty for N McGee (68), H McFadden for McElhinney.
Cork: R Price; C O'Driscoll (0-2), E Cadogan, S Cronin; Tomas Clancy (0-1), Tom Clancy (0-2), K O'Driscoll (0-2); A O'Connor, I Maguire; P Kerrigan (1-1), S Powter (0-1), M Collins (0-1); D O'Connor (0-2), P Kelleher, M Hurley.
Subs: A Walsh (0-1) for A O'Connor (35), P Kelly for Kelleher (41), C O'Neill (0-2, 1f) for D O'Connor (46), B O'Driscoll for Tom Clancy (47), J O'Rourke for K O'Driscoll (61), A Cadogan for Powter (68).
Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon).
