Sunday July 6 - Junior A Football: Donegal v Shannon Blues

Donegal 1-20 Shannon Blues 1-5

Donegal made it another sizeable victory in the junior A football competition.  The Blues were never really in it as Donegal had their way for most of the 60 minutes.  The Blues made a fight of it, but could not handle a strong Donegal side that always looked like they had the game under control.

Shannon Blues Cian Moriarty has a shot.

Playing with a slight breeze, Donegal held the edge for most of the first half.  After Francis O'Neill put a superb point over the bar for the Blues, Donegal took hold of matters.  Midfielders Peter McLaughlin and Simon McDonagh were a handful for the Blues to deal with.  Matthew Cutliffe leveled the scores, and Dean Kelly then netted for Donegal. 

With Pauric McLaughlin his usual industrious self in the forward line, Donegal made hay.  The scores flowed from Dean Kelly, Cutliffe, McLaughlin, Michael McGinty and midfielder McDonagh.  The Blues had some flashes of encouragement, Cian Moriarty broke inside the Donegal 21, but his low hard shot hit the crossbar and cannoned over the bar.  At the break Donegal held a 1-11 to 0-3 lead.

Donegal break out of Defence.

The second half played out in similar fashion.  Donegal poured forward and tallied a further points.  Cutliffe, McDonagh, Barney Friel, and McGinty added to the tally.  Conor Fitzgerald broke through to put away a goal for the Blues just before the final whistle and ease the pain.  Donegal, though, looking very strong and a good candidate to return to the junior a final.

Donegal:  B. Friel, H. Devine, D. McBride, P. McLaughlin, D. Green, S. Doherty, S. McDonagh, Peter McLaughlin, Pauric McLaughlin, M. McGinty, C. McDevitt, M. Cutliffe, D. Kelly.  Blues:  T. Sayers, D. O'Brien, M. Moriarty, F. O'Neill, S. Sinnott, M. Keegan, P. Murray, J. Walsh, C. Moriarty, J. Craig, C. Fitzgerald, J. Moriarty, T. Hernon.

By Rory O'Donnell