Donegal Boston vs Aidan McAnespies
Sunday, June 1st 2pm
Donegal Boston 1-13 | Aidan McAnespies 1-15
The Men's Senior Football Championship got underway in Canton with an exciting clash between Donegal Boston and Aidan McAnespies, played out in windy conditions.
McAnespies captain Conall Devlin opened the scoring with a well-taken point, followed soon after by a point from Robbie Croft off his left foot. Donegal responded quickly through Michael Winston and Darren Grant, as the sides traded early points. Donegal’s defence stood firm in the face of McAnespies pressure, with goalkeeper Hugh Boyle producing a couple of key saves to deny McAnespie goal chances.
It was Darren Grant who landed the game’s first 2-pointer to give Donegal a two-point lead.
The first half remained evenly contested with little separating the teams. Rory Brolly stuck one over the bar to narrow the gap for the Macs, but Donegal answered with a point from a free from Michael O’Rowe. McAnespies regained the lead after a 2-pointer from Croft—struck from off the ground—followed by a point from a free from Croft. However, Grant wasn’t finished for the half. A 2-pointer and a point from the Donegal Boston player put his side up two points at the break.
Half-time: Donegal 0-8 | Aidan McAnespies 0-6
The second half resumed with Shane McGinley opening the scoring for McAnespies. Conall Devlin soon followed with a 2-pointer that pushed his side ahead once again. But Donegal responded immediately, with O’Rowe splitting the posts to level the match for the third time.
There was a brief interruption when Donegal Boston’s Stephen O’Brien was temporarily blood-subbed. Croft nudged the Macs back in front with a point from a free, but another left-footed point from O’Rowe drew the sides level once more.
O’Rowe then converted another free to put Donegal up by one, only for Croft to level again from another free—bringing it to 0-11 apiece. A Donegal free, brought forward 50 metres, was tapped over to restore their lead. O’Brien came back on just as McGinley stepped up to make it level for the sixth and final time from a free.
Donegal edged ahead again by one with another point from a free, but it was McAnespies Peter O’Connell who scored a 2-pointer to flip the scoreboard in their favour. Substitution Zach Firman added a well-taken point from play to extend the Macs’ lead by two.
With time running out, Donegal were far from done. Darren Grant found the back of the net, swinging the game back in Donegal’s favour, 1-13 to 0-15 - but the match wasn’t over yet. The final twist came courtesy of Bobby Walker, who scored a goal for McAnespies. The final whistle sounded shortly after, bringing an end to a thrilling and evenly matched contest that could have gone either way.
Teams & Scorers:
Donegal Boston
Hugh Boyle, Aidan Sullivan, Mark Canny, Cory Gallagher, Neil Mulcahy, Jack O’Brien, Simon Finn, Ryan McMahon, Stephen O’Brien, Darren Grant (1-6, 2×2-pointers), Ciarán McDevitt, Michael Winston (0-1), Michael O’Rowe (0-6)
Aidan McAnespies
Rory McElroy, Timmy Gibbons, Darren Gibney, Bobby Walker (1-0), Conall Devlin (0-3, 1×2-pointer), Tom McKeown, Oisín Kiernan, Owen Ward, Eoin Gormley, Peter O’Connell (0-2, 1×2-pointer), Rory Brolly (0-1), Shane McGinley (0-2), Robbie Croft (0-6), Zach Firman (0-1)
Referee: Anthony Coyne
Photos: Rachel O'Driscoll
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