Donegal and the Wolfe Tones met in the 5:00 finale at the Irish Cultural Centre, and just about every player on the field went home from this prizefight with a few bruises and a yellow card to their name. There were no easy scores to be had, and the brunt of this physical match took place in the middle third.
Soon after the throw in, Donegal were in on goal but Tommy Durkin’s effort was denied by a great stop from Lorcan Molloy. Eoin Bradley put the Tir Conaill men on the board with a free, but the Tones responded immediately. Sean Furlong was out in front of his marker to receive a slashing diagonal ball, and he stroked over a fine point on the turn. Paddy Bradley and Eoin O’Connor added two more points for Donegal before the major talking point of the first half occured.
Gary Brilly saw a straight red card after a wayward kick and scuffle near the Donegal goal. He walked to the sideline and was quickly joined by a teammate who received a black card. There were also numerous yellow cards handed out to players on both sides as this game heated up. Donegal carried the momentum into halftime after Eoin Bradley’s hand pass across the square was fisted home by Tommy Durkin. They led at the break 1-06 to 0-05.
The Tones put their opponents under intense pressure in the second half but Donegal dropped numbers back and swarmed the man on the ball. Brendan Flynn made a great save on a Tones shot that would have left only a single point between the teams, and a pair of floating Paddy Bradley points for Donegal gave them a five point cushion. His brother Eoin did his part and buried a goal after cutting a swath through the Tones defense. A series of cramps and confrontations slowed the game to a crawl in its closing moments, and Donegal held on to win 2-12 to 0-08.
Donegal: B. Flynn, J. Noctor, C. Byrne, C. Russell, G. Brennan, G. Gallagher, R. Caldwell, B. Donnelly, T. Durkin, E. Bradley, E. O’Connor, D. Kavanagh, P. Bradley
Tones: L. Molloy, R. Driscoll, B. Fortune, D. McGuire, M. O’Grady, L. Galligan, P. Keenan, C. McCarthy, S. Driscoll, L. Glynn, G. Brilly, T. O’Connor, S. Furlong
By Mark Dunphy
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| Wolfe Tones gather post game. |
Gary Brilly saw a straight red card after a wayward kick and scuffle near the Donegal goal. He walked to the sideline and was quickly joined by a teammate who received a black card. There were also numerous yellow cards handed out to players on both sides as this game heated up. Donegal carried the momentum into halftime after Eoin Bradley’s hand pass across the square was fisted home by Tommy Durkin. They led at the break 1-06 to 0-05.
The Tones put their opponents under intense pressure in the second half but Donegal dropped numbers back and swarmed the man on the ball. Brendan Flynn made a great save on a Tones shot that would have left only a single point between the teams, and a pair of floating Paddy Bradley points for Donegal gave them a five point cushion. His brother Eoin did his part and buried a goal after cutting a swath through the Tones defense. A series of cramps and confrontations slowed the game to a crawl in its closing moments, and Donegal held on to win 2-12 to 0-08.
Donegal: B. Flynn, J. Noctor, C. Byrne, C. Russell, G. Brennan, G. Gallagher, R. Caldwell, B. Donnelly, T. Durkin, E. Bradley, E. O’Connor, D. Kavanagh, P. Bradley
Tones: L. Molloy, R. Driscoll, B. Fortune, D. McGuire, M. O’Grady, L. Galligan, P. Keenan, C. McCarthy, S. Driscoll, L. Glynn, G. Brilly, T. O’Connor, S. Furlong
By Mark Dunphy
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