Wolfe Tones 1-12 Donegal 0-17
In front of a crowd of 2,000 or so, on a beautiful, sunny
Sunday afternoon and with a light breeze blowing, Donegal answered questions
that hung over this team in the season finale.
Despite having won their previous 5 games, performances were not
entirely convincing. Wolfe Tones had
assembled a team that had a lethal set of forwards, and had a very balanced
look about them. As it turned out the Donegal
defence put in a superb performance, limiting the vaunted Tones forwards to 13
hard earned scores. At the other end of
the field, Dermot Connolly turned it on and put on a display of passing and
shooting that showed why he has, hands down, been the best footballer there is
for that past several years.
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| Captains Jason Noctor and Mike O'Brien with referee David Hickey. |
The game was probably the best, most exciting display of
football on U.S. soil in recent years. The
scoring, defending, passing and fielding from each side was second to none and
the ball moved from end to end with speed and skill. The most there was between the sides was 4
points and lead changed hands five times over the course of the game as each
team vied for the advantage. Dermot
Connolly pointed 12 of Donegal’s 17 points, with left foot or right, and evenly
split from frees (many were earned himself) and play, it was the best performance
of the summer from the St. Vincent’s man.
Derryman, Niall Keenan at corner back, was also in contention for a man
of the match performance, and along with Liam Silke frustrated the Tones corner
forwards for the hour. Worthy of note
was that in such a game, Jack Lynch and Paudie Kenneally, both home grown
players who lined out in the Tones back line, each had excellent performances
and looked right at home on a field laden with top tier
footballers.
The opening exchanges were tight and there was little to no
room for either side to gain an opening.
It took the best part of 10 minutes to open the scoring. Lee Carr got Donegal off the mark with a
point from play, and for the Tones it was Aaron Elliott who answered. Things opened up gradually as the minutes
ticked by. Jason Noctor had the
unenviable task of marking Tones dangerman, Thomas O’Reilly. O’Reilly finished the game with 4 points, all
in the second half, but along with Neil McEneaney and Sean Doherty, the all home-based
Donegal half back line performed well.
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| Donegal Celebrate a Great Championship Victory. |
The Tones tried to get their running game going, but each
time it looked as though there could be breakthrough, Keenan or Silke were
there at the last line to snuff out the danger.
Shane Carthy on another occasion tracked back to deny possession to
Ronan Jones who would have had the goal at his mercy. With the scores at 3 points each, Dermot
Connolly clipped over a lovely point.
Connolly was on song, the passing, shooting and decision making of star
player was impeccable. Chris Sallier answered
with a hard earned point for the Tones to restore parity. Donegal gained an initiative in the latter
stages of the half. Ciaran McFaul,
Connolly, and Carthy pointed one each, to a single score from Thomas Beckett, in
the run in to the break to put Donegal in a 0-7 to 0-5 half time lead.
After Donegal extended their lead by 2 more points to the
largest lead of the game, the first score a brilliant Connolly strike from out
on the wing, the Tones needed a goal and they got it. Beckett found Jones with in rare space with a
cross field ball, and the Meath youngster gave Hugh Boyle no chance with
the shot. O’Reilly leveled it with a
well taken point and it was game on again.
The intensity level never let up, and Donegal’s corner backs continued
to play well to weather the Tones endeavors.
Dean Curran and James Dolan were introduced to try and get some change
out of the Donegal defenders, and Beckett put the side ahead with another point.
The tension was palpable around the grounds in Canton as the
teams could not be separated entering the final stretch, however big players
step up and big moments, and so it was as Connolly turned up the heat. Each time the Tones went up by one, Donegal
answered through Connolly. With the game
entering the last 5 minutes Donegal pushed out a two point lead. O’Reilly, who was the stand out player for
the Tones, put his side up by one, but Oisin O’Neill leveled. The score of the game, and the eventual winner,
came from Connolly who dummied right and shot left from 40 yards and the ball
sailed high and true between the posts. McFaul
made it a two point lead with the game in crunch time, and it felt like the
scales had tipped towards Donegal.
Curran had a couple of chances to pull back a score, but the Derry man
snatched at the opportunities. O’Reilly
did make it a one point game, but two from Connolly on the cusp of the whistle
left the Tones needing a goal to force extra time. Elliott pulled one back, but the final
kickout was won by Donegal and with it the final whistle sounded.
It was jubilation for Donegal, and for the Tones huge
disappointment. For the folks who showed
up to see the game, it was a rare treat to see such a great game, and a master
of it, in the flesh.
Tones: Shane Hayes,
Paudi Kenneally, Kevin Maguire, Eoin Buggie, Jack Lynch, James McEntee, Ronan
Jones, Paddy Keenan, Mike O’Brien, Thomas O’Reilly, Aaron Elliott, Thomas
beckett, Chris Sallier. Subs used: James Dolan, Dean Curran, Robbie Cunningham,
Oisin Kelly.
Donegal: Hugh Boyle,
Niall Keenan, Liam Silke, Neil McEneaney, Jason Noctor, Sean Doherty, Shane
Carthy, Brendan Murphy, Ciaran McFaul, Michael Carroll, Sean Donnelly, Diarmaid
Connolly, Lee Carr. Subs used: Oisin O’Neill, Dylan Wall, Owen McHugh.
By Rory O'Donnell
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