Galway 1-14; Donegal 0-15
The weekend’s second semi-final was a case of first among equals as both sides played a game in which they were level nine times before Padraic Joyce’s outfit showed that little bit more maturity to edge home in a highly entertaining game in front of an almost packed Croke Park on Sunday.
With only two points between the teams at the end and a Galway “fluke” goal thrown into the equation, it was one of those days when little margins ultimately added up to greater chasms.
And so as Jim McGuinness and his rejuvenated young team dwell on what might have been this week, it is Joyce and Co. who are preparing for their second All-Ireland final in three years confident that they have grown enough to bring Sam Maguire on a journey west of the Shannon for the first time since he was involved as a player in 2001.
Like many in Donegal, he will recall a big moment in the game on the 65th minute when Kildare referee Brendan Cawley penalized Donegal midfielder Ciarán Thompson for handling the ball on the ground.
This was hotly disputed by the Tir Conall players, in particular Ryan McHugh, which led to the ref bringing the ball forward for an easy free which Rob Finnerty easily dispatched.
Slow motion on television showed the referee was totally right as Thompson initially took control of the ball when it bounced off the ground but subsequently it went to ground in his grip.
Galway had now nudged ahead and when Liam Silke added another point with his left foot, it meant Donegal, who shot three wides in pursuit of equalizers, had to recourse to a Hail Mary approach at the end in the hope that they could conjure up a goal to give them the right of passage to meet Armagh in the final.
That didn’t happen and ironically it was veteran Paul Conroy, the man who scored the lucky goal on Shaun Patton, who gained possession of the final ball in his own square to lift the siege.
Donegal will feel they left the game behind because their approach work was sharper and their defending was more precise, yet ultimately it was their shooting, and especially kicking three balls into the goalkeeper’s hands which they will look back on with regret.
That and the fact that they faced a Galway side with a number of their marquee names either missing or well below their top form. To the winners’ credit, they got over the loss of Sean Kelly before the game and the indifferent displays of Damien Comer and Shane Walsh thanks to the work-rate of the rest of the team, and the game plan they’ve devised has now proven more than a match for such leading sides as Dublin, Mayo and now Donegal.
The teams were tied at 1-7 to 0-10 at half-time but Donegal looked to be the more efficient in their shooting with Michael Langan landing three of his fine scores in that first half.
The second half was a game of tit-for-tat as the teams swapped scores but then suddenly Donegal hit a dry scoring spell lasting 15 minutes at the exact time you need to be raising flags if you're on the road to victory.
Galway weren’t exactly shooting the lights out either but a well-worked point from the hard-working Johnny Maher gave them renewed heart. Conversely Donegal only had five scores from 14 attempts in the second-half which manager McGuinness acknowledged was the rock they perished on.
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh (0-2), L Silke (0-2), S Mulkerrin; P Conroy (1-1), C Darcy; M Tierney, J Maher (0-1), C McDaid (0-1); R Finnerty (0-4, 0-2f), D Comer, S Walsh (0-3, 0-2f) Subs: J Heaney for D'arcy (56), D O'Flaherty for Walsh (62), K Molloy for Comer (72), T Culhane for McDaid (72).
Donegal: S Patton; C Moore, B McCole, E Ban Gallagher; R McHugh, C McGonagle (0-1), P Mogan; C Thompson (0-2, 0-1m), M Langan (0-4); C McColgan, S O'Donnell (0-2), J McGee; P McBrearty (0-3, 0-1f), O Gallen (0-3), A Doherty Subs: D Ó Baoill for McColgan (29), J MacCeallabhuí for Gallagher (47), H McFadden for McGee (59), N O'Donnell for McBrearty (59), O Doherty for Aaron Doherty (62).
Ref: B Cawley (Kildare).
