Donegal 0-21; Armagh 1-10
Donegal folk will tell you that they would have won the All Ireland last year if Michael Murphy had been available to play for them.
That, of course is a matter of conjecture and county bias, but this year they will get the chance to either prove or disprove that particular theory, following the return of their talisman to playing ranks in a relatively easy seven-point victory over Sam Maguire holders Armagh in Ballybofey on Sunday.
His appearance as a second-half sub on 44 minutes drew the loudest cheer of the day and his presence was immediate as it inspired visiting player Aidan Forker to head butt Murphy into his chest for which he was shown an immediate red by game referee Sean Hurson.
It is true that Donegal in Ballybofey are a match for anyone under Jim McGuinness but there is the feeling that Murphy’s return is the missing link the county needs to go on and win its third All Ireland senior title.
In this match it was a close affair until Murphy’s arrival or Forker’s departure, and after that Donegal cut loose as they had done in the first half to lead by 0-12 to 1-3 at the break, the goal coming from Darragh McMullin after 10 mins. The second half was much more competitive with both sides swapping scores.
Armagh saw the value of the two-pointers as Ben Crealey and Andrew Murnin cut the lead to two points inside the first seven minutes of the resumption. Donegal moved with intent to kill off the game but two great goal chances by Jamies Brennan and Oisin Gallen were brilliantly denied by Ethan Raffterty.
Patrick McBrearty got Donegal's first point of the half to settle nerves and then Murphy had a quick one-two with the scoreboard to give his side a five-point advantage once again. Rafferty landed a two pointer but his effort was in vain as McBrearty added a brace, though the latter attempt could as easily have been a goal. Just to add icing on the cake, Odhran Doherty and you know who - yes, Murphy - rounded off the scoring to send the huge home support home happy.
Donegal: S Patton; F Roarty, B McCole, P Mogan (0-1); R McHugh (0-2), E Gallagher, M Curran; C McGonagle, C Thompson (0-2); S O’Donnell, C O’Donnell (0-2), C Moore; P McBrearty (0-6,0-1f), O Gallen (0-2, 0-1f), J Brennan (0-2) Subs: D Ó Baoill for Roarty (ht); Ml Murphy (0-3,0-1f) for Brennan (44); N O’Donnell for Gallen (55); E McHugh for S O’Donnell (59); O Doherty (0-1) for C O’Donnell (61)
Armagh: E Rafferty (0-3,0-1 '45',1tp); T McCormack, B McCambridge, A Forker; G Murphy, G McCabe, R McQuillan; B Crealey (0-2,1tp), N Grimley; J Duffy (0-1), D McMullin (1-2), J Hall; C Turbitt, A Murnin (0-1), O Conaty Subs: S Campbell for Hall (30); J Burns for Murphy (ht); C McConville (0-1) for McQuillan (53); C O’Neill for Turbitt (62)
Ref: S Hurson (Tyrone).
Dublin 0-19; Kerry 1-15
When you consider that Dublin teams down the recent decades, even the all conquering six-in-a-row championship winners, couldn’t win in Kerry in 43 years, the transition outfit which emerged victorious in Austin Stack Park on Saturday deserve plaudits for their achievements.
Making it a doubly remarkable outcome is the fact that they had to come from 11 points down facing into the second half to record their highly deserved one-point win against Jack O’Connor’s outfit, who left the field dejected in front of their own supporters in a sell-out crowd.
Watching the Dubs over the first two league games, it looked like they would be a team unable to match up to the big guns when championship kicks in this year.
That line of thought was seriously undermined with the way the younger faces dovetailed with some old hands like Ciaran Kilkenny to wipe out the huge deficit, albeit with a big wind at their backs - and then show enough composure to see out the win, despite the Kingdom’s introduction of talisman David Clifford for the last quarter.
Dublin Manager Dessie Farrell was as animated as I’ve seen him for some time at the final whistle because if nothing else, this win, and in the context of where it was achieved, should pump confidence aplenty into his charges going forward.
Factor in too that Stephen Cluxton, Con O’Callaghan, Cormac Costello and at least one of the Small brothers should be back for later league games and suddenly, there is room for optimism that Dublin can be contenders if not outright winners for the 2025 Sam Maguire competition.
Remarkably, it was two young lads who have failed to make an impact to date who emerged as the scoring heroes for the Metropolitans. The virtual unknown at county level Luke Breathnach kicked two fine single-pointers before Lorcan O’Dell — a player who has been on the verge of the team for a few seasons — kicked two majestic double pointers to give Dublin the two league points on offer.
Dublin were not at the races in the first half when Kerry were first to every ball and looked home and hosed at half-time when they led by 1-12 to a meagre 0-4 from the visitors, the goal from Paul Geaney coming from an aerial mistake from goalkeeper Evan Comerford.
Dutifully the men in blue went about at least restoring respectability on the scoreboard with points from all angles as the likes of Sean Bugler, the man of the match, stood up to show he is ready to replace the recent departed big names like McCarthy, Fenton and McCaffrey as a team leader for the new look side.
With Kilkenny, he took the game to Kerry to the extent that the hosts managed only three points in all of the second moiety. Kilkenny and Tom Lahiff registered early points to give the visiting fans hope in the capacity 11,500 crowd. Lee Gannon, just back from a long-term hamstring injury, gave the blues’ hordes further reason to cheer when he landed a huge two-pointer to cut the lead to seven - 1-13 to 0-9.
Unfortunately for him, a little later he appeared to aggravate the old injury and had to be replaced just as he was having a profound effect on the game.
Sean O’Shea got two points but Dublin were motoring now and a Kilkenny two-pointer saw the arrears down to four as Farrell sent on the subs who would decide the outcome.
Young Breathnach kicked two single pointers while O’Dell bookended those efforts with his game-changing double-double to bring down the curtain on a game, which was as good to watch as we have seen, largely due to the new rules freeing players up to play positive football.
Dessie Farrell described the game as “a great battle” afterwards. On his half-time talk, he added: “We knew that we were only operating on half-cylinders, but there was plenty more in the tank. We just told them to throw the kitchen sink at it. We had nothing to lose.
"We're not chasing results in this league. It's about giving lads experience and exposure and hoping that players play with enjoyment. There's enough pressure built into the system at the back end of the season.” he said.
Referencing the Gannon injury, he claimed: “Lee seemed to do a hamstring there, which is very disappointing for Lee, given where he was coming from.”
Dublin: E Comerford; D Byrne, T Clancy, S McMahon; B Howard, C Murphy, G McEneaney (0-2); T Lahiff (0-1), A Gavin; K Lahiff, S Bugler (0-4, 0-1f), C Kilkenny (0-3, 1 0-2pt); N Scully, E O’Donnell (0-1), S Lowry Subs: L Gannon (1 0-2pt) for G McEneaney (ht), L Breathnach (0-2) for S Lowry (45), L O’Dell (0-4, 2 0-2pt) for K Lahiff (54), N O’Callaghan for E O’Donnell (58), D Keogh for Gannon (63)
Kerry: S Ryan; D Bourke, J Foley, T O’Sullivan; G O’Sullivan (0-1), M Breen, B Ó Beaglaoich (0-2, 1 0-2pt); Diarmuid O’Connor, Joe O’Connor, Paudie Clifford 0-01, S O’Shea (0-7, 2 0-2pt, 0-2f), D Lyne; C Geaney (0-1), P Geaney (1-1, 0-1m), M Burns (0-2) Subs: D Casey for T O’Sullivan (9), C Ó Beaglaoich for D Lyne (46), A Heinrich for B Ó Beaglaoich (temp, 48-ft), D Clifford for C Geaney (51), K Evans for M Burns (60), S O’Brien for J O’Connor (65).
Ref: L Devenney (Mayo).
Derry 0-16; Galway 1-13
Nine points down at the interval and off-key all over the field, Derry looked to be facing a Galway rout at Celtic Park but, by game’s end, there was, as the song says, music there in the Derry air as the team showed remarkable character to fight back for a share of the spoils.
Paddy Tally must have wondered why he had come back to the helm in the Oak Leaf county on the showing of his players ineptitude during that first half, but the spirit and fight of the second half will convince him that he has a squad capable of competing strongly for ultimate honors in all competitions in the season ahead.
He will be particularly happy at how himself and his management team shook things up for the resumption because the introduction of Lachlan Murray proved a godsend as he ran time and again at the Tribesmen’s defense and drew fouls which helped get his side back into the game.
Galway boss Padraic Joyce will be disappointed that his team went into hiding when they needed leaders to get them over the line. Indeed he probably had mentally prepared himself for a loss with time almost up only for an outstanding block by his centre-back on Ethan Doherty’s shot which seemed destined to become the winning score.
Galway looked to be a step above all through the first half as their opponents looked like they were chasing shadows. Yet somehow they got themselves back in the dogfight on the resumption and the fact that they hit 0-12 to Galway’s 0-3 in that period tells its story better than any words could do.
Murphy got three of those points but it was the penetrating runs he made which caused the visitors to panic and concede free that ultimately swiped the legs from under them.
Leading 1-10 to 0-4 at the break, you wonder what Joyce thought of his side’s collapse because they had chances to kill off the Derry comeback but often took the easy option instead of trying to do the right thing. Dylan McHugh’s 9th minute goal was a gem and something from which you expected Galway to kick on - which they did.
They should have expected some sort of Derry fightback, if for no other reason other than pride, as they began the second half.
Conor Glass took over at midfield and his clever distribution and ability to take a score all were part of getting Derry teammates and supporters to believe again.
Shane McGuigan, too, shook himself into life and when the game was in the melting pot, he was the one to stand up and kick the crucial scores which saw the points shared after this game of two halves.
Derry: N McNicholl (0-1); D Baker, E McEvoy, M Bradley; C Doherty, B Rogers, D Cassidy; C Glass (0-1), A Tohill; C McFaul, P Cassidy (0-3), E Doherty; B McCarron, S McGuigan (0-8, 1tpf, 0-3f), N Toner Subs: L Murray (0-3) for B McCarron, 43 mins; M Doherty for D Cassidy, 50 mins; C McMonagle for N Toner, 58 mins; P McGrogan for McBradley, 64 mins
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, L Silke; D McHugh (1-0), J Daly, S Kelly; P Conroy, J Maher (0-1); Sa O'Neill (0-1), S Walsh (0-8, 2tp, 1tpf, 1f), C Darcy (0-1); C Ó Curraoin (0-1f), M Tierney (0-1), F Ó Laoi Subs: R Finnerty for C Ó Curraoin, 43 mins; J Heaney for F Ó Laoi, 48 mins; K Molloy for S O'Neill, 54 mins; D O'Flaherty for C Darcy, 60 mins.
Ref: D Gough.
GAA RESULTS
Allianz FL Division 1
Dublin 0-19 Kerry 1-15
Mayo 0-12 Tyrone 0-10
Derry 0-16 Galway 1-13
Donegal 0-21 Armagh 1-10
Division 2
Cavan 3-15 Louth 0-18
Roscommon 0-23 Monaghan 2-14
Meath 0-24 Down 1-18
Cork 3-18 Westmeath 3-17
Division 3
Kildare 1-27 Leitrim 0-7
Offaly 4-19 Antrim 0-15
Clare 1-17 Fermanagh 1-15
Laois 0-23 Sligo 0-16
Division 4
Limerick 1-16 London 0-11
Tipperary 1-14 Waterford 0-9
Wicklow 2-15 Longford 0-12
Wexford 2-12 Carlow 0-9
Sigerson Cup final
DCU 1-16 UCD 3-6
HL Division 2
Laois 4-18 Westmeath 1-19
Division 3
Mayo 1-23 Cavan 2-14
Fitzgibbon Cup final
UL 0-23 DCU 1-15
