McBrearty’s wonder score drives Donegal past Derry
DECLAN BONNER’S MEN SHOW CLASS AFTER RECEIVING A MAJOR SCARE FROM RESURGENT DERRY
DONEGAL DERRY
FINALLY, at the fifth time of asking, a game which put some intrigue back into an Ulster Championship that had become too predictable for its own good.
And yet when it was all over, it was the underdogs who were knocked out after an engaging fight that went the full distance and, eventually, followed the form guide.
Ultimately, it bowed to that old adage about form being temporary and class permanent with Paddy McBrearty certainly living up to the statement.
In his short list of forgettable games since making his debut for Donegal in 2011, this one was heading right to the top of the list until the 75th minute here.
He had spent all afternoon peeking out from inside Chrissy McKaigue’s pocket, living in the margins of the game with bad turning to dire at one stage in the final quarter when he allowed a bouncing ball hop over his head, while his scoring contribution was limited to two routine frees.
And, yet when this game reached its ultimate tipping point, when the next mistake was likely to be a fatal one, guess who stepped up?
He took a pass from Odhrán Mac Niallais with his back to goal, wormed out enough space to get his shot off and somehow speared it over the bar.
It was a remarkable point, but even more so because it was kicked by a player who had such an unremarkable game.
Cruelly, it was that absence of class and craft that Derry were left to rue as they were still given one last chance to take this into extra time as referee David Coldrick played a generous seven minutes of injury time. However, faced with a Donegal screen they hesitated in taking on a shot from distance —none more obviously than their excellent midfielder Conor Glass — and in the end, time ran out on the Oak Leafers.
It was a sad way for such a brave effort to wither, especially as they had never trailed in this contest until the 71st minute when McBrearty, after MacNiallais has been fouled, kicked over his second free. Nevertheless, Derry replied in kind from Shane McGuigan to deliver that thrilling finale.
Donegal’s win —which sets up a mouth-watering semifinal against Tyrone in Brewster Park this Sunday — ensures that all four of the Ulster’s Division 1 teams are into the last four. However, such a scenario stands as validation for a league-based Championship rather than evidence of life in the provincial system.
Derry, to their credit, did show there is life outside that elite grouping and hinted that, in time, they are capable of joining that club.
If this was too close for Declan Bonner’s comfort, you suspect that privately he will have been thrilled that his team were exposed to the kind of test that has eluded all the other main contenders to this point.
Staying alive is the key in the Championship and this outing should make Donegal stronger.
In time, it may be seen as Rory Gallagher doing one last act of service to a county he has served in the past.
Having failed to make the last four in the race for Sam maguire over the past three years, Donegal have been accused of not being able to grind out results on days when the ball is not bouncing their way.
If nothing else, they kicked that observation to touch here. This was such a grind that it amounted to a win against the head in the sense that the better team lost.
But, yet there was so much to admire in Donegal’s refusal to lay down and to the control they showed in the final 20 minutes, when it really looked like they were exiting the Championship.
Twice they came back from four-point deficits — they trailed 0-6 to 0-2 after 23 minutes and 0-12 to 0-8 after 47 minutes — but that was not even the half of it.
There would have been no way back for them had Benny Heron, set up by the magnificent Pádraig Cassidy, not flicked his goal chance off the cross bar, with the ball crashing down onto the line, within four minutes of the restart.
A goal at that stage would have provided such a momentum change that it would have been decisive. Instead Donegal went down the field and Caolan McGonigle kicked a point to remain in touch.
The other reasons were all down to Donegal — they looked like the hard-nosed team they are in the final quarter while their bench had a profound impact.
Of course, it helps when you have Michael Murphy sitting in reserve. It was his first missed start in a Championship game in 10 years but it was no coincidence that Donegal gathered themselves once he arrived in the 45th minute while the contributions of Paul Brennan and Mac Niallais helped turn the screw with Niall O’Donnell and Michael Langan sharing six long distance points from play.
And as a result they reeled Derry back in with Murphy’s converted free tying up the game in the 65th minute.
However, it was hard on Derry. They were the better team for long periods of this contest but critically only led by a point at the interval (0-7 to 0-6), and had good reason to feel short-changed.
Erecting a human barrier across their ‘45’ when they were without the ball, it left Donegal heads so muddled that they were forced into criss-crossing the field hoping for a gap to open, rather than seeking to create one. Derry, in contrast, were direct and full of purpose when they were in possession.
And they had reason to feel aggrieved in the sixth minute when McGuigan appeared to been tripped by Stephen McMenamin for what should have been a penalty, but instead Coldrick indicated a free for Donegal.
It was an early sign that this was not going to be their day, but on the evidence of this, there will be others.
“It was a sad way for a brave bid to wither”