ROYALS ROBBED RIGHT AT THE DEATH
Donegal 1-13 Meath 0-14 Allianz NFL Division 2
LADY LUCK shone brightly on Donegal as supersub Eoin Mchugh and Jamie Brennan’s late points saw off a spirited Meath.
Mchugh’s left-footed effort put the home side into 1-12 to 0-14 lead in the 71st minute, the first time they had led since the fifth minute.
The lively Brennan then landed the insurance point to huge applause from a very relieved home crowd.
But the real turning point in this exciting affair came in the 60th minute when a hopeful punt from Eoghan Ban Gallagher confused a hesitant Meath keeper Andrew Colgan and Caolan Mcgonigle pounced to scramble the ball home.
That lucky goal reduced a previously rampant Meath’s lead to a mere point as they headed the home side by 0-14 to 1-10.
The Royals failed to score for the rest of the match – which ran to 77 minutes – and missed a few easy chances as the home side hung on for victory.
But Meath will certainly rue an off-night from usually reliable marksman Mickey Newman who missed five good chances to put this match well beyond the reach of Donegal.
Their defence struggled to contain a lively Royal attack who were well worth their 0-8 to 0-7 lead by half-time.
But it was a sizzling third quarter, when they outscored their opponents by 0-6 to 0-3, that was particularly impressive.
They dominated midfield through the towering Bryan Menton and Shane Mcentee and their inside forwards ran the Tir Conaill defence ragged.