Carroll seals a last-four spot for Dobhair
DONEGAL champions Gaoth Dobhair survived a second-half scare against Cargin to secure a place in the last four of the Ulster club SFC at Corrigan Park, Belfast, yesterday.
Leading by 10 points at the break, the Tír Conaill men were reeled in to two points by a dogged secondhalf showing by Cargin, before a late Michael Carroll goal eased Gaoth Dobhair nerves.
Gaoth Dobhair were forced into an early substitution when Ciaran Gillespie was stretchered off after the first play of the game, appearing to fall awkwardly on his knee.
After 12 minutes the sides were level at 0-3 apiece, but despite parity on the scoreboard it was the Donegal side who were coming by their scores more easily and by 28 minutes they had stretched into a 0-8 to 0-5 lead, with Kevin Cassidy accounting for 0-3 of that total.
And it was the former county star who raised the game’s first green flag, palming the ball to the net after Eamonn McGee and Cian Mulligan combined to slice through the Cargin defence.
Goal number two arrived in first-half injury time and it was almost a carbon copy of the first, this time Mulligan palming to the net after Carroll and Daire Ó Baoill combined.
Carroll then added his third point of the day to complete the first-half scoring, with Gaoth Dobhair 2-10 to 0-6 ahead.
Cargin hit the ground running after the restart. Mick McCann and Jamie Gribbin slotted over early points and when sub Paul McCann fired to the net on 40 minutes, the Antrim side were back in the game.
It took until the 48th minute for Gaoth Dobhair to register their first score of the second-half, when Seamus Ó Baoill converted a free, but James Laverty and Tomás McCann points left just two between the sides, 2-11 to 1-12, on 55 minutes.
However, Gaoth Dobhair nerves were settled when Carroll punched to the net a minute later and although Paul McCann added the last score of the day for Cargin, the Antrim side were unable to close the gap in the final stages.
SC ORE RS–GaothD ob hair: KC ass idy,M Carroll 1-3 each, C Mulligan 1-1, E Coll um 0-2, EM cGee,SÓ Ba oill(f )0-1 each.
Car gin: PM cC ann 1-1, JG rib bin 0-3, MM cC ann, TM cC ann (2 f )0-2 each, M Kane, J Cr ozier,JL ave r ty, GM cC ann, E McGroggan 0-1 each.
GAOTH DO B HAIR–CS weeney;G McFadden, N McGee, C McFadden; N Fri el, C Gillespie, SBoyle;DÓ Ba oill,SÓ Baoill; CMul li gan,NÓ Ba oill,DMc Bride; E Coll um, K Cassi dy, M Carroll Subs: P McGee for C Gillespie (5), S Carroll forDMc Bride (47), S Ferry for E Coll um (59), GMc Bride for N Boy le (60+1), CM ac Ear ch march aigh for GMc Bride (60+3)
CARGIN – J McNabb; D McKeever, M Kane, G McCorley; T Scullion, J Cr ozier,J Laverty; GM cC ann, MM cC ann; J Car ron, JG rib bin, C Bradley; EM cG rog gan, MM a gill, T McCann Subs: K Close for M Magill (30+3), PM cC ann for J Gribbin (39), O McAuley for E McGroggan (57)
REF – P Faloon (Down)