DON AND
ALLIANZ NFL DIVISION 1
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; Eric Lowndes (0-1), P Mcmahon, D Byrne; J Cooper, J Mccarthy, J Small; B Fenton (0-2), MD Macauley; N Scully (0-4), C Kilkenny (0-2), B Howard (0-1); P Mannion (0-2, 1f), C Basquel (0-4, 0-1f), P Andrews (0-1). Subs: E O’gara (0-1) for Andrews 46, C O’sullivan for Mcmahon 46, D Rock for Macauley 65, C Reddin (0-1) for Scully 73, P Small (0-1) for Basquel 73. DONEGAL: P Boyle; T Mcclenaghan, C Ward, E Ban Gallagher; L Mcloone (0-1), E Doherty, R Mchugh (0-2); H Mcfadden, N Mullins; S Mcbrearty (0-2), O Macniallais, M Mchugh (0-1); P Mcbrearty (0-7, 3f), J Brennan (0-2), C Thompson. Subs: C Mcgonigle for Mullins 27, N O’donnell for Thompson 42, M Murphy for Macniallais 55, C Mcginley for Mchugh 65, M O’reilly for S Mcbrearty 69, P Brennan for R Mchugh 72.
The Dubs led by seven in the third quarter only to fall asleep and see the margin reduced to one late on.
Paddy Mcbrearty inspired Donegal and kicked a series of brilliant scores to leave just one in it after 66 minutes.
But four late Dublin points on the trot including scores from subs Paddy Small and Ciaran Reddin sealed a slightly flattering five-point win.
Paul Mannion and Paddy Andrews were late additions to the Dublin lineup, replacing Dean Rock and Bernard Brogan in the official lineup.
It was like-for-like switches that hardly diminished Dublin’s quality and they hit the ground running with a strong opening.
They led Donegal by 0-11 to 0-5 at half-time and would have been further clear but for Basquel rifling a goal chance over.
Former Dublin under-21 Nathan Mullins, son of Blues legend Brian, was named in midfield for Donegal but was taken off after 27 minutes.
Brian Fenton and Michael Darragh Macauley lorded the middle third for Dublin, setting up attack after attack.
It was great for the Dublin fans in attendance on a cold and wet evening – but depressingly familiar for everyone else as the hosts went up through the gears with ease.
Niall Scully, who burst through to the senior ranks in 2017 and made the most appearances of any Dublin player in competitive action, scored 0-4 in the opening half.
He began a scoring siege of five points in a row between the seventh and 16th minutes that moved Dublin 0-6 to 0-2 clear.
Ryan Mchugh, destroyer of Dublin in the 2014 All-ireland semi-finals with 2-2, hit two first-half points this time.
Jamie Brennan might have pinched a Donegal goal close to half-time but his right foot kick hit the post and cannoned away to safety. Donegal were far better after the break and any sense that the game was done and dusted was quickly dashed. They outscored Dublin by 0-8 to 0-2 between the 36th and 53rd minutes to reduce the gap to just a single point.
Former All-ireland winning captain Michael Murphy came off the bench for his first action of the year but immediately pulled an easy free wide. That point
gap remained between the sides with four minutes left but late Dublin scores from Paul Mannion, Eoghan O’gara, Reddin and Small got the job done.