Donegal’s minors were on the end of a 14-point hammering by Tyrone in the Ulster Minor Championship in Ballybofey this evening.
Donegal 1-10 Tyrone 5-12
Mark Hayes tore Donegal asunder, scoring 2-4 as the Red Hands – the defending Ulster and All-Ireland champions at this grade – flexed their muscles for a comprehensive win.
Hayes hit 1-3 in the first half and, seven minutes into the second, he was in again. Cormac McBride made a lot of ground to get his paws on a long ball. His flick around the back found Hayes who rounded the Donegal goalkeeper, Corey Byrne, and hammer into the roof of the net.
Tyrone got in for two goals in the 51st minute that really twisted the knife on Donegal – who had been in touch until Hayes’ second goal in the dying embers of the first half.
First, Michael McGleenan tucked home the rebound after Hayes’ initial effort came off the post. Tyrone won the kick-out and Tarlach Quinn fed the scampering wing-back Cormac McBride who beautifully picked his spot, capping an excellent performance with the goal it deserved.
The opening goal arrived in the 16th minute when Hayes’ pace took him on an angled glide beyond a couple of Donegal defenders and the Killyclogher man hammered past Byrne.
Oran Mulgrew clipped over straight away to open up a four-point lead, but Donegal’s first score in 14 minutes came in the form of a Shane O’Donnell goal. The St Eunan’s man – a younger brother of Donegal senior panelist Niall – worked a quick-fire give-and-go with Leo Dunphy before applying the finish.
Moments earlier, Dunphy spurned a great opening at the far post as the Naomh Conaill corner-forward just couldn’t get it under control and fired wide. Soon after, though, Dunphy off-loaded for O’Donnell to hammer home.
A fabulous brace late in the half by Padraig McGettigan brought Donegal to within a point, but when midfielder Quinn blasted in a second Tyrone goal, the writing was on the wall for the hosts. Mulgrew sent Quinn on his way and his was a finish of real conviction, driving a powerful effort across Byrne to the far corner.
Hayes took his tally to 1-3 with a neat effort in added time to give the Red Hands a five-point lead (2-7 to 1-5) at the break.
Donegal had led for the first time in the 12th minute when the returning McGettigan boomed over with his left boot, but it was short-lived as Hayes wiped out the deficit.
In the early passages, Nathan Byrne and Shane O’Donnell – arching over from distance after slaloming his way in from the left-hand side – cancelled out points from Mark Hayes and Daniel Fullerton (free).
Gary Duffy’s Donegal had reached the League final earlier this year – with a 2-8 to 0-13 win over Tyrone in Ballyshannon included in their lot – but they lost out to Monaghan in the decider at Drumragh.
McGettigan’s was back in the side having been out of contention since injuring a wrist while playing for St Eunan’s College in the Danske Bank MacLarnon Cup final in March and was a late inclusion in the starting line-up. His trio of first-half points kept Donegal in touch until Tyrone hit that late sucker punch in the form of Quinn’s goal.
Tyrone won the inaugural All-Ireland U17 Championship last year, the Red Hands surging to a final win over Roscommon. Colin Holmes included Cormac Quinn, Ronan Duffin, Kevin Barker, Quinn and Oisin McHugh from the 2017 panel in his XV for this one.
Donegal were staring into the abyss when Hayes rattled home his second goal and they almost sneaked a second goal of their own, but Kevin Barker took the ball from beneath his own crossbar after Rory O’Donnell got a hand to Shane O’Donnell’s probing ball in.
Donegal must shake their heads clear rather swiftly with the back door draw set to take place later this evening.
Donegal: Corey Byrne; Aaron Gillooley, Cillian Gildea, Seamus Og Byrne; Caolan Gallagher, Shane Gillespie (0-2), Anthony Doherty; Rory O’Donnell, Padraig McGettigan (0-3); Senan Rooney, Shane O’Donnell (1-2), Steven McFadden; Eric Carr, Nathan Byrne (0-2), Leo Dunphy. Subs: Jamie Grant for Gallagher (30). Jonny Toye for McFadden (half-time), Josh Conlon (0-1f) for Dunphy (half-time), Dylan Doogan for Carr (41), Eoin Doherty for A.Doherty (black card, 46), Michael Coughlan for Rooney (58).
Tyrone: Mark McGale; Cormac Quinn, Lorcan McBride, Lorcan Kilpatrick; Ronan Duffin, Kevin Barker, Cormac McBride (1-0); Tarlach Quinn (1-0), Michael McGleenan (1-1, 1f); Oran Mulgrew (0-1), Oisin McHugh, Ben Groogan (0-1); Daniel Fullerton (0-3f), Mark Hayes (2-4), Tiernan Mackle (0-1). Subs: Mark Devlin for Mackle (41), Shane Murphy (0-1) for Fullerton (46), Simon McGarrity for Groogan (48), Conall Devlin for McBride (52), Paddy McCallan for Quinn (53), Shea Daly for McHugh (57).
Referee: Kevin Faloon (Armagh).
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