Maxi Curran’s Donegal side moved into the semi-final of the All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship with a 3-7 to 1-7 win over Dublin.
After a tight first half, Donegal were 0-4 to 0-1 ahead at the break, and Karen Guthrie scored twice in the second half with Yvonne Bonner getting the first of Donegal’s three goals.
Donegal took advantage of their frees while Dublin were wasteful, Geraldine McLaughlin scored her first of three in the first half after just three minutes.
Amy Boyle Carr then smartly took a point when there was a possibility of a goal but under pressure she took the point.
Hannah Tyrrell got Dublins first score of the game after 10 minutes from a free, which would be their only score of the half.
Two McLaughlin frees with five minutes to go in the half gave Donegal a 0-4 to 0-1 lead at the half-time break.
Dublin came out in the second half looking to claw back the deficit and started bright as Tyrrell scored after 20 seconds.
Tyrrell got another point from play but McLaughlin kept adding to the score from dead balls as she pointed twice more from frees.
And Donegal would go into a six point lead as Amy Boyle Carr went on a brilliant solo run from her own 45 and found Yvonne Bonner who fired home with a left footed strike into the net as Ciara Trant rushed out to block.
Dublin captain Carla Rowe got the next score from a free and seconds later she scored from play as Dublin began to grow into the game.
But Donegal got another goal after a fantastic catch from Bonner and she played the ball off toKaren Guthrie and the substitute made no mistake, firing into the back of the net.
Another Rowe free had Dublin two goals behind with less than 10 minutes remaining and with a mountain to climb.
But Donegal scored a third goal when Guthrie went for a point from range and it dropped short but Trant couldn’t keep it out of the net as it went in off the bar.
Guthrie then pointed from a free as Donegal looked clear to make the semi-final.
Rowe then pointed another free and a late goal from the captain took it back to 3-7 to 1-7 but time was against Dublin as the clock ticked down to 0:00.
The final whistle was blown as Dublin pushed forward, as Donegal advance to the All-Ireland semi-final with a winning scoreline of 3-7 to 1-7.
The Tír Chonaill girls will face either Galway or All-Ireland Champions Meath in the semi-final which takes place at 7.15pm.
Donegal: Roisin McCafferty; Tara Hegarty, Evelyn McGinley, Tanya Kennedy, Shelley Twohig, Nicole McLaughlin, Amy Boyle Carr (0-1); Katy Herron, Niamh McLoughlin; Yvonne Bonner (1-0), Niamh Hegarty, Róisín Rodgers, Deirdre Foley, Emer Gallagher, Geraldine McLaughlin (0-5f).
Subs: Karen Guthrie (2-1,1f) for Hegarty (38 mins)
Dublin: Ciara Trant; Jess Tobin, Leah Caffrey, Lauren Magee, Aoife Kane, Martha Byrne, Sinéad Goldrick; Jennifer Dunne, Kate McDaid; Nicole Owens, Carla Rowe (1-4,3f), Kate Sullivan, Hannah Tyrrell (0-3,1f), Caoimhe O’Connor, Lyndsey Davey.
