Donegal minors come strong late in the second-half to see off Armagh in Burt

The Donegal minor footballers had to dig deep in the second half to come away with an important victory after they fell behind for the first time with 10 minutes to go in the match in an end-to-end game against Armagh this afternoon in Burt. 

It was the old cliche that goals win games, and it was full-forward Ava Walsh who secured victory for the home side when she slotted home Donegal’s third goal to give her side a comfortable lead which allowed them to ease out the game in style. 

Declan McDermott’s side were perhaps a little disappointed not to be further ahead at half-time, despite dominating possession, but with the wind playing such a significant factor in the game, Donegal were prone to hitting too many wides to see them hold a sufficient lead. 

Mia Bennett gave her side the lead early doors when the umpire raised a green flag after the corner-forward lobbed the Armagh goalkeeper.  

The game ebbed and flowed with a flurry of scores but Donegal were annoyed not to have more on the board. 

Eva Gallagher was exceptional nailing four first-half points, but the Orchard County stayed with Donegal every step of the way with Rebecca Cunningham slotting over her side’s first three points by superbly breaking through the Donegal defense. 

Caoimhe McNally could’ve had two early goals for Armagh within minutes of each other but her first shot skewed right of the net, while the second shot was hammered straight at goalkeeper Kerry McCready. 

Walsh almost found the net five minutes before the break, but Naoise Hughes pulled off an amazing one-on-one save to keep her side in the match. 

Katie Dowds and Gallagher would land the final two scores as the sides made their way to the dressing room for half time with Donegal leading 1-5 to 0-4. 

While nothing much changed in the second half, Armagh was excellent at capitalising on Donegal’s poor discipline, with Eimear McGeown finding the range with a number of frees. 

Armagh brought the game back to life and made Donegal briefly panic when McGeown nailed a long ball into Eva Cassidy who finished into the net. But Aisling O’Neill would counter as she drove up the field to finish with a goal of her own to make it 2-7 to 1-6 with 15 minutes to go. 

McGeown would bring the match level when the full-forward caught the Donegal defense sleeping as she curled the ball low into the net to leave it all to play for in the final minutes of the match. 

And while the sides would be level four times in the final 10 minutes, with Armagh briefly taking the lead through a McNally point, Donegal fought back strong with Walsh and Gallagher having the final say as McDermott’s side finished five-point winners. 

Scorers – Donegal: Eva Gallagher 0-8, 2fs; Ava Walsh 1-1; Mia Bennett and Aisling O’Neill 1-0 each; Katie Dows 0-3. Armagh: Eimear McGeown 1-5, 4fs; Rebecca Cunningham 0-3; Eva Cassidy 1-0; Eadaoin Trainor and Caoimhe McNally 0-1 each. 

Donegal: Kerry McCready; Ellie Ward, Siobhan Cameron, Tara Rose Mahon; Niamh Boner, Sarah McGinley, Ava Caulfield; Ulitah Boyle, Rhiana McColgan; Katie Dowds, Aisling O’Neill, Cora Doherty; Eva Gallagher, Ava Walsh, Mia Bennett. Subs Used: Sara Thomas, Nessa Mic Phaidin, Alannah Boyle, Marie Gallagher. 

Armagh: Naoise Highes; Annie Stanfield, Mallaidh Loughran, Rionagh Lenaghan; Siofra Doherty, Aaliyah Delaney, Elise Druse; Erin Murphy, Eadaoin Trainor; Aoibhin Donohue, Eva Cassidy, Eimear McGeary; Caoimhe McNally, Eimear McGeown, Rebecca Cunningham. Subs Used: Natasha Campbell, Meabh Greene, Claragh Lenaghan, Fiadhna Loughran, Grainne O’Rourke. 

Referee: Oliver McKenna (Tyrone)