Tyrone Masters prove too strong for Donegal in Letterkenny

It was a disappointing start of the season for Francie Martin and his Donegal Masters team as they fell to a strong Tyrone side, who are looking to win a fourth consecutive All-Ireland, in Letterkenny this afternoon. 

The Donegal men found it hard to find their feet and were playing second fiddle for much of the hour with Tyrone really making their attacks count, with Martin Taggart and Leo Meenan causing untold problems for the Donegal defence on a bright sunny day in Coláiste Ailigh. 

Stephen Coyle would slot over Donegal’s first point from a free on the second minute to put his team in front, but this would be the green and gold side’s last score until the 28th minute when Coyle would fire over his second of the day. 

From there, Tyrone would dominate the match, landing 1-9 in-a-row to bring the scoreline to 1-9 to 0-2 at the break in favour of Eugene Leonard’s team. 

Meenan would level the match straight after Coyle’s free which was followed by Taggart nailing over three points on the bounce within an eight-minute period. 

Conor Gormley, Johnny O’Neill, Michael Anderson, and Emmet McFadden would add their name to the score sheet as they spread the gap to Donegal’s frustration. 

The home side nearly slotted home the opening goal of the game on the 16th minute when Nicky McGarrigle bust through the Tyrone defence and attempted to pass the ball across the goalmouth for Gerard McBrearty to palm home. However, McBrearty never touched the ball as it sailed into the net, with referee Paul Quigley deeming it a free out. 

Moments later Liam Patterson attempted a fisted point, but the ball hit the post and fell to Taggart. The resulting play saw the full-forward fouled in the box and was awarded a penalty with Meenan firing it home past goalkeeper Paul McCrudden. 

The second half didn’t get any better for the Donegal Masters although they created some nice passages of play towards the end of the match, with the home team nailing over 0-7 points.  

Brian Doherty, Gavin McGinley, and Damien Browne would all place their name on the scoresheet, with the latter hitting over 0-5 in the second half, but Tyrone kept their dominance rolling during the final 30 minutes. 

They found seven different scorers during that period with Taggart nailing home his side’s second goal on the 50th minute, although the Donegal players were adamant that the ball was stopped on the line. 

The Red Hand County were kept scoreless for the final 10 minutes of the game, but Martin’s side knows they have a lot of work to do as they face Derry in four days' time in the second round of the competition. 

Scorers – Donegal: Damien Browne 0-5, 3fs; Stephen Coyle 0-2, 1f; Gavin McGinley and Brian Doherty 0-1 each. Tyrone: Martin Taggart 1-4, 1f; Leo Meenan 1-2; Mark Donnelly and Michael Anderson 0-3; Johnny O’Neill and Emmet McFadden 0-2; Damien McDevitt, Damien Kelly and Conor Gormley 0-1 each.  

Donegal Masters: Paul McCrudden; Enda Bonner, Eamon Ward, Gavin McGinley; Aaron Thompson, Conor McShane, Martin Donaghey; Brian Doherty, Eunan Keaveney; Hugh Foy, Stephen Coyle, Nicky McGarrigle; Gerard McBrearty, Shaun Maguire, Damien Browne. Subs: Stephen Doherty, Joe O’Donnell, Benny Quinn, Paddy Hannigan, John Doherty, Gavin McConnell, Gary Gillen, Michael Canning, David McShane. 

Tyrone Masters: Damien Kelly; Damien McDevitt, Aiden Brady, Liam Patterson; Gary Coney, Martin Brannigan, Aidy Harley; Donal McAnallen, Johnny O’Neill; Emmet McFadden, Conor Gormley, Mark Donnelly; Ryan Quinn, Martin Taggart, Leo Meenan. Subs: Michael Anderson, Barry Collins, Peter Clarke, Cathal Nicolas, Colm McKenna, Collie Tuohy.