The second wave of Jim McGuinness’ impact on the Donegal team continues to replicate its initial success, following Sunday’s match at Clones. Aces of last March’s Division Two championship final revisited the scene, with the twist of an intensely stressful penalty shootout deciding the fate of the match in Donegal’s favour. The win marked the county’s first Ulster championship trophy in half a decade.
Armagh faced a familiar test, landing themselves for the fourth consecutive year in a stalemate-ending penalties battle, failing to clinch victory in extra time once again. The quality of the penalty performance was remarkable, with the first round seeing all 10 penalties converted. Donegal’s chance at victory came with Aaron Doherty’s successful penalty during sudden death, crushing Shane McPartlan’s efforts to tie, which ended up being thwarted by Shaun Patton.
The match was characterised by defensive manoeuvres, with neither team building a compelling momentum during regular match time. A game changing moment seemed to arrive for Armagh in the final quarter’s beginning, when they took a four-point lead, 0-15 to 0-11, thanks to Stefan Campbell. However, a remarkable shift in the rhythm of the game integrated with continuous frees against Armagh, helping Donegal surge back.
A potentially foul play on Oisín Gallen went unnoticed, giving Armagh no room to question the legitimacy of the frees against them. As Donegal seized control, Armagh’s previously dominant presence retreated causing the game to slip away. Their four-point lead was short-lived with an unsuccessful scoring streak in the regular playing time.
Niall O’Donnell, who was later acclaimed as the man of the match, initiated the recovery at the 54th minute mark by delivering a remarkable score. The gap narrowed to just one point in less than five minutes as Oisín Gallen and Jason McGee contributed with additional scores.
The game-changing equalising score arrived at the 64th minute, thanks to the efforts of Patrick McBrearty, who, following his repositioning with Eoin Bán Gallagher in the 42nd minute, offered increased options for Donegal to capitalise.
There was an anticipated feeling of heading into extra time. With caution in their possession, both teams passed the ball sluggishly. In the dying moments of the 73rd minute, Tiernan Kelly, Armagh’s substitute, claimed a mark and attempted a shot, which unfortunately went wide.
A sense of unawareness of the ticking clock seemed to affect Donegal during their final attack, a perception reinforced when the additional three minutes were announced at the very last moment. This marked the third consecutive year the Ulster final was pushed into extra time.
Ignoring the occasional switch in leads during the second half, the teams were neck-and-neck, drawing seven times in the first half before Armagh ended the first half in the lead by a point, 0-10 to 0-9.
The play saw several alternations in dominance. Armagh, advantaged with the wind in their direction, seemed to have a more urgent forward play. Their scores were garnered with comparative ease. The game saw two forwards showing remarkable talent. Gallen led the attack for Armagh, favouring shooting immediately instead of engaging in pointless passing. In the fourth minute, succeeding a turn-over by a vigilant defence, the Donegal forward took a straight shot to match Aidan Forker’s first score.
Gallen added more to his tally with three from regular play and a free shot before the end of first half. Aaron McKay was assigned to tread on his tail for the rest of the match, effectively restricting the inflow of scores.
Conor Turbitt similarly shone for Armagh, marking four by the end of the game, with three in the first half and one right after the mid-break. His fourth point followed Forker’s punch out to the forward, who opted for a point when there was a potential, albeit not guaranteed, goal opportunity.
The game’s flow was further disrupted by the impending yellow rain, ruffling the play and causing some spectators to retreat. Neither team seemed to have reached their zenith. Key players, including Armagh’s Rian O’Neill and more notably Donegal’s Ryan McHugh, struggled to bring their best game. The marksmanship was noteworthy, but the strategy and the selection of shots were not always the most audacious. The tendency to ensure scores led to many retracted and reconsidered attacks.
The added time didn’t bring much unexpected action, but it was Armagh’s Jarly Óg Burns who added a spark to their offence when he came on at the 60-minute mark. By serving a few assists, he contributed to their half-time lead of 0-18 to 0-17. They seemed to have taken a pivotal lead with a score of 0-20 to 0-18 during the second half of additional play. This was bolstered by an impressive near-45 metre point by Oisín O’Neill, but they once again played cautiously. It was no surprise when Donegal narrowed the score gap, with points from Dara Ó Baoill and Odhrán Doherty achieving parity. Subsequently, for the second consecutive year, the outcome of the Anglo Celt Cup was to be decided by penalty shootouts.
The players representing Donegal were S Patton, M Curran, B McCole, C Moore, R McHugh, C McGonagle, P Mogan (0-2); J McGee (0-1), M Langan (0-1); S O’Donnell (0-2), C Thompson, D Ó Baoill (0-2); EB Gallagher, O Gallen (0-6, two of which were frees), N O’Donnell (0-2). Notable substitutions were C McColgan for Curran (50% game time), P McBrearty (0-2, one of which was a free kick) for Moore (42 minutes played), A Doherty for Ó Baoill (46 minutes played), J Brennan for Gallagher (54 minutes played), J Mac Ceallbhuí (0-1) for Thompson (68 minutes played), O Doherty (0-1) for Gallen (73 minutes played), Ó Baoill for N O’Donnell (50% of the extra time), and Thompson for McBrearty (87 minutes played).
Those who represented Armagh included B Hughes, P Burns, A McKay, P McGrane, J McElroy, C Mackin (0-1), A Forker (0-1); R O’Neill (0-1, one mark), B Crealey (0-2, one mark); S Campbell (0-2), R Grugan (0-1), G McCabe, O Conaty (0-2), A Murnin (0-2), and C Turbitt (0-4).
J Óg Burns replaced McCabe at the 60-minute mark, followed by O O’Neill (with a score of 0-1) substitening for Crealey just a minute later. Shortly afterwards, A Nugent (with a tally of 0-3, one from a free kick), came on for Turbitt in the 66th minute. T Kelly entered the fray for Forker at the 70-minute mark, followed by J Duffy for McElroy a minute later and then J Hall for McGrane at the 78-minute mark. In a half-time substitution during extra time, S McParland took the place of Mackin, while Turbitt replaced R O’Neill in the 85th minute.
The match was officiated by referee M McNally, hailing from Monaghan.