CAVAN CAME STRONG in the second half to eliminate Donegal from the Dr McKenna Cup this afternoon at MacCumhaill Park.
Donegal 1-6 Cavan 2-14
With Donegal just two points down – 0-10 to 1-5 – on 50 minutes, Cavan mustered a goal from Rory Dunne to grab control. The substitute tucked into the net at the back post as the ball came his way from a Turloc Mooney pass.
From then on, Mattie McGleenan’s team finished the stronger and in the end, were good value for their 10-point win. Another replacement, Paul O’Connor, slapped home a second Cavan goal with little more than a minute to play following a crossfield pass by Joshua Hayes.
[adrotate group=”81″]Rather like last weekend – to begin with – where Donegal opened their campaign with a 2-20 to 4-13 loss to UUJ, it took the side under the management of Declan Bonner a little while to get going.
Although it was a slightly disappointing conclusion, the crowd of 1,170 would certainly have left encouraged, again, of aspects of they would’ve seen – more so in the first half than afterwards.
Moville goalkeeper Dylan Doherty and Ciaran Gibbons from Glenswilly were Donegal senior debutants, although the county are this year using the competition for the purpose of the under-21s, who have an Ulster quarter-final away to Tyrone on the horizon on March 15.
[adrotate group=”46″]They would be joined by Milford’s Dáire Black in the second half, while Cloughaneely’s Jason McGee and Naoise Ó Baoill from Gaoth Dobhair also saw action at this level for the first time.
Once Donegal did settle, they certainly accounted for themselves well. It was Cavan, who overcame Tyrone 1-13 to 0-12 at Breffni Park last Sunday, who scored the first three points of the afternoon – Sean Johnston kicked two with Martin Reilly popping over in-between times.
Goalkeeper Doherty and Daire Ó Baoill did breathe a sigh of relief when – after a little bit of crossed wires – a powerfully struck kick-out was snapped up by Cavan’s Killian Clarke who played in Shane Tierney but Doherty did well to save on 11 minutes.
Although Donegal didn’t post a wide in the first half until Gavin McBride’s 45 in injury time, they did drop five balls short – four of which fell into James Farrelly’s arms and one that didn’t even make it that far, with full-back Padraig Faulkner picking up the other.
Eighteen minutes in, though, Donegal drew level from another ball that looked as though it didn’t have the legs. It was Micheál Carroll whose attempted shot skimmed a defender’s fingers and fizzled.
But Ethan O’Donnell was alive to it, caught the ball in the breadbasket and rammed past Farrelly to spark Donegal’s challenge. It levelled the contest at 1-0 to 0-3.
Ciarán Brady edged Cavan back in front but within two minutes, Donegal, with Adam Neely and Carroll scoring, had gone ahead for the first time. Substitute Niall McDermott’s free made it Donegal 1-2 Cavan 0-5 at half-time.
Donegal might’ve had something to take with them for the tea break, when Ethan O’Donnell went on another blistering run onto a Michael Langan pass but saw his firmly-hit shot cannon off the head of Faulkner, who knew little of nothing about it.
Cavan – through Turloc Mooney, Faulkner and Johnston – went three up at the start of the second period. And although Conor Morrison and Neely, from a free, kept Donegal in touch, the away side soon re-established their three-point lead.
Gerard Smith, the wing-back, scored a fine long-range effort and then Clarke fisted over at the River End when he probably should’ve been stopped in his tracks beforehand on  48 minutes. It put Cavan 0-10 to 1-4 in front.
Jason McGee missed out against UUJ last week. However, when introduced for McBride, last year’s minors’ joint-captain scored an exceptional free from just by the home dugouts at the main stand.
And after Cavan’s goal from Dunne and fist-punching moment when Faulkner scored the second of his three points, Gibbons also fired over a long-ranger. But at that stage Cavan were well on their way to two wins from two. Donegal will get another run-out on Wednesday at Healy Park against Tyrone.
Donegal: Dylan Doherty; Conor Morrison (0-1), Stephen McMenamin, Danny Monagle; Ciaran Gibbons (0-1), Kieran Gillespie, Daire Ó Baoill; Tony McClenaghan, Micheál Carroll (0-1); Conor Doherty, Michael Langan, Ethan O’Donnell (1-0); Niall O’Donnell, Gavin McBride, Adam Neely (0-2, 1f). Subs: Brendan McCole for Gillespie (19), Jason McGee (0-1, 1f) for McBride (42), Dáire Black for Neely (46), Daniel Gallagher for E O’Donnell (53), Naoise Ó Baoill for Langan (58, Ciaran Diver for Doherty (60)
Cavan: James Farrelly; Fergal Reilly, Padraig Faulkner (0-3), Killian Brady; Ciarán Brady (0-1), Martin Reilly (0-1), Gerard Smith (0-1); John McCutcheon, Tomas Corr; Joe Dillon, Turloc Mooney (0-1), Killian Clarke (0-1); Shane Tierney, Niall McKiernan, Sean Johnston (0-4, 4f). Subs: Niall McDermott (0-1, 1f) for Dillon (19), Stephen Murray for Corr (31), Rory Dunne (1-0) for Tierney (half-time), Christopher Conroy (0-1) for McKiernan (53), Paul O’Connor (1-0) for Mooney (58), Joshua Hayes for Smith (66)
Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry).
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