Donegal Under-21s left to wonder what might have been as Tyrone strike back for win

SOMEHOW, DONEGAL managed to miss out on a place in their fourth Ulster Under-21 Championship final in a row – and were left with only themselves to blame.

Tyrone 1-15 Donegal 2-08

A bizarre semi-final saw Declan Bonner’s 13-man Donegal beaten by Tyrone, the defending Ulster and All-Ireland Under-21 champions.

While the game hinged on a crazy 11-minute spell in the second half that saw Tyrone kick 1-4 and Donegal have Stephen McMenamin and Bruce Waldron sent off, the Tir Chonaill men could have been out of sight.

Donegal were reeling from a series of squandered opportunities when a shot from Mark Kavanagh careered off the upright, but fell neatly into the paws of Coleman, who smashed his shot to the top corner of the Donegal net.

That was with just eight minutes gone in the second half and it felt like a trick of the mind that Tyrone – second fiddle up to them – were in the game let alone in front at that point.

Donegal’s response was instant and Micheál Carroll beautifully read a wayward kickout from Sean Fox, the Tyrone goalkeeper – after Stephen McBrearty pointed a free – and fed nicely inside for Doherty. The Kilcar man’s finish was low and clinical.

It was the razor-sharp edge that Donegal had been lacking up to that point.

Doherty had replaced Jamie Brennan two minutes into the second half, a change that came after Brennan had missed a glorious chance of a goal himself.

With just ten seconds gone in the second half, Jamie Brennan found himself eye-balling Fox after Caolan McGonagle’s quick free wasn’t dealt with by Cillian McCann.

Tyrone kicked eight points in a purple patch and the red mist fell with McMenamin given a second yellow and Waldron given the full compliment of yellow, black and red cards just after his introduction.

Donegal led 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time, but kicked six wides in the opening stanza and saw Fox deny McBrearty after he burst in on the end-line during a period of good Donegal pressure.

Donegal were a point up when McBrearty sped in across the end-line, but a crisp low shot was turned around for a ’45 by Fox.

Brennan’s shot was poorly struck and Fox made the save.
Before long it was apparent that Donegal were going to be made pay for their profligacy.

They began with a real purpose, but kicked three wides inside the opening 130 seconds, two of those from the captain, Ciaran Thompson, who was restored to the starting XV.

Thompson played only as a substitute in the quarter-final win over Derry a fortnight ago, having carried a knee injury, sustained during the Donegal senior team’s training camp in Portugal, into that game.

When Thompson made it a case of third time lucky, with an 11^th minute free, it put Donegal 0-3 to 0-2 in front.

Mark Kavanagh – a cousin of the Donegal senior manager, Rory Gallagher – opened the scoring and Lee Brennan doubled the lead from a free.

Stephen McBrearty and Christian Bonner levelled the scores for Donegal before Thompson’s free put Donegal in front.

Donegal could have been out of sight by the 20^th minute, but Tyrone stayed in touch, thanks by chance rather than their own design with Donegal kicking six early wides.

The warning signs were there, though, for the Red Hands and Fergal Logan, the Tyrone manager, called his full-back, Peter Teague, ashore in the 15^th minute.

Donegal had been cutting through Tyrone all too easily for Dooher’s liking, although things might have looked even bleaker but for Sean Fox, the Tyrone ‘keeper, saving well to deny McBrearty.

McBrearty landed a gorgeous point from the right-hand side that just curled inside the far upright and Conor O’Donnell put Donegal three ahead after a strong burst.

Donegal were dominating in the possession department with Thompson and McBrearty to the fore, but they had just two points to spare at the change of ends, with the wides column looking ominously from the clipboards at the Donegal management.

They led 0-6 to 0-4, but will have felt a little aggrieved that they didn’t make more of their supremacy.

Against Derry a fortnight ago, Donegal’s rear guard turned what was looking like a routine night into an ordeal and here, the more they missed the more it was likely that Tyrone would strike back.

That they did and Donegal, down to 13 men with 11 minutes to go, were left to ponder what might have been.

Donegal: Danny Rodgers; Conor Morrison, Kieran Gillespie, Jack O’Brien; Andrew McClean, Conor O’Donnell (0-1), Eoghan Ban Gallagher; Stephen McMenamin, Caolan McGonagle; Eamon McGrath, Stephen McBrearty (1-5, 1-0 pen, 3f), Ciaran Thompson (0-1, 1f); Jamie Brennan, Micheál Carroll, Christian Bonner (0-1). Subs: Conor Doherty (1-0) for Brennan (32), Mark Coyle for Bonner (40), Bruce Waldron for McGonagle (black card, 42), Cian Mulligan for McClean (46), Adam Neely for O’Donnell (54), Jack Scally for O’Brien (58).

Tyrone: Sean Fox; Cillian McCann, Peter Teague, Shea Hamill; Colm Byrne, Sean Loughran (0-1), Michael O’Neill; Cathal McShane (0-2, 1f), Ben McDonnell; Mark Kavanagh (0-2), Frank Burns (0-1), David Mulgrew; Lee Brennan (0-5, 3f), Ryan Coleman (1-2), Sean Fox (0-2). Subs: Michael McKernan for Teague (15), Johnny Harkin for McDonnell (black card, 17), Ruairi McGlone for O’Neill (50), for McShane (54), Stephen O’Donnell (0-1) for Kavanagh (58) Ronan McGeary for Fox (black card, 60).

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry).