Armagh ... 2-9 Donegal ... 1-6All-Ireland champions Armagh kept their winning momentum going with another impressive league win against Donegal in MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey yesterday. It leaves the men from the north sitting pretty at the top of the table.
With only half their All-Ireland team on duty, they still proved much too strong in the final quarter against a Donegal team who showed improvement from their first two outings.
Indeed, the home side - who parted acrimoniously with coach Seán O'Kane during the week - had the better of things in the first half but due to poor finishing, they were just a point ahead at the break after playing with a good breeze.
Donegal were 0-3 to 0-2 up after 24 minutes when Armagh were awarded a controversial penalty by Cavan referee Brian Crowe. Paddy McKeever took possession going forward and seemed to barge his way into two Donegal players. However, Oisín McConville was unable to beat Tony Blake from the spot.
But Armagh did have the ball in the Donegal net some five minutes later. The Orchard men swept up the field after an Adrian Sweeney effort came back off their upright. Paul McGrane unlocked the Donegal defence with a magnificent pass to find McConville in front of goal and he finished to the net with his left boot.
The home side responded with points from Adrian Sweeney and another from Paul McGonigle to leave the half-time score Donegal 0-6, Armagh 1-2.
However, the home side lost play-maker Michael Hegarty with a hamstring injury and despite getting an early second-half tonic through an Adrian Sweeney goal, they were mostly on the back foot from then on.
Sweeney's strike proved to be their only score of the half as Armagh took over and their confidence was underlined by the fact that full back Justin McNulty ran the length of the field to provide an overlap and finish to the Donegal net in the 43rd minute.
Man-of-the-match Paddy McKeever levelled and then put the winners in the lead - an advantage they stretched out to six points by the final whistle.
Armagh are now top of the table but Donegal are pointless at the bottom and their continued tenure in Division One is now in peril.
This is their 15th consecutive season in the top flight, but after two home defeats they must be among the favourites for the dreaded drop.
ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, J McNulty (1-0), F Bellew; K Hughes, A O'Rourke, P McCormack; P McGrane (0-1), P Loughran; P McKeever (0-4, three frees), J McEntee (0-1), O McConville (1-2, one free); P Duffy (0-1), B Duffy, T McEntee. Subs: B O'Hagan for B Duffy (49mins), M O'Rourke for P Duffy (60mins), D Turley for J McEntee (70mins).
DONEGAL: T Blake; E Reddan, R Sweeney, N McGinley; N McCready, S Carr, D Diver; J McGuinness, J Ruane (0-1); P McGonigle (0-1), M Hegarty (0-2, frees), J Haran; B Roper, A Sweeney (1-2, pen, one free), A. Gallagher. Subs: C. McFadden for A. Gallagher (11mins), R. Kavanagh for M. Hegarty (35mins), B. McLaughlin for Haran (50mins).
Referee: B Crowe (Cavan).
