Donegal 3-8 Down 1-11:Dr McKenna Cup/ Semi-final: At one stage Donegal looked as if they would win this game easily but in the end they were holding on as Down fashioned a comeback in the second half and, had they been luckier with a couple of goal attempts, they might well have sneaked the result at Clones yesterday.

The sides were evenly matched early on and they were level after 10 minutes, Brendan Devenney equalising for Donegal after two Benny Coulter points had put Down in front for the first and only time in the game.

Devenney was the architect of Donegal's increasing first-half dominance as Down were blitzed by a Donegal purple patch that yielded three goals and four points between the 13th and 27th minutes.

Devenney got the first of the goals and was the provider for the other two which were knocked in by Johnny McCafferty in the 24th and 27th minutes to give Donegal a 13-point lead.

Down then pulled back a goal and a point through Colin McCrickard to leave the half-time score Donegal 3-6, Down 1-3.

In the early minutes of the second half it looked as if Donegal would pick up where they had left off at the break but the loss of Devenney through injury robbed them of their playmaker and his point in the 45th minute would be their final score of the game.

Down had reshuffled their forces and they began to make inroads into the deficit. Five points without reply between the 18th and 25th minutes reduced the deficit to five points entering the final 10 minutes but all they could manage thereafter was two points as Donegal held out.

DONEGAL: T Blake; N McGinley, R Sweeney, D Diver; S Carr, B Monaghan, K Cassidy (0-1); P McGonigle, S McDermott; B McLaughlin (0-1), M Hegarty, B Roper; J McCafferty (2-0), A Sweeney (0-2), B Devenney (1-4). Subs: C Toye for B McLaughlin, C McFadden for B Devenney, J Gildea for S McDermott, B Boyle for P McGonigle.

DOWN: B McVeigh; M Higgins, A Molloy, J Doran; R Sexton, S Farrell, C Byrne; B Coulter (0-4), S Ward; B Doran, L Doyle (0-1), R Murtagh; E McCarten (0-2), C McCrickard (1-2), D Hughes (0-1). Subs: A O'Prey (0-1) for B Doran, S Kearney for R Murtagh.

Referee: P Mullan (Antrim).