Dark and dank but Donegal march on

ANOTHER miserable afternoon and another damp squib of a game involving Donegal but the fact is that Jim McGuinness’ side have now ploughed through two opponents on the way to an Ulster semi-final date with Tyrone.

Last time round it was Antrim in Ballybofey, yesterday it was Cavan in Breffni Park and, in truth, the similarities connecting the two occasions extended to the paucity of the challenge offered by very limited opponents.

Donegal’s new, functional style of play hasn’t won them many friends but it may start to influence some people if they can overcome Mickey Harte’s side and give them a shot at claiming a first provincial title since 1992.

Can they manage that? Who knows? Donegal themselves certainly believe their new way offers greater scope to succeed but the ease with which they have travelled this far makes any definitive judgement impossible.

Take Cavan yesterday. They came to this, their championship opener, with a degree of optimism rarely seen in recent times after the success of their U21s in claiming an Ulster title and reaching an All-Ireland final earlier this year.

This time it was going to be different, supposedly. Seven players were making their championship debuts and only two of the starting 15 — David Givney and Seanie Johnston — had played last year when Cork ended their summer in the qualifiers.

It was a radical sweeping of the decks by Val Andrews and Terry Hyland. Maybe too radical because it took them 32 minutes to register a score from play and the game was already beyond them with a half-hour still to go.

Both sides fielded spare men at the back and over-indulged the handpasses but Cavan were the more defensively-minded. At one point, they had as many as four men marking space on their own half-back line as Donegal approached.

What excitement there was to gain from proceedings came courtesy of two early and controversial sendings-off, one on each side.

There were just eight minutes on the clock when Cavan’s Ray Cullivan was pointed in the direction of the home dressing room by Marty Duffy after the midfielder leaped for a ball and raised his studs into the chest of Kevin Cassidy.

The crowd howled in disgust and there were murmurs in the press box about how the official had ‘ruined the game’ but the fact is that the punishment was befitting of what was an utterly dangerous yet needless crime.

Donegal’s Michael Murphy followed nine minutes later after what appeared to be a shoulder into the sternum of Damien Reilly. As an offence, it was just as stupid as Cullivan’s but not nearly as reckless and an appeal is already in the post.

By then, only three points had been scored, all from frees and two of them by Cavan, but 17-year-old Paddy McBrearty claimed the first flag from open play five minutes later when catching a long sideline ball and finishing under the Cavan keeper.

The teenager added three points on what was his full championship debut but, impressive as he was, he had to make do with a supporting role alongside the more experienced Colm McFadden, who scored and assisted with equal effect.

With Kevin Cassidy spraying balls around the field and Neil McGee locking down the defence, Cavan were in trouble in all ports and were reduced to probing endlessly for non-existent openings in front of a packed Donegal defence.

The home side did at least attempt to change tack after the interval. Six points adrift and with the wind at their backs on the restart, they ordered Givney onto the edge of the square but the resultant bombardment was just as ineffective.

Gearoid McKiernan finally opened their account from play two minutes into the second period but any threads of hope were severed not long after when McFadden sent Rory Kavanagh through to claim Donegal’s second goal.

Not even Michael Brennan’s injury-time consolation goal could disguise the gulf in class.

Scorers for Cavan: M Brennan 1-1 (1-0 pen); N McDermott 0-4 (3f); G McKiernan, F Flanagan and S Johnston (1f) 0-1 each.

Scorers for Donegal: P McBrearty 1-3 (0-1f); C McFadden 0-5 (2f); R Kavanagh 1-0; D Molloy 0-2; K Cassidy, K Rafferty, M Murphy (1f) and L McLoone 0-1 each.

Subs for Cavan: G Smith for Lyng (45); M McKeever for D Reilly (49); T Corr for Sheridan (51); C Mackey for Murray (57); M Brennan for Keenan (62).

Subs for Donegal: M Hegarty for McElhinney (30); L McLoone for Cassidy (53); D Molloy for Bradley (56); N Gallagher for Rafferty (59); D Walsh for McHugh (66).

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo).