Real deal Donegal deliver double

Jim McGuinness reckons history will treat these Donegal players kindly now.

Scorned in some quarters for their efforts last year, they carved out a special niche for themselves in Clones yesterday becoming the first team in the county’s history to win back-to-back Ulster titles.

They are handling the favourites’ tag pretty easily these days and showed off their full repertoire of skills in a devastating second-half.

Down were the team going to need a goal or two but Donegal got them both through Leo McLoone in the first-half and Frank McGlynn in the second.

It was as complete a second-half as they have played and the blueprint is now becoming familiar – soak up everything the opposition has to give and hit them with punishing counter-attacks as the game opens up.

Donegal had 11 different players on the scoresheet, testimony to the array of talent at their disposal.

When McGlynn busted the net in the 51st minute, the game was as good as over. With a six-point lead, 2-10 to 0-10, there was no way back for Down.

James McCartan knew the game was up long before he went over to shake hands with McGuinness and Rory Gallagher with about three or four minutes still on the clock.

They tried everything, including the Peter Canavan-inspired double substitution of Benny Coulter. Not able for 70 minutes, Coulter played the whole first-half and came back in with 18 minutes to go.

But the contest was already over by then, such was the influence Donegal exerted in the third quarter when they outscored Down by 1-4 to 0-2.

The turning point was probably Michael Murphy’s point four minutes after the restart. Neither he nor Colm McFadden had been in the game but when Martin McElhinney forced an out-of-sorts Kevin McKernan into a turnover, Murphy scored and you could see Down players visibly wilt.

McElhinney and Christy Toye took a grip of things around the middle, with Mark McHugh and Ryan Bradley carrying a lot of ball.

Corner-back Frank McGlynn was superb, always a willing support runner it was his decision to stay inside after helping out in an attack which allowed him to score the all-important goal.

Murphy won a short kickout and passed to him and he finished it beautifully, with McVeigh offered no protection. That was the killer score and Donegal easily saw the job through.

While caught up in the emotion of doing something that had never been done before – winning Ulster two years running via the preliminary round — McGuinness was already thinking about how his players will be remembered after their careers.

“They’ve done something we’d our hearts set on doing, and that’s very satisfying,” he said.

“You can only do something for the first time, once. They’d done that, and without being negative, this is the same group of players that were heavily criticised for a number of years.

“Your life can take twists and turns, and they could have ended up stepping off the panel, or moving away, and this would never have happened for them. People would have always said things about them.

“Whereas I feel now they’ve at least in some way rectified that, and put their own stamp on their Donegal careers.”

Down should have done more with the wind in the first-half and they knew it. It was a worth a good two- or three-point lead, yet they went in 1-5 to 0-7 behind at the break.

The sides were level four times in the first half but the free count – Donegal conceded 17 to Down’s six – was an indication of the ferocious commitment Donegal had to wearing down their opponents when they had the ball.

Down had the upper hand in midfield in the first half and were ahead 0-4 to 0-2 after 31 minutes but a little scoring burst before half-time gave Donegal crucial momentum.

Ryan Bradley delivered a quick free in the 32nd minute straight to McLoone, back in the starting team after being dropped for the semi-final.

His marker, Benny McArdle, was nowhere to be seen as he raced through the middle and faced with a one-on-one with McVeigh, stroked the ball nicely between his legs.

Down had a few goal chances in the first half, Laverty, Rogers and O’Hare all opening Donegal up long before sub Danny Hughes forced Durcan into a late save three minutes from the end.

Every single one of Down’s six first-half wides seemed costly, especially knowing they faced into a wind up the hill and a Donegal team which is becoming an unstoppable force.

Scorers for Donegal: C McFadden 0-6 (3fs), L McLoone, F McGlynn 1-0 each, M McHugh, R Bradley, Declan Walsh, M McElhinney 0-2 each, M Murphy, David Walsh, P McBrearty, D McLaughlin 0-1 each.

Scorers for Down: L Doyle 0-4 (2fs), D O’Hare 0-2 (1f), C Laverty, A Brannigan, A Rogers, K McKernan, C Maginn, E McCartan, D Hughes 0-1 each.

Subs for Donegal: M McElhinney for David Walsh (ht), C Toye for McLoone (43), D McLaughlin for Bradley (59).

Subs for Down: E McCartan for Coulter (ht), C Maginn for Carr (41), D Hughes for O’Hare (47), B Coulter for McKernan (52).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).