Tyrone keep hopes of avoiding relegation alive with Donegal victory
BIG WIN: Tyrone's Peter Harte and Finnbarr Roarty of Donegal. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane.
Tyrone put themselves in with a chance of avoiding the drop to Division 2 with an eight-point win over a Donegal team who ran the changes.
Dublin are the visitors to Healy Park on Sunday and Tyrone know they can get to seven points and might still go down, while Donegal are probably hoping eight doesn’t get them into a Croke Park final.
By comparison to some of their cliffhangers down the years, this was the Sunday afternoon matinee version in front of a crowd of 8,410 in Letterkenny with a bank holiday feel.
Tyrone’s needs were much more than Donegal’s, making the short journey from Strabane over Lifford bridge with just three points from their five outings in Division 1.
On the other hand, Jim McGuinness made 11 changes from the Donegal team who came from eight down to defeat Derry in Ballyshannon a week beforehand, although Michael Murphy and Odhrán McFadden Ferry were starting for the first time since June 2022.
Murphy led the line impressively, with Jamie Brennan, with the duo scoring all but one of their first half points. Hugh McFadden added the other, although Tyrone had more strings to their bow.
Darragh Canavan kicked four first half points, with Ciaran Daly and Mark Bradley putting over two each.
By the interval, Malachy O’Rourke’s team were 0-12 to 0-7 in front, with Niall Morgan batting out a late shot from Charles McGuinness not long before the hooter, although it was the visitors who took advantage of the ball not going dead with Daly’s second point.
Niall Morgan’s two-pointer and scores from Peter Harte, Michael McKernan and Brian Kennedy meant a 0-17 to 0-8 Red Hands’ lead.
Caolan McColgan scored from distance and Brennan added to his productive afternoon, with Kevin McGettigan and Finnbarr Roarty also popping over.
And when Odran Doherty tried to lob Morgan - shooting just over the crossbar for two rather than under it for three - the Donegal deficit was only four, 0-19 to 0-15.
Tyrone, though, were keeping their noses in front, with Bradley and a two-pointer Morgan free leaving them five up - 0-22 to 0-17 - with 15 left.
From a lovely Murphy take into the chest, Eoin McHugh clipped the angle of post and crossbar with McGuinness throwing league debuts to Keelan McGroddy and former Wicklow player Johnny Carlin.
M Murphy (0-4, 1f); J Brennan (0-4); C McColgan, O Doherty (2p), C Moore (0-2 each); H McFadden, K McGettigan, F Roarty, M Curran, E McHugh (0-1 each).
N Morgan (0-5, 2 tpf); D Canavan, M Bradley (2f) (0-4 each); M Donnelly (0-3), C Daly (0-2); P Teague, K McGeary, P Harte, M McKernan, B Kennedy, S O’Donnell, D McCurry (0-1 each).
G Mulreany; M Curran, K McGettigan, P Mogan; O McFadden Ferry, F Roarty, C McColgan; H McFadden, D Mac Giolla Bhríde; J Brennan, J Mac Ceallabhuí, O Doherty; C McGuinness, M Murphy, N O'Donnell.
E McHugh for Mac Ceallabhui (half-time), C Moore for McColgan (48), K McGroddy for McGuinness (48), L McGlynn for Doherty (54), J Carlin for Murphy (63).
N Morgan; A Clarke, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan, R Brennan, J Oguz; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; M Donnelly, K McGeary, C Daly; P Harte, M Bradley, D Canavan.
S O’Donnell for Oguz (48), C Quinn for McGeary (51), R Canavan for Harte (51), D McCurry for Bradley (57), S O’Hare for McKernan (67).
P Faloon (Down).
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