Power NI Dr. McKenna Cup Section A

Donegal 1-5 Monaghan 3-16                        13/1/13

 

Monaghan maintained their winning start to 2013 with a comprehensive victory over an understrength Donegal team in Ballybofey on Sunday. Donegal fielded without any of the players who won the All-Ireland last September, but Monaghan can still be happy with a performance which saw them rack up an impressive score, which included second-half goals by Keith McEnaney, Dermot Malone and Darren Hughes. Kieran Hughes was the star of the show with five excellent points, while Malone, Conor McManus, Kieran Duffy, debutant Owen Coyle and Ronan McNally also enjoyed good afternoons in what was the most comfortable if wins for Malachy O’Rourke’s side, which showed ten changes from the one that defeated St. Mary’s seven days earlier.

Monaghan survived a nervy moment in the second minute when a Stephen Griffin free dropped on the edge of the square, but Willie Gillespie’s toe-poke was kept out by Mark Keogh. After missing a number of chances, Monaghan took the lead with a well-taken point from play by Kieran Hughes, who added a super score three minutes later off the outside of his left boot, following a one-two with Conor McManus. Paul McArdle tapped over a 13-metre free for a foul on Keith McEnaney, who then got on the end of a well-worked move involving Kieran and Darren Hughes and Owen Lennon to produce a smart finish for Monaghan’s fourth point.

McManus won and scored a 25-metre free to continue the visitors’ dominance, but Donegal finally got off the mark on 27 minutes and kick-started their challenge when Gillespie raced onto a long ball from Ciarán Cannon and laid it off for Adrian Hanlon to fire to the net. Gary McFadden quickly added the hosts’ first point, but fouls on McEnaney and Lennon allowed McArdle and McManus to convert 25-metre frees and give Monaghan a 0-7 to 1-1 half-time lead.

Monaghan struck for their first goal within a minute of the restart when Darren Hughes released McEnaney, who gave Donegal keeper Peter Boyle no chance from close range. Kieran Hughes added a superb point after taking a cross-field pass from Conor Galligan and although Stephen Griffin got a good score for the hosts, substitute Dermot Malone’s first involvement was to set up Kieran Duffy for an impressive point. Gillespie won the break from a high ball from McFadden to clip over a point, but Owen Coyle raced forward from defence to kick a fine score, before McManus won and scored a 30-metre free. Another foul on McManus gave Kieran Hughes the chance to land a well-struck free over the bar and the Scotstown man quickly added another excellent effort from play. Malone had a shot at goal denied by Boyle, only for Donegal to give the ball away cheaply to McManus, who took his point.

There was no stopping Malone with ten minutes to go when he fired to the net after Ronan McNally had put him through, although Griffin responded with a nice point. Darren Hughes created another goal chance for Malone to blast over the bar and after Declan Walsh had got one back for Donegal, Malone added a good point from play to take his tally to 1-2. Monaghan finished on a high when Darren Hughes punched a Thomas O’Neill pass to the net from point-blank range at the end of a move started by sub Neil McAdam. Monaghan and Fermanagh both now have two wins under their belts ahead of their meeting in Inniskeen on Wednesday evening.

 

 

Donegal: P Boyle; K McFadden, Declan Walsh (Capt., 0-1), T McKinley; C Ward, C Cannon, C Gallagher; G McFadden (0-1), R Wherity; D McLaughlin, S Griffin (0-2), S McGowan; W Gillespie (0-1), A Hanlon (1-0), J Carroll.

Subs: M Cannon for McLaughlin (inj., 4 mins), P Carr for McKinley, L Kelly for Gillespie (both 53), A O’Gara for Carroll, C Gibbons for Gallagher (both 69).

 

Monaghan: M Keogh; R McNally, David Hughes, O Coyle (0-1); K Duffy (0-1), D Mone, C Galligan; O Lennon (Capt.), Darren Hughes (1-0); K Hughes (0-5, 1f), P McArdle (0-2f), T O’Neill; K McEnaney (1-1), C McManus (0-4, 3f), D Hahessy.

Subs: D Malone (1-2) for McEnaney (38), D Clerkin for Lennon (46), S McQuillan for McArdle (49), N McAdam for Duffy (60), O Duffy for McManus (61).

 

Referee: C O’Hagan (Tyrone).