McKenna Cup Final: Donegal cruise to victory

Dr McKenna Cup Final

Donegal 2-17 Monaghan 0-11

By Francis Mooney at O'Neill's Healy Park

Donegal combined the tried and tested with exciting new talent sweep to victory in the Dr McKenna Cup title, claiming the pre-season silverware for the first time since 2019 with a thumping 12 points rout of Monaghan at Omagh.

Manager Jim McGuinness, with one eye on next weekend’s league opener against Dublin at Croke Park, has added depth to his squad while giving ample game time to established players, with 11 of those who featured in last year’s All-Ireland final on duty in this decider.

Newcomer Shea Malone sparkled in attack, grabbing two goals to send a strong message to the boss that he has plenty to offer in this code, having previously featured in the League of Ireland for Sligo Rovers.

His early strike helped Donegal to a three points interval lead, but with a raft of seasoned performers coming off the bench, they took over in the second half, with Jason McGee, Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Ban Gallagher joining the action to make a big impact.

Donegal made the perfect start, and it was one of their promising newcomers who hit the net after just six minutes, Shane O’Donnell at the centre of the move that ended with Max Campbell crossing for Malone to finish from close range.

Hugh McFadden and Turlough Carr added points to give them a measure of control, after Monaghan had got off the mark through Stephen Mooney and Ryan Duffy.

Karl Gallagher, Ryan Duffy and Jason Irwin worked hard for the Farney men, but poor finishing saw a number of opportunities lost.

O’Donnell was always involved in Donegal’s attacking efforts, and was in the thick of the action that led to Conor O’Donnell’s finish which had Jim McGuinness’ side ahead by 1-3 to 0-2 at the end of the opening quarter.

With Kieran Gallagher and veteran McFadden getting on top at midfield, they could have had further scores, but for some defiant defending from Shane Gahratty and impressive new man Darragh Treanor.

Monaghan’s wastefulness continued as they crafted a goal chance, Ryan Duffy breaking tackles to slip a pass to Thomas Hughes, whose fisted effort was brilliantly saved by Gavin Mulreany.

Working the ball through the hands with their traditional running game, the Tír Chonail men stretched the lad through McFadden, and came close to adding a second goal when Conor O’Donnell’s searching delivery picked out Paul O’Hare, but his fisted effort clipped the wrong side of a post.

The Farney men finally got some fluency back into their game, hitting three points on the spin, the best of them from Mooney,, but Donegal finished strongly as goalkeeper Mulreany converted a two-point free to send them in with a 1-7 to 0-6 interval lead.

Mulreany was at it again early in the second half, raising another orange flag, and a raft of changes, including several household names, fortified Donegal’s push for the finish line.

Jason McGee, Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Ban Gallagher all made a significant impact off the bench as last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists took control.

They ran at a hard-pressed Farney defence from all angles, piling on scores through Conor O’Donnell, Malone, Eoin McGeehan and Caolan McColgan.

Points from Andrew Woods and Eddie Walsh were merely of token value to Monaghan, such was the gulf in energy and impetus between the sides.

When Malone smashed the ball to the roof of the net from Peadar Mogan’s assist for his second goal on 53 minutes, it was all over.

Jason McGee powered over a two-pointer to emphasise his side’s dominance, as they finished off with another flourish of scores.

Scorers for Donegal: S Malone 2-1, G Mulreany 0-4 (2 tpf), C O’Donnell, H McFadden, J McGee (2p) 0-2 each, T Carr, K Muldoon, C McCahill, R McHugh, C McColgan, E McGeehan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Monaghan: A Woods (1f), S Mooney (1f), T Hughes 0-2 each, J Irwin, D Garland, R Duffy, K Mulligan (’45), E Walsh 0-1 each.

Donegal: G Mulreany; U Doherty, B McCole, M Curran; P O’Hare, C McGonagle, M Campbell; K Gallagher, H McFadden; S O’Donnell, T Carr, K Muldoon; C O’Donnell, C McCahill, S Malone.

Subs: C McColgan for McCole (20), R McHugh for Carr (HT), E Ban Gallagher for Doherty (h-t), F Roarty for O’Hare (HT), P Mogan for McGonagle (41), J McGee for K Gallagher (43), D MacGiolla Bhride for McFadden (43), E McGeehan for C O’Donnell (45), S Carr for S O’Donnell (47), O Caulfield for Muldoon (48)

Monaghan: J Kiernan; R Wylie, C Dowd, D Treanor, D Byrne; R Duffy, S Hanratty, T Hughes; A Stewart, K Gallagher; J Irwin, L McDonald, F Carolan; D Garland, A Woods, S Mooney.

Subs: D McElearney for Hanratty (21), M Bannigan for Irwin (HT), D Ward for Rooney (HT), S O’Hanlon for Gallagher (HT), K Mulligan for Kiernan (HT), E Walsh for Woods (47), S Callan for Carolan (55).

Referee: S Murphy (Armagh).