Dublin 0-08 Donegal 0-06: Dublin will meet Kerry in the All-Ireland final after overcoming a stubbornly defensive and physical performance from Donegal at Croke Park. Pat Gilroy's side scored just two from play as they struggled to find a way past lynch mobs of Donegal defenders, and only profited when reduced to 14-men after the harsh sending off of Diarmuid Connolly.
It will be Dublin's first appearance in the final for 16 years and, for that reason, Gilroy was happy with the win, no matter how it looked to anyone watching.
“That’s all semis-finals are about, it’s getting over them and we’ve tried a few times over the last few years,” he told RTE. “We’ve had to be really patient, and stick to our task today. It was a very, very difficult game. I mean, fair play to Donegal, they made it very difficult but I think we showed great composure and patience to see it out.”
Asked whether Donegal’s tactics contributed to a poor spectacle, Gilroy added: “If you have a way that’s going to stop good players playing you have to play to your strengths. We don’t have to worry too much about it being a spectacle but I thought we played exceptionally good football in the last 20 minutes to get around it."
It took them some time to find a way through. In fact, they failed to score from play in a tight first half, swarmed as they were by Donegal’s blanket defence. Donegal allowed them to have the ball in their own half and doubled up on the Brogan brothers up front.
On the rare occasion they got a sight of the posts, they were wasteful. Alan Brogan hung one high and wide when all he had available to him was that low percentage option from the touchline and Connolly wasted his opportunity late in the half, while Stephen Cluxton was not his prolific self with the deadball.
Bernard Brogan had a sight on goal 10 minutes in but even had he not dragged his effort badly wide, he was adjudged to have fouled Eamon McGee in the build-up.
Dublin’s talisman pointed a free of his own a minute later to equalise Colm McFadden ninth minute effort that came after James McCarthy was yellow carded for a high tackle.
It was almost another 15 minutes until the crowd witnessed their first point from play when Ryan Bradley made one of the few quality contributions to the half, and again Bernard Brogan brought it level with a free he won after being mauled by the Donegal defence.
It was the last score for the Dubs, however, and they lost Rory O’Carroll to injury soon afterwards. He was replaced by Philly McMahon but little changed, save for the fact that Kevin Cassidy and McFadden found their range from play to open up a two-point lead.
It could have become five-point lead immediately after the restart but, after a strong run from Michael Murphy, McFadden followed up his jink inside the Dublin defence with just a point when a goal seemed the likeliest outcome. It was to prove a costly miss.
In response, Paul Flynn brought Dublin’s wide tally to nine with another effort from distance. Cluxton, though, narrowed the gap with a 45 in the 42nd minute and Donegal were dealt a blow when Karl Lacey had to leave the field injured, having taken a heavy knock in the first half.
McFadden curled a beautiful free over, however, and the three-point margin was restored. Still, Dublin had no forward momentum and their frustration was evident when Cian O’Sullivan saw yellow for a high challenge and it got worse, or at least it should have, for the Dubs.
After two scores – deadballs from Bernard Brogan and Cluxton – Connolly won another free but was barged after the whistle and responded with a few tame blows of his own. A red card was the harsh result after the intervention of the linesman and Dublin were down to 14.
What a time, then, to get the first two scores from play and take the lead, courtesy of Kevin McMenamon and Bryan Cullen. Donegal’s attacking threat had all but disappeared in the face of a stirring Dublin revival and defensive effort that mirrored their opponents’ from the first half.
The game was put beyond Jim McGuinness’s side when Bernard Brogan rattled a free off the post, though McMenamon, who was excellent since his introduction, should have made it an easier ride by pointing when through on goal instead of seeking to centre it for a goal opportunity.