Donegal 1-9 Derry 0-10 The essentials of an Ulster football semi-final were singularly missing on a rain-sodden pitch in Clones yesterday as a more sprightly and youthful Donegal side made a return to final day after a lapse of four years.
Happenings in Korea played a major part in robbing the occasion of atmosphere and a crowd of less than 2,000 was in the ground for the throw-in. That figure was probably doubled when the soccer game's penalty shoot-out concluded.
Donegal were fully deserving of their win, although Derry supporters were convinced it would have been a different story had they not lost two of their key players, Johnny McBride and Conleth Gilligan, in the final quarter. Both players were sent off by Cork referee Michael Collins, Gilligan for a second bookable offence.
The ball became lifeless on a soft pitch and this contributed to an annoying stop-start pattern as a result of a succession of frees.
Derry manager Eamonn Coleman was particularly annoyed with the surface and could not understand the Ulster Council's decision to stage two matches at the venue before the main attraction, given the bad weather.
Derry's generally poor form was underlined in the first half when, after Enda Muldoon had brought the house down with a huge opening point from the sideline, an untypical Derry display followed during which they failed to score for 28 minutes.
By this time the forceful play of the eager and ambitious Donegal team was greatly in evidence - so much so that Derry seemed to be making containment a serious priority.
Anthony Tohill was quiet in midfield and never really responded with any great conviction to the do-or-die efforts of his partner Fergal Doherty. John Gildea was the more impressive of the Donegal midfield duo and it was no surprise when Jim McGuinness was replaced.
Muldoon's opening point in the second minute was finally added to by McBride in the 30th minute. In between Donegal, who persisted with the short passing game, had notched up five well-taken points.
When Derry finally found some sort of cohesion and Donegal began to lose their control Pat Bradley and Gavin Diamond struck for valuable points that left only one between them at half-time - 0-5 to 0-4.
Diamond restarted on a high note in the left corner of the Derry attack and levelled the scores with a brilliant point two minutes into the second half.
The defining moment in the game followed: John Gildea lofted the ball towards the Derry posts, Brendan Devenney rose to fetch possession but was grounded almost on the goal-line as a goal seemed imminent. The referee awarded a penalty, which Eamonn Coleman later contended was a bad decision.
"The guy was going nowhere," he claimed.
Adrian Sweeney sent the spot-kick searing to the back of the net. It was Sweeney's second penalty conversion for his county.
"I think the best approach with penalty kicks is to keep the head down and let fly. Happily, it works for me anyway," he said.
His important spot-kick conversion did Donegal a world of good at a time when Derry's greater experience was beginning to play a part in an untidy affair, during which referee Collins was obliged to show 11 yellow and two red cards.
McBride was sidelined in the 50th minute just when Derry had got the deficit down to a point. The way Donegal reacted with renewed vigour whenever Derry threatened to wipe out everything they had worked so hard to achieve, both individually and collectively, was heart-warming, especially for team manager Micky Moran.
Donegal refused to allow the more experienced Derry men to take over and Adrian Sweeney and Brian Roper soon had restored that one-goal advantage, through sheer ability.
Former Donegal manager Brian McEniff was impressed. "We were hungry to succeed and had the better game plan, more thought and method went into our game," he claimed.
Derry may not have attained their full potential and struggled around the middle, despite the excellence of Fergal Doherty, but they kept chipping away at Donegal leads. Tohill and Bradley reduced the deficit to a single point once more - 1-7 to 0-9 - in the 61st minute but once more Donegal buttressed their slender advantage with points from Christy Toye and Sweeney.
The goal margin was restored but then a further setback hit the Derry challenge with the sending off of Conleth Gilligan in the 68th minute.
It became easier for the sharp Donegal defence against Derry's depleted attacking force. At the other end, Sean Martin Lockhart had to be stretchered off with a broken arm sustained in injury time. He is not expected to be fit for Derry's opening-round match in the qualifiers.
HOW THEY LINED OUT
DONEGAL: 1. T Blake 2; S Carr 3. M Crossan 4. N McGinley; 5. R Sweeney 6. B Monaghan 7. K Cassidy; 8. J Gildea 9. J McGuinness; 10. C Toye 11. M Hegarty 12. B Roper; 13. A Sweeney 14. B Devenney 15. P McGonigle.
Subs: C McFadden for McGuinness (59 mins), D Diver for Hegarty (67).
Yellow cards: J Gildea, M Hegarty, B Roper, A Sweeney, B Devenney
DERRY: 1. M Conlon; 2. G Doherty 3. N McCusker 4. S M Lockhart; 5. C McNally 19. F Crossan 7. G Coleman; 8. A Tohill 9. F Doherty; 10. C Gilligan 11. J Dougan 12. J McBride; 13. P Bradley 14. E Muldoon 15. G Diamond.
Subs: G McGonigle for Dougan (45 mins); B Murray for F Crossan (52), K McGuckin for Lockhart (81).
Yellow cards: SM Lockhart, A Tohill, C Gilligan (2), J McBride, P Bradley.
Red cards: Gilligan and McBride.
