Donegal 0 – 14
Laois 0 – 8
ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONS Donegal bounced back to winning ways with a win over Laois in round four of the SFC qualifiers in Carrick-on-Shannon.
In a tightly-contested match, Colm McFadden stood out for the dethroned Ulster championship with a total of six points (four from frees) to help Donegal over the line and into the All Ireland quarter finals as Conor Meredith was issued a late red card.
After the throw-in was delayed by 20 minutes, Donegal looked to be hampered the most as they crept out before the anthem with much less vigour than usual. Laois, meanwhile, handled the delay their own way, extending their shooting warm-up instead of re-entering the dressing room.
By the time the first whistle had blown, there was little to choose between the sides and both Justin McNulty and Jim McGuinness matched up their units in similar styles to make for a hard-fought, low-scoring affair.
The opening score finally arrived in the 11th minute, just seconds after Michael Murphy had been ordered to operate closer to the goal having drifted out behind the half forwards early on. Murphy’s presence allowed him knock the ball down to Colm McFadden, he won a free and duly dispatched it.
Ross Munnelly fired in the only score of the half for Laois five minutes later, but the O’Moore County were left with heads in hands minutes later when Mark Timmons passed up a gilt-edged opportunity in front of goal. That wide was one of half a dozen Laois blasted in the opening half and it gave Donegal a wake-up call needed.
In Donegal clicked to another gear, but they also took a slice of luck with them as David Walsh got the benefit of a doubt from the umpire waving the white flag for what looked to be a wide. Seconds later, though, Murphy was raiding through the middle to put two points between the sides and the dubious score was all but forgotten.
With tempers heating up between the managers on the sideline, McFadden kept his head cool to land his second free and a superb move from Paddy McBrearty ensured Donegal entered the half time break in complete control with the scoreboard reading 0-5 to just a solitary point.
Comparatively, at least, the second half was a much more open affair and Laois were first out of the traps and on the score-sheet through Meredith who doubled the Laois total after 36 minutes.
With McFadden on Murphy on target at one end, Munnelly struck a tremendous effort for the O’Moore county to just about keep them in touch.
Turn the screw
Yet Laois were ready to offer more than ‘just about’. McBrearty landed another in between McFadden points, but just at the point that the 11,000 onlookers in Carrick-on-Shannon expected Donegal to turn the screw, they stalled slightly and their 0-10 to 0-5 lead was whittled down to just a two point margin as Donal Kingston begin to discover some space and scoring form.
With five minutes to go – after the Donegal net had again led a charmed existence – McFadden showed all his class to ensure there would be no shock. The veteran forward plucked the ball out of the air despite being surrounded by blue and white jerseys and effortlessly sent the ball between the uprights.
That was the damage done for Laois, their Championship run over, and the frustration was embodied by Meredith’s late red card.
Scorers for Donegal: Colm McFadden 0-6 (0-4 frees), David Walsh 0-1, Michael Murphy 0-2, Paddy McBrearty 0-3, Neil McGee 0-1, Leo McLoone 0-1.Scorers for Laois: Ross Munnelly 0-4 (0-2 frees), Conor Meredith 0-1, Donal Kingston 0-2, David Conway 0-1.
DONEGAL: Paul Durcan; Paddy McGrath, Neil McGee, Eamonn McGee; Frank McGlynn, Declan Walsh , Anthony Thompson; Rory Kavanagh, Neil Gallagher, David Walsh, Ryan McHugh, Ryan Bradley; Paddy McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden.
LAOIS: Eoin Culliton; Paul Begley, Mark Timmons, Peter O’Leary; Darren Strong, Kieran Lillis, Padraig McMahon; Padraig Clancy, John O’Loughlin; Ross Munnelly Billy Sheehan, Colm Begley; Conor Meredith, Donal Kingston , Evan O’Carroll.
