Donegal powered past Cavan in Clones to the Ulster final after a six-point victory 2-16 to 0-16.
Two second-half goals from Conor O’Donnell and Patrick McBrearty proved critical for Cavan writes Conor Smith.
It was a fantastically paced game from the outset. With no more than two points ever between the sides in the first-half. That’s if the score wasn’t level pegging.
Patrick Lynch was the first to put the ball over the bar and achieved five of Cavan’s nine first-half points.
Michael Murphy, Patrick McBrearty and Jamie Brennan were mainly responsible for Donegal’s competitiveness in the first 35 minutes.
After half-time Cavan’s James Smith gave life to the team’s eagerness and produced a point for the Breifne side within the first 30 seconds of the restart.
There were rapid exchanges of points by Donegal’s Jamie Brennan and Michael Murphy and Cavan’s James Smith & Gearoid McKeirnan as the teams were neck and neck; 14 points each on 58 minutes.
However the first of two crushing blows was dealt by Donegal’s Ciaran O’Donnell on the hour mark.
O’Donnell found the back of Cavan’s net in St Tiernach’s Park. Spurred on by his teammate’s success, steady scorer Patrick McBrearty would also find the back of the net on the 66 minutes producing a seven point lead for the side.
Patrick Lynch landed the final score of the game in the fourth minute of an additional five and bring to a conclusion what was a highly commendable performance for the Cavan players.
Donegal progressing to the Ulster championship final, while Cavan will enter the Tailteann cup.
