Donegal had a whopping 17 points to spare in their all-Ulster Division One opener against Down at Newry tonight.

While the final scoreline won't have anybody in the winning camp getting overly excited, a sobering 3-15 to 0-7 defeat will certainly give the Mourne County plenty of food for thought over the coming days as they contemplate their future in the top flight.

Quickfire goals from Ryan McHugh and Patrick McBrearty in the 41st and 42nd minutes respectively propelled Rory Gallagher's men into an unassailable 2-9 to 0-4 lead. When McHugh added the third Donegal major in the 59th minute, the gap went out to a massive 14 points, 3-12 to 0-7.

With Michael Murphy flawless from placed balls, the Tir Chonail men bossed the first half to assume a commanding 0-9 to 0-3 interval advantage. Debutant Ciaran Thompson had the visitors up and running in the third minute and, even though the hosts briefly stayed with them, it was one-way traffic for most of the night.

With Michael Carroll, Thompson and Eoin McHugh all making their first league starts (while Caolan McGonagle and Stephen McBrearty came off the bench for their debuts and Peter Boyle - who saved a first-half penalty - started for the first time in five years), it was an excellent start to the league for Donegal, for whom the imperious Murphy (0-8), McBrearty (1-3) and Man of the Match McHugh all excelled.

Rory Kavanagh came off the bench for the last ten minutes as Donegal recorded their first away win in the top flight for almost seven years.

The losers scored just twice from play, Donal O'Hare their top scorer, registering four frees. They must have sensed it wasn't going to be their night when Boyle denied O'Hare (who picked up a straight red card in the 66th minute) from the spot midway through the first half, with just two points separating the sides at the time, 0-4 to 0-2.

Donegal reeled off five without reply before the short whistle and never looked back. They welcome Cork to Ballyshannon next weekend, while Down will be away to Ulster champions Monaghan.

Donegal - P Boyle; E Doherty, N McGee, P McGrath; R McHugh (2-0), F McGlynn (0-1), A Thompson; O MacNiallais, H McFadden; M Carroll, C Thompson (0-1), E McHugh; P McBrearty (1-3, 0-2f), M Murphy (0-8f), M O'Reilly. Subs: E McGee for N McGee (BC), L McLoone (0-2) for M Carroll, S McBrearty for O MacNiallais, N Gallagher for C Thompson, R Kavanagh for M O'Reilly, C McGonagle for R McHugh.

Down - S Kane; D O'Hagan, G McGovern, M Magee; M Hughes, C McGovern (0-1), R Boyle; P Turley, H Brown; J Murphy, M Poland, K McKernan; R Johnston, A McConville (0-2, 1f), D O'Hare (0-4f). Subs: C Harrison for R Johnston, D O'Hanlon for J Murphy (BC), N Madine for A McConville, M McKay for P Turley, S Dornan for M Poland, A Carr for C McGovern (BC).

Referee - D Gough.

Tweet

Most Read Stories