Senior hurlers fall to Donegal
May 31, 2013Donegal 5-12
Monaghan 2-09
Donegal staged a strong second half performance and enjoyed a modicum of good fortune with a couple of goals as they got the better of Monaghan in this entertaining contest in O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny.
Super sub Lee Henderson was Donegal's saviour in last Saturday's Nicky Rackard Cup semi-final as the Ballybofey man smashed 2-3 to send Ray Durack's men back to the Croke Park decider on June 8th.
Donegal are into their first Nicky Rackard decider since they lost in 2006 to Derry and the turnaround was spurred by the springing of Henderson from the bench at half-time.
Six weeks after sustaining a medial ligament injury in the Division 3A final defeat to Fingal in Cavan, comeback kid Henderson made an instant impact here, catching Monaghan 'keeper Gerard Ruddy out by sending two long-range frees straight to the Farney net.
It was largely those two strikes, which admittedly had a stroke of fortune attached, and the addition of three points from the MacCumhaills ace that turned the tide after a brace of first-half goals from Brian McGuigan had Monaghan in front at the short whistle, though Stephen Boyle's three-pointer ensured the deficit was significantly cut.
Donegal came out for the second half with the appearance of a side affronted by their trailing - and they hit 2-4 in a deadly first eight minutes of part two.
They led for the first time when Henderson's free bounced in front of the unsighted Ruddy and skidded to the net six minutes after the restart.
Sixty seconds later, Donegal struck a third as Ciaran Matthewson slammed home and by the 43rd minute they were 3-9 to 2-6 in front, with Danny Cullen, Henderson (free), Sean McVeigh and Paddy Hannigan steering over points in that purple patch.
Teams and Scorers: Donegal: Paul Burns; Martin McGrath, Justin McGhee, Benny Harrigan; Christopher McDermott, Jamesie Donnelly, Joe Boyle; Justin Browne, Danny Cullen (1-2); Sean McVeigh (0-1), Enda McDermott (0-1), Stephen Boyle (1-0); Ronan McDermott, Paddy Hannigan (0-1), Ciaran Matthewson (1-4, 2f). Subs: Lee Henderson (2-3, 2-1 f, 1 `65) for Browne (half-time), Kevin Campbell for Cullen (67 mins).
Monaghan: Gerard Ruddy; Shane McNally, Padraig Dowdally, Declan Crowe; Martin Murphy, Peter Treanor, Seamus Loftus; Kevin Crawley, Trevor Hillard; Brian McGuigan (2-0), Mark Treanor (0-1), Fergal Rafter; Michael McHugh (0-8, 7f, 1 '65), Sean Leanord, Tadgh Campbell. Subs: Conor McKenna for Rafter (48 mins), Ronan McAteer for Ruddy (58 mins), Hugh Byrne for Campbell (67 mins), Patrick Finnegan for Dowdally (69 mins).
Referee: Brendan Sweeney (Cavan). Tweet
