THE FINAL PAIRING ARE now known for all the respective Michael Murphy Sports & Leisure football championships.
The senior final will take place on Sunday, October 16, between Glenswilly and Kilcar.
Photo caption: Kilcar assistant manager James McHugh congratulates his son Eoin following their win over Naomh Conaill in the Michael Murphy Sports & Leisure Donegal SFC semi-final on Sunday in Ballybofey. Photo: Geraldine Diver
Michael Canning’s Glenswilly overcome the challenge of Malin on a 0-9 to 0-7 scoreline in Letterkenny, while Kilcar defeated Naomh Conaill with a resounding performance 5-10 to 0-11.
In the Intermediate Football Championship, Milford will take on Burt. Danny O’Donnell’s Milford enjoyed a 2-10 to 0-12 victory over Aodh Ruadh, while Burt got the better of Naomh Columba by four points in the end.
We’ve been reviewing what took place and here’s our Aura Leisure Centre Team of the Week.
1 Caolan McGettigan (Milford)
THERE WAS A dramatic finish at St Mary’s Park in Convoy on Saturday morning as Milford defeated Aodh Ruadh in the IFC semi-final. The Ballyshannon side were three points down just as the clock ticked into injury time as David McGurrin stood up for a penalty. His kicked was saved by Caolan McGettigan, who also gathered the rebound as the ball trickled over the line.
2 Stephen Shovlin (Kilcar)
WHEN EOGHAN MCGETTIGAN of Naomh Conaill got away to set up Leo McLoone for an opening goal in the SFC semi-final against Kilcar on Sunday, Martin and James McHugh soon moved Stephen Shovlin onto the teenager for the Glenties side. Shovlin picked up an early booking but steadied himself to put in a fine defensive performance.
3 Eamon Ward (Glenswilly)
ONE THING THAT Malin have shown down the years is that they possess a significant goal threat but on Sunday they were kept to just seven points in a tight SFC semi-final in Letterkenny. Eamon Ward marshaled his side’s defence well in that contest as they head into a final meeting against Kilcar.
4 Patrick Gallagher (Kilcar)
ONE OF THE unsung heroes for Kilcar, Patrick Gallagher had a fine game for his team as their commendable defensive form was evident again against a Naomh Conaill side with a plethora of attacking options. Patrick Gallagehr was unlucky to score a goal himself when he struck the base of the post in the second half.
5 Gary Merritt (Milford)
GARY MERRITT HAS been playing at a high level all season for Milford as they lifted the Division 2 title and are now just one step away from claiming an elusive double with the IFC. From his defensive station on Saturday he scored two points against Aodh Ruadh, the second of which was a long-range free kick which settled some second half nerves.
6 Paul McHugh (Burt)
IN A CONTEST that only saw five points scored in the first half, the margins between Burt and Naomh Columba were always going to be thin in the IFC semi-final in Glenswilly. Paul McHugh, from the half-back line, was inspirational for the team from Hibernian Park. He kicked four points from play on a day when many of the forward on display were nullified.
7 Ryan McHugh (Kilcar)
ON AN OCCASION when his entire team shone, the showing of Ryan McHugh as Kilcar dismantled Naomh Conaill by 11 points in the second of the SFC semi-finals was excellent. McHugh has arguably been the best footballer in the county this year and he ran riot, kicking three points from play and showed his capabilities on the left with as super long-range score.
[adrotate group=”84″]8 Neil Gallagher (Glenswilly)
THERE MIGHT BE a multitude of reasons for Glenswilly’s turnaround this season following a poor All-County League and opening day loss to Ardara in the SFC. However, since Neil Gallagher’s return against Dungloe in the group stages, Michael Canning’s side have been transformed and the Donegal midfielder was influential once more in the win over Malin.
9 Michael Hegarty (Kilcar)
NAOMH CONAILL STARTED the better of the two sides against Kilcar in the SFC on Sunday but when Michael Hegarty goaled after 10 minutes for the team managed by Martin McHugh, there was a lead created that would not be caught. Hegarty will finally get the chance to showcase his skills on the day of a senior final when this team take on Glenswilly later this month.
10 Pauric O’Neill (Naomh Columba)
NAOMH COLUMBA LOOKED a jaded team following their third championship game in six days when they lose out by four points to Burt in the IFC semi-final. One man who kept them right in the thick of it for long spells in Glenswilly on Saturday was Pauric O’Neill, who scored four points from play and was unlucky to end up on the losing side.
11 Brendan Fildara (Malin)
THEY’RE KNOWN AS the ‘flying Fildaras’ in Malin and the trio of Christy, Brendan and Stephen accounted for all of the Inishowen side’s seven points in their SFC semi-final loss against Glenswilly. From that, it was Brendan who scored five points – three from frees – and was his team’s most potent attacking threat.
12 Eoin McHugh (Kilcar)
EOIN MCHUGH HAS shown frequently that he has pace to burn and that was never more evident as his Kilcar side reached a first ever Donegal SFC final in 23 years. He scored two goals – one in each half – in their stunning victory over Naomh Conaill. For the second of those showed he was effectively uncatchable as he ran from almost halfway before slamming past Stephen McGrath.
13 Patrick McBrearty (Kilcar)
KNOCKING UP SCORES for fun in the All-County League this year, Patrick McBrearty scored 1-4 for Kilcar as they overcame Naomh Conaill in style. He scored one top-class point in particular from long range and his goal – his side’s fourth – was unstoppable.
14 Michael Murphy (Glenswilly)
THINGS WERE CAGEY enough at O’Donnell Park but in the end, Glenswilly overcame Malin by two points in the SFC to seal a final berth for the fifth time in just 10 seasons. Michael Murphy was, in the end, the difference between the teams as he kicked four points to take his side over the line against the team from Inishowen.
15 David Dolan (Aodh Ruadh)
A FEW EYEBROWS were raised in Convoy on Saturday when Aodh Ruadh’s David Dolan was taken off with some 17 minutes to go. It was said afterwards that the forward for the Ballyshannon team had picked up a knock and that was certainly a huge blow, as Dolan was their presence in the full-forward line and had scored four times from play.
Tags: