NICKY RACKARD CUP SEMI FINAL.
Donegal 4-22, Monaghan 1-10.
Former Tipperary intermediate player Davin Flynn proved executioner in chief with 2-11 as Donegal coasted to a comprehensive victory over a Monaghan side that never caught fire in what turned out to be quite a one sided contest that was played in excellent conditions at Owenbeg on Saturday afternoon last. Flynn got Donegal off to the perfect start with a goal after just 2 minutes and they rattled in a 2nd through Kevin Campbell 4 minutes later to give them an early advantage. A trademark goal by Mark Treanor in the 12th minute though brought Monaghan into the contest, but Donegal then increased the tempo to outscore Monaghan by 9 points to 1, between the 16th and 32nd minutes to help them to a 12 points half-time advantage. Monaghan started the second-half well with 3 quick fire points, but then Flynn struck for his 2nd goal in the 6thminute of the second-half with Monaghan then reduced numerically when full-back Kevin Crawley was red carded in the 10th minute. Donegal continued to pile on the points as they opened up a 17 points gap approaching the half hour mark in the second-half, but they never relented and went on to register a further 1-3,, 1-2 of that in stoppage time, to record an almost facile victory was 21 points separating the sides at the finish.
Teams and Scorers: Donegal: Paul Burns, Padraig Doherty, Christopher McDermott 0-1, Stephen Gillespie, Gavin Browne, Sean McVeigh, Jamesie Donnelly 0-1, Ciaran Matthewson 0-1, Danny Cullen 0-2, Bernard Lafferty, Declan Coulter 0-5 (1f), Enda McDermott, Kevin Campbell 1-0, Gerry Gilmore 0-1, Davin Flynn 2-11 (0-6f). Subs: Ciaran Finn for E McDermott, Lee Henderson for B Lafferty, Caolan McDermott, 1-0 for K Campbell, Mark Callaghan for J Donnelly, Joe Boyle for D Cullen.
Monaghan: Patrick Bermingham, Jamie Guinan, Kevin Crawley, Brian Flanagan, Martin Murphy 0-1, Peter Treanor, Patrick Finnegan 0-1, Mark Treanor 1-0, Aaron Kenny, Fergal Rafter 0-5(5f), Brian McGuigan 0-1, Conor Boyle, Niall Garland 0-1, Eamonn Collins, Tadhg Campbell. Subs: Niall Butler for P Bermingham, Conor Flynn 0-1 for C Boyle, Cormac McNally for E Collins, Cathal Power for T Campbell, Shane McNally for N Garland
Referee: Chris Mooney (Dublin).
