​Armagh Minors fall to Donegal in the League Semi-final

The Armagh Minors league campaign came to an end at the semi-final stage, as they lost against Donegal in Letterkenny on Saturday.

Donegal were first on the scoreboard with full forward Matthew Enright swinging over from close range, and with just over two minutes on the clock, they found the net.

A well-worked move between Shane Sweeney, Danny McCready and Cathal Doherty opened the door for Joseph Gibbons, who received possession 13 metres out and drilled a low shot past Padraig Finn and into the net.

However, Armagh fashioned a brilliant response three minutes later, as Ronan Martin played the ball to Odhran Reel, and from the by-line he fisted it across for Brendan Ferreira to receive possession and finish low into the Donegal net.

The next score was an impressive two-pointer from Tomas Carr for Donegal, but Armagh’s Conal Wilson pointed in reply.

The two sides continued to trade scores with ​Kalvin McLaughlin and Daithi O’Callaghan finding the mark at either end, before a Sweeney converted free for the hosts was cancelled out by Armagh’s Ryan Dynes.

Then, Donegal’s Danny McCready tapped over a superb point, jinking his way through the Armagh defence before converting from a tight angle. But once again the Orchard County had a response, with Tiarnan O’Neill drilling over from out on the left wing.

That narrowed the gap to two points, but Donegal’s Carr nailed a free kick from 50 metres out to add two to their tally and push the lead out to four points.

Armagh weren’t going away quietly, as Reel split the posts at the other end, but Donegal remained on top, with Sweeney finding the mark at the other end – that score saw the sides head into the break at 1-9 to 1-5 in the home side’s favour.

Donegal started the second half with an impressive score by Gibbons from the edge of the D, but Armagh’s O’Callaghan hit his second of the day in reply.

However, 10 minutes into the second half Donegal got the key score of the day. Carr fed a long ball inside for Sweeney, and he offloaded to Joe Doherty, who palmed into the Armagh net to give his side a seven-point lead.

That goal gave Armagh a mountain to climb, and whilst they kept battling away with scores from Martin and O’Callaghan (two), Donegal didn’t allow for any comeback.

Gibbons raised their final white flag of the game from a free before Enright put the icing on the cake, as he slotted home a third goal in the final minute of the game.

MATCH STATS

Donegal scorers: Joseph Gibbons (1-2, 1f), Matthew Enright (0-1), Tomas Carr (0-4, 1tp, 1tpf), Joe Doherty (1-0), Kalvin McLaughlin (0-1), Shane Sweeney (0-2, f), Danny McCready (0-1)

Armagh scorers: Daithi O’Callaghan (0-4, 1f, 1’45), Brendan Ferreira (1-0), Ronan Martin (0-1), Conal Wilson (0-1), Ryan Dynes (0-1), Tiarnan O’Neill (0-1), Odhran Reel (0-1).