Peadar Mogan hits late two-pointer against Galway as 14-man Donegal stay unbeaten

A brilliant two pointer with a couple of minutes remaining by Peadar Mogan meant Donegal stay unbeaten in the National Football League Division 1 with a draw against Galway in Fr Tierney Park.

Conor O’Donnell’s third league goal put Donegal four ahead on 20 minutes, but Galway powered into a three-point lead at the break in a wet Ballyshannon, with the Tribesmen playing with a slight wind advantage in the first half.

And the hosts played from the 32nd minute to the end with 14 men, other than a sixty second spell as Michael Langan came back from a black card, but Stephen McMenamin picked up a second yellow when Donegal were six down.

It looked unlikely that Jim McGuinness’ men would get back into it from then, but half-time substitutes Mogan, Michael Murphy and Finnbarr Roarty added six points from the bench.

And a couple of important saves from Gavin Mulreany and Brendan McCole kept Galway from scoring, and it was their St Naul’s teammate Mogan who kicked the final score from outside the arc to put Donegal on to nine points in the league.

Michael Langan led by example with the first score of the game as he breezed past Ciaran Mulhearn and pointed on the right, with Jamie Brennan finishing off a lovely move from McGuinness’ men a minute later for a second point.

Donegal had a few wides after this as Robert Finnerty got the visitors off the mark.

Matthew Tierney levelled the game up on eleven minutes with an effort from 35 metres out, and Galway soon went ahead through Liam Ó Conghaile.

And the visitors did threaten the goal as Mulreany’s kick out went astray and a Tierney shot had to be pushed onto the crossbar by the St Naul’s stoppers, while good defending from Donegal to close down John Maher who was free on the left close to goal.

A super fetch from Hugh McFadden got Carndonagh man O’Donnell space on the right to point, but Cian Hernon responded at the other end in space.

Brennan got his second of the game to level proceedings after a neat switch of play, and Mulreany had to make a good save at the other end to deny Johnny McGrath’s shot from off the ground.

Galway went ahead again after a neat dummy and curler from Finnerty, but Donegal soon turned the game on its head.

A long Mulreany kick out was tapped down by O’Donnell, and he ran half the pitch down the right, firing a right footed shot into the far corner for his third goal of the league.

Mulreany then kicked a two-point free to give Donegal a four-point lead, but Galway responded well.

Shane McGrath and Mulhearn halved the deficit, as Stephen McMenamin picked up a harsh yellow for a foul on John Maher, while an Oisin Mac Donnacha free brought the gap to the minimum.

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O’Donnell brought his tally to 1-2 with another right footed point, but Ó Conghaile quickly responded.

And Galway went ahead with a two pointer from Mac Donnacha out on the left, with Michael Langan soon being given a black card for his reaction to a pull-back from Mac Donnacha on Stephen McMenamin.

Pádraic Joyce’s side went further ahead as Tierney pointed after winning the throw up, and while Mulhearn had another shot at goal, saved by Mulreany, Mac Donnacha added another score on the hooter to make it 0-13 to 1-7 at the break.

McGuinness made three changes at the break as Michael Murphy, Finnbarr Roarty and Peadar Mogan came in, but Galway doubled their lead during their man advantage in the first seven minutes of the restart.

First, Mulhearn squeezed a point over, and Mac Donnacha added another two, the first on the left and then a free from inside the ‘D’.

And while Langan returned, Donegal were again reduced to 14 as McMenamin picked up a second yellow for a needless charge on Hernon.

But Donegal did well after this, Murphy getting a point after a quick counter, and Langan just squeezed a point inside the right post.

Galway did threaten on the break, and when Hernon was played in, Mulreany made a great save, with his St Naul’s clubmate Brendan McCole blocking the rebound from Maher on the line.

Mac Donnacha got his seventh of the game before Roarty got his first, and Jason McGee curled over two efforts either side of a Shane McGrath score as the deficit became three.

A Finnerty free was cancelled out by a fisted effort from Mogan, and a goal chance from Ryan McHugh was blasted just over the bar.

Murphy made it a one-point game as Mac Donnacha and O’Donnell had poor wides, but Donegal again did brilliantly to stop a Galway goal.

From the Galway kick out, substitute Fionn McDonagh tore towards the goal, but McGee made a super tackle to stop him and while the ball fell to Daniel Ó Flaherty from close range,  Mulreany saved his effort at goal.

Mulhearn fisted over for a two-point lead, but a brilliant two pointer from Peadar Mogan with two minutes to play had Donegal not chasing the game for the first time since the 32nd minute.

Langan was dispossessed by Jack Glynn as Galway got the last chance, but Paul Conroy’s effort with 15 seconds left went wide as the spoils were shared.

Donegal scorers: Conor O’Donnell 1-2; Peadar Mogan 0-3,1tp; Jamie Brennan, Michael Langan, Jason McGee 0-2 each; Gavin Mulreany 0-2,1tpf; Michael Murphy 0-2,1f;  Finnbarr Roarty and Ryan McHugh 0-1 each.

Galway scorers: Oisín Mac Donnacha 0-7,1tp,2f; Ciaran Mulhearn 0-3; Robert Finnerty 0-3,1f; Matthew Tierney, Liam Ó Conghaile and Shane McGrath 0-2 each; Cian Hernon 0-1.

Donegal: Gavin Mulreany; Eoghan Bán Gallagher, Brendan McCole, Stephen McMenamin; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Paul O’Hare; Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan; Shea Malone, Conor O’Donnell, Jamie Brennan; Conor McCahill, Jason McGee, Eoin McGeehin.

Subs: Michael Murphy, Peadar Mogan and Finnbarr Roarty for McGeehin, McCahill and Brennan (ht), Kevin Muldoon for Malone (56).

Galway: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Cian Hernon, Jack Glynn; Liam Silke, Dylan McHugh, Seán Kelly; John Maher, Matthew Tierney; Shane McGrath, Ciaran Mulhern, Liam Ó Conghaile; Robert Finnerty, Céin Darcy, Oisín Mac Donnacha.

Subs: Fionn McDonagh for Ó Conghaile (56), Paul Conroy and Daniel Ó Flaherty for Darcy and S McGrath (60).

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)