Donegal outgun Down in Belfast to retain The Conor McGurk Cup 

Donegal have retained the Conor McGurk Cup but they had to endure some anxious moments against a youthful but accomplished Down side at the Dub in Belfast. 

Donegal 2-25 Down 0-22

Donegal led by a whopping 2-15 to 0-10 at the break but were outscored by a resurgent Down, 0-9 to 0-2, in the third quarter where their lead was whittled down to four points on a score of 2-17 to 0-19 by the 48th minute. 

Two well-struck goals from Gerard Gilmore and Liam McKinney were the key scores in a most impressive opening half for Donegal who threatened to overwhelm their younger opponents at times. 

And it was Gilmore and McKinney who got the crucial settling scores in the final quarter to set their side on the road to victory. Conor Gartland and Brian MacIntyre also had immense matches. 

A much more physically powerful Donegal were out of the traps swiftly and Gilmore split the posts after just a minute’s play. 

This was quickly followed by a similar effort from Josh McGee Cronolly who was a late replacement for the injured Ruairi Campbell. 

The beavering MacIntyre made it 0-3 to 0-0 before Down midfielder Ciaran Milligan got the Mourne men, who have the great ex-Cork star Diarmuid O’Sullivan in their ranks, off the mark. 

And the winners struck for their first goal after just eight minutes after Gilmore fielded a great crossfield pass from Ryan Hilferty and crashed the sliotar to the net.

Ben Christie and Donal Hughes replied with points for Down as Donegal led by 1-4 to 0-4 after ten minutes. 

That lead was swiftly added to two minutes later when Conor O’Grady found Liam McKinney deep inside the Down defence and the rangy Burt lad hammered the ball to the net to leave Donegal leading by 2-5 to 0-5 and already establishing a firm platform. 

It was all Donegal at this stage as they moved the ball sweetly and Gilmore was a deadly finisher from frees and play on a short pitch. And they were well worth their half-time lead of 2-15 to 0-10. 

There were hints of a rout but whatever ex-Cork legend Diarmuid ‘The Rock’ O’Sullivan said to his young charges certainly worked as the gifted Oisin McManus landed a series of frees as did Tom McGrattan, son of Gerard McGattan from Portaferry, who won an All-Star back in 1992. 

Donegal looked a bit sluggish as Down used their pace to good effect. 

Donal Hughes, Ben Christie and Ciaran Milligan all landed scores to cut the Donegal lead to 2-17 to 0-19 by the 48th minute. 

But cometh the mini-crisis and cometh Gilmore, McKinney and Sean Ward to get the crucial scores to see Donegal home for a welcome victory watched by a pretty sizable green and gold support. 

Donegal scorers: Gerry Gilmore 1-10,6f; Liam McKinney 1-4; Conor Gartland 0-3; Josh McGee Cronolly 0-2; Brian MacIntyre 0-2; Luke White 0-1; Ciaran Curran 0-1; Conor O’Grady 0-1; Sean Ward 0-1.

Down scorers: Oisin McManus 0-9,6f; Tom McGrattan 0-4; Ben Christie 0-2; Marc Fisher 0-2; Donal Hughes 0-2; Ciaran Milligan 0-1; Niall McFarlane 0-1; Michael Dorrian 0-1. 

Donegal: Luke White: Ciaran Curran Ciaran Bradley, Gavin Browne; Jack O’Loughlin, Stephen Gillespie Conor O’Grady; Brian MacIntyre, Ryan Hilferty; Sean McVeigh, Conor Gartland, Liam McKinney; Peter Kelly, Gerard Gilmore, Josh McGee Cronolly. 

Subs; Sean Ward for Peter Kelly (42), Bernard Lafferty for Stephen Gillespie (48), Oisin Marley for Ryan Hilferty (52), Kevin Curran for Conor O’Grady (54), Oisin Kelly for Gavin Browne (58). 

Down: Pearse Smyth; Donal Magee, Declan Mallon, Jordan Murphy; Aodhan Furlong, Marc Fisher, Matt McAreavey; Donal Hughes, Ciaran Milligan; James Duggan, Finn Turpin, Michael Dorrian; Tom McGrattan, Niall Milligan, Ben Christie. 

Subs; Niall McFarlane for James Duggan (h-time). Adam Rogan for Niall Milligan and Donal Magee for Aodhan Furlong (45), Aodhan Furlong for Oisin McManus (60) 

Referee: Barry Winters (Tyrone)