All-Ireland SFC: Derry top Group Four as Donegal beat Monaghan to finish second
- Published
Donegal held off Ulster rivals Monaghan in Omagh to secure second spot
Ulster champions Derry advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-finals with a 1-19 to 1-13 win over Clare which sealed top spot for the Oak Leafers in Group Four.
The sides were level at the break in Longford but Derry pulled away from the Banner County to clinch their place in the last eight.
Donegal finished second in Group Four thanks to a 0-19 to 0-17 win over Monaghan in Omagh.
It means Donegal and Monaghan drop into the preliminary quarter-finals.
The Tir Conaill men will play their preliminary quarter-final at home while Monaghan will be on the road after finishing on three points from as many games.
With Clare - whose long-serving manager Colm Collins stepped down following the Derry game -already having been knocked out of the championship before this weekend's games, it was a three-way race for top spot in Group Four.
Going into Saturday's matches, Monaghan were ahead of Derry at the top on points scored it is the back-to-back Ulster champions who will have the luxury of skipping the preliminary stage before they attempt to reach the All-Ireland semi-finals for the second year in a row.
All-Ireland SFC Group Four | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points difference | Points | |
1. | Derry | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 |
2. | Donegal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
3. | Monaghan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
4. | Clare | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -17 | 0 |
Derry blow Clare away in second half
Derry have had Clare's number over the last 12 months with victories in last year's All-Ireland quarter-final and Division Two earlier this year.
Their latest success over Clare came courtesy of a blistering second-half display which included a period when they outscored their opponents 1-8 to 0-2.
Derry made a strong start in the first half and led 0-5 to 0-2 with Shane McGuigan (2), Odhran Lynch, Ethan Doherty and Niall Loughlin on target.
Jamie Malone added a point for bottom side Clare and the Connacht side moved in front on 21 minutes when Emmet McMahon rounded keeper Lynch with a dummy before slotting into the net.
Lynch levelled and McMahon restored Clare's advantage before a McGuigan double edged Derry ahead one again.
Daniel Walsh fired over the equaliser, only for McKinless to respond for Derry but McMahon had the final say of the first half as his point left it 0-9 to 1-6 at the break.
Derry came out firing on the restart and scored 1-8 in a superb spell while Clare could only muster two points.
Points from Loughlin, Cassidy and McGuigan slotted over before Benny Heron hit the Clare net on 46 minutes after good work from Eoin McEvoy.
Cassidy and McGuigan each bagged two more points and Loughlin also added to his tally to leave it 1-17 to 1-8 before Clare finally stemmed the flow.
The game was over as a contest and Derry march on to the last eight with hopes of winning the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time since 1993 very much intact.
Donegal hold off Monaghan at Healy Park
Donegal will have home advantage in their preliminary quarter-final match
Donegal have had a rough 2023 with relegation from Division One followed by the departure of manager Paddy Carr and an early exit from the Ulster Championship.
But while they lost to Derry last time out, Aidan O'Rourke's side were impressive in holding off Monaghan at Healy Park as they opened up a five-point lead at half-time before standing firm in the closing stages to ensure home advantage in the next round.
In an open first half at Tyrone's home ground, Daire O Baoill shone for Donegal, setting up scores for his team-mates before notching three of his own from play.
While it was very much tit-for-tat in the opening exchanges, Donegal assumed control and scored three unanswered scores at one stage to move clear, with Ciaran Thompson's long-ranged peach - his third of the afternoon - the pick of the bunch.
Even without Paddy McBrearty, who had been deemed not fit enough to start after missing most of the year through injury, Donegal had no trouble scoring and moved six clear early in the second half when Oisin Gallen followed up a free with a brilliant effort.
Donegal were fortunate, however, when Hugh McFadden cleared the ball off the line after goalkeeper Shaun Patton had lost possession, allowing Jack McCarron poked the ball towards the net.
A Jamie Brennan free gave Donegal a 0-18 to 0-14 lead and while Monaghan refused to give in, the Farney men could only reduce the arrears to two points as Donegal saw out a morale-boosting victory.