Derry show their class to see off Donegal in fine Division 2B win 

Derry picked up their second successive league win of the new Division 2B campaign with a deserving seven-point victory over hosts Donegal in Letterkenny on Saturday. 

The home side had the better of the early exchanges and went five clear at one stage but the Oak Leafers would lift matters and eventually go in all square at the midpoint. 

But, in the end, two Derry goals in either half, went a long way in winning this one for Johnny McGarvey’s team.

Donegal had opened brightly and five successive overs, between ten minutes and the quarter-hour mark, put Mickey McCann’s side 0-8 to 0-3 ahead. 

Gerard Gilmore and Stephen Gillespie had pushed the hosts two in front early on but a Paul Cleary effort soon had Derry off the mark on four minutes. 

Ruairi Ó Mianain and Gilmore (free) traded points while successive Derry efforts from the hurls of Ó Mianain and Dara Mooney tied things up at three each. 

Donegal then hit that purple patch as Gilmore landed a fine pair of frees while Liam McKinney, Conor Gartland and Josh Cronolly McGee also registered. 

Cahal Murray and John Mullan stemmed the tide up the other end and it also took a superb block from Stephen McBride to deny Derry’s Meehaul McGrath an almost certain goal.

Rejuvenated Derry went toe to toe with Donegal during the remainder of the half and managed to tie matters up by the break. 

McKinney did make it a four-point game at 0-9 to 0-5 but a Derry maximum, crashed in by Dara Mooney when Donegal were caught napping on a sideline puck, took the visitors back into one. 

McKinney, McGee Cronolly and another Gilmore free left Donegal on 0-12 at the short whistle while replies from Cormac O’Reilly, Cormac O’Doherty, Ó Mianain and Murray meant Derry held parity with their 1-9 return. 

Murray and Sean Ward were on the mark inside the opening moments of the second stanza but three successive Derry overs from O’Doherty, twice,  and Mooney helped their team into a 1-13 to 0-13 lead. 

Four more white flags, making it seven uninterrupted in total, would then propel Derry into a seven-point advantage by the 50th minute. O’Reilly, Callum O’Kane and an O’Doherty brace from frees, eased the visitors onto 1-17 with 20 minutes remaining. 

Donegal attempted to rally and points from replacement Cormac Finn, Gilmore and ‘keeper Luke White (free), dragged their side onto 0-16. However, another substitute, Derry’s Darragh McGilligan, landed a fine double following his introduction. 

Before the end, Derry would hammer home their superiority when Murray raised a second green flag for his side. 

Sandwiched either side of that three-pointer, Gilmore tagged on three final Donegal points but no one could argue that Derry were the superior outfit on this day. 

Donegal scorers: Gerard Gilmore 0-9,6f; Stephen Gillespie 0-1; Liam McKinney 0-3; Conor Gartland 0-1; Josh McGee Cronolly 0-2; Sean Ward 0-1; Cormac Finn 0-1; Luke White 0-1,1f.

Derry scorers: Paul Cleary 0-1; Dara Mooney 1-2; Ruairi Ó Mianáin 0-2; Cahal Murray 1-3;  John Mullan 0-1; Cormac O’Doherty 0-5,3f; Corey O’Reilly 0-2; Callum O’Kane 0-1; Padhraig Neilis 0-1; Darragh McGilligan 0-2. 

Donegal: Luke White; Ciaran Bradley, Stephen McBride, Stephen Gillespie; Ciaran Curran, Gavin Brown, Jack O’Loughlin; Brian MacIntyre, Cormac Finn; Conor Gartland, Ryan Hilferty, Gerard Gilmore; Sean Ward, Liam McKinney, Josh McGee Cronolly. 

Subs: Cormac Finn for Kelly (42), Bernard Lafferty for Hilferty (48), Oisin Grant for Ward (56), Oisin Marley for MacIntyre (58), Cathal O’Brien for O’Loughlin (69)

Derry: Eoin Mullholland; Simon Duffin, Mark Craig, Paddy Kelly; James Friel, Richie Mullan, Meehaul McGrath; Cormac O’Doherty, Ruairi Ó Mianáin; Corey O’Reilly, John Mullan, Callum O’Kane; Dara Mooney, Cahal Murray, Paul Cleary. 

Subs: Darragh McGilligan for Mullan (52), Padraig Neilis for Cleary (57), Niall Farren for Friel (65), Thomas Brady for McGrath (67)

Referee: Ciaran McCloskey (Antrim).