Donegal 0-12
Cork 1-8

EVEN THE DISMISSAL of Michael Murphy couldn’t deter Donegal from posting a narrow win over Cork in the Allianz League Division One in Ballyshannon this afternoon.

The Donegal captain was giving his marching orders on 47 minutes at a stage in the contest where Rory Gallagher’s side were in complete control having spun off five consecutive scores at the start of the second half.

Brian Cuthbert’s Cork – on their second of four visits to Ulster in this season’s league – are becoming battle-hardened of late having arrived in the north-west as the only one of eight top-flight teams with a maximum haul of four points from their first two outings.

With a sizeable wind in their faces in the first half, Donegal would’ve been content to go in at 0-5 to 0-5. Marty O’Reilly was the standout feature in that total, while at the other end Cork’s Colm O’Neill slotted over a couple of frees.

But in the opening quarter-hour of the second half Donegal were rampant with Murphy landing two mammoth wind-assisted frees for a 0-10 to 0-5 advantage before his dismissal.

Cork, a man to the good, got right back into the contest when Tomas Clancy goaled on 55 minutes when he slapped home a centre from Brian Hurley after Mark Collins’ effort at a point was hung up in the wind.

Donegal swamped out their defence and played on the counter-attack as Cork pressed and Paddy McBrearty’s point on the hour proved to be the winner.

Scorers for Donegal: M O’Reilly 0-4, M Murphy 0-3 (3f), P McBrearty 0-3 (1f), C Toye 0-1, M Murphy 0-1 (1f)

Scorers for Cork: C O’Neill 0-4 (4f), Tomas Clancy 1-0, K O’Driscoll, M Collins, B Hurley 0-1 each, D O’Connor 0-1 (1f)

Donegal

1. Paul Durcan

2. Paddy McGrath
3. Neil McGee
4. Eamonn Doherty

5. Frank McGlynn
6. Karl Lacey
7. Mark McHugh

8. Neil Gallagher
9. Christy Toye

10. Martin O’Reilly
11. Odhran MacNiallais
12. Ryan McHugh

13. Patrick McBrearty
14. Michael Murphy
15. Hugh McFadden

Substitutions: Martin McElhinney for McFadden (half-time), Colm McFadden for Toye (54), Anthony Thompson for Lacey (58), Eamon McGee for Doherty (62), Joe Gibbons for McBrearty (69)

Cork

1. Ken O’Halloran

2. Tom Clancy
3. Michael Shields
4. James Loughrey

5. Jamie O’Sullivan
6. Eoin Cadogan
7. Tomas Clancy

8. Fintan Goold
9. Mark Collins

10. Colm O’Driscoll
11. John O’Rourke
12. Kevin O’Driscoll

13. Colm O’Neill
14. Donncha O’Connor
15. Brian Hurley

Substitutions: Conor Dorman for O’Sullivan (42), Paul Kerrigan for O’Connor (45), Paddy Kelly for C O’Driscoll (54), John Hayes for C O’Driscoll (62), Donal Og Hodnett for O’Rourke (63)

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).

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