RACKARD CUP ROUND 2.
Donegal 1-16, Monaghan 0-15.
Donegal made it two wins from two outings and booked their place in the semi-final but they had to dig deep into their reserves of courage, energy, commitment and confidence as well as enjoying a modicum of good fortune before disposing of a spirited Monaghan challenge with a late rally that saw them hit four unanswered points in stoppage time, three by Lee Henderson to clinch victory. To their credit Monaghan left their recent controversies and blood letting behind them and pushed Donegal all the way in a game that was close and keenly contested all through yet was more entertaining than spectacular even if Declan Magee's refereeing was a little erratic at times. Donegal took the lead just three times in the entire contest, the first time after 14 minutes play, the second time with three minutes of normal time left and the third time three minutes into stoppage time after they had fought back from being two in arrears entering the final 10 minutes of the contest. The game produced some outstanding performances with Ardal McDermott helping to give Donegal a foothold in midfield early on and a hard-working defence where Benny Harrigan, Joe Boyle and Padraig Doherty held the Monaghan full forward line scoreless. Up front Donegal were best served by Danny Cullen on the '40, Eugene Organ at full forward whose strength was a key factor but ultimately it was the accuracy of Lee Henderson and Niall Campbell that wrapped up victory for them, Henderson finishing his side's top scorer with eight points, four from frees.
Teams and Scorers: Donegal: Paul Burns, Benny Harrigan, Joe Boyle, Padraig Doherty 0-1, Christopher McDermott, Justin McGee, Jamesie Donnelly, Sean McVeigh, Ardal McDermott, Enda McDermott, Danny Cullen 0-2, Ronan McDermott, Lee Henderson 0-8 (4f), Eugene Organ 0-1, Niall Campbell 1-4 (1-0p, 4f). Subs: Kevin Campbell for S McVeigh.
Monaghan: Gerard Ruddy, Paul Murphy, Jim McHugh, Mark Treanor 0-1, Paul Meegan, Peter Treanor, Seamus Loftus, Gary Boyd, Trevor Hilliard 0-2, Conor McKenna 0-1, Stephen Lambe 0-9 (7f), Eanna MacSuibhne 0-2, Michael Lennon, Patrick Boyle, Brian McGuigan. Subs: Jimmy Lacey for P Murphy, Gavin Baxter for P Boyle. Referee: Declan Magee (Down).

MONAGHAN MANAGER Morgan Lalor admitted immediately after words that the result apart he was very happy with an awful lot of what he saw from his side in the game although he did suggest that there were some things during the match that disappointed him. "Yes I would agree there are a lot of positives that we can take out of it but it is a huge disappointment that we lost it. There were factors in that game though outside our control that contributed to us losing it but I can't comment on those but anyone who was here saw them. At the end of the day as I said to the lads we have to be honest about it because we did give away a few silly frees near the end. We were a point up coming into the final minutes and we gave away a couple of silly frees the cost us dearly because it gave Donegal the chance to get back into the game. They were under pressure to get that score and they couldn't at that stage but we made it that much easier for them. In fairness I said to the lads there what we have to do now is go out next Saturday and win our game and get back into the tournament proper because if we win next Saturday we will be as far on as we would have been in two weeks time anyway. Tweet

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