Donegal’s Minor footballers were narrowly defeated in their Jim McGuigan Cup Final this afternoon.
They bravely battled against provincial rivals Tyrone, the McGuigan Cup being the prize for the winners of this contest and the Ulster Minor Football League.
Sunny conditions provided great conditions for football at the Watty Graham Park in Maghera, as the two standout Ulster Minor League teams prepared for battle.
Tyrone bounded out to a mighty start, and within 20 minutes had a lead of 0-07 to 0-01.
At one point that lead was extended out to seven points, but a late Donegal scoring spree including points from Thomas Lenehan & Shane Sweeney pegged back the Red Hand county just before the half-time interval – Donegal entering the break down 0-06 to 0-09 but carrying the momentum.
They would maintain their positivity early in the second half, and would notch several scores before a superb Thomas Lenehan goal would hand Donegal the lead for the first time just 10 minutes after the interval.
Tyrone were far from finished, and Lenehan’s goal proved to be the wake-up call they required, as they would bring the scores level before long and both teams started trading points.
The Red Hand county then restored their three point lead with a 46th minute goal, a lead they would maintain as the scoring slowed in the final moments.
Despite a resolute effort from the Donegal boys, it was Tyrone who would lift the McGuigan Cup on a final score of 1-15 to 1-13.
