Here is a little review of past encounters V Donegal at Clones:
The cauldron which is St. Tiernach’s Park provides a unique atmosphere for titanic clashes and over the years, Armagh and Donegal fans have created a magnificent sea of colour within the ground and around the County Monaghan town.
This season has already provided many talking points for both counties but few would have imagined after the recent clashes in Ballyshannon and Ballybofey that a mouth-watering third instalment would be on the horizon, in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers, their 30th Senior Football Championship meeting.
Sunday will mark the counties being paired at Clones for the seventh time, just who will be in seventh heaven in the last eight of this year’s Championship at the culmination of this contest.
Each of the previous encounters in Clones have provided lots of drama and intrigue, with many talking points along the way.
Their initial meeting in Clones was in a replay of the Final of the 1952 Dr. Lagan Cup, then the Northern qualifying section for the National League. The counties had been impossible to separate the previous weekend in Ballybofey, even after half an hour of extra time. Armagh commenced the replay with a new midfield partnership, with Dan Murphy being brought in to partner Bill McCorry. It would prove to be an eventful afternoon for the latter, scoring a penalty to put the Orchard County ahead early on, before retiring with a facial injury. Tom Wickham and Paddy Coyle turned the game in Donegal’s favour before the break and Tir Chonaill were able to survive early Armagh attempts to erase the deficit and went on to record a decisive 2-6 to 1-4 victory.
Armagh and Donegal did not meet in Clones in the Ulster Senior Football Championship until the counties qualified for the 1990 decider. It was a game where Donegal played attractive football without shaking off the Armagh challenge. Manus Boyle (0-5), current manager Declan Bonner (0-3) and Martin McHugh (0-3) led the way for Donegal, who held a two point lead at the break. Shane Skelton proved an inspirational substitute for the men in orange, registering three second half points, assisted in the scoring charts by Ollie Reel (0-4) and two points apiece for Gerard Houlihan and Kieran McGurk, but their challenge fell short by the narrowest of margins, as Donegal led at the final whistle by 0-15 to 0-14.
It was the drama of a replay all over again when the counites were drawn in the Quarter-Final stage of the 1999 Ulster Senior Football Championship. On the 6th June at Ballybofey, Tony Boyle and John Duffy goaled early on, as Donegal found themselves seven points clear in the early minutes. But this was an Armagh side with a steely determination and they chipped away at the lead throughout the remainder of this pulsating tie, with Paddy McKeever registering a crucial goal, to force a draw which saw the sides visit Clones the following week. Donegal started stronger in the replay also, amassing a four point lead close to the break, against a fourteen men Armagh team, after the dismissal of Oisin McConville. Armagh provided an inspirational second half display, with goals from Cathal O’Rourke and Diarmaid Marsden critical in a confidence boosting 2-11 to 0-12 success, which provided the foundation for the county’s first provincial success since 1982.
Three years later, the counties crossed swords in their second-ever Ulster Senior Football Championship Final, where John McEntee had the Clones scorekeepers busy marking up a goal in the second minute. That proved the score that separated the teams at the turnaround, before a Jim McGuinness goal brought Donegal within two points of the Orchard County. In a game where Donegal registered 14 wides, the Armagh forward pairing of Ronan Clarke (x2) and Steven McDonnell found the target with late points to steer their county to success, en route to capturing Sam Maguire a few short months later.
The most recent Clones clashes between the counties occurred in 2005 when thousands of supporters from each county descended upon the town on successive weekends in the month of May. When Kevin Cassidy received his marching orders after 28 minutes of the first game with Armagh three points to the good, it seemed that his sides luck might be out. An inspired Donegal though took the game by the scruff of the neck, leading by two entering the last ten minutes, at which juncture, Paddy McKeever also saw a red card flashed in his direction. Paul McGrane and Aaron Kernan breathed new air into the Orchard challenge, tieing the game, before Christy Toye seemed to have secured a semi-final berth for himself and his teammates. But Oisin McConville had the last word, ensuring a second bite of the cherry for the defending provincial champions, with the teams scoring 12 points each.
An explosive rematch was in store seven days later at the same venue. A Ronan Clarke goal had Armagh five clear at the break but a Steven McDonnell goal early in the second period and further major for Malachy Mackin, against the backdrop of four sendings-off, including three for Donegal, who lost Brian Roper, Eamon McGee and latterly Adrian Sweeney in an incident which Francie Bellew also was directed towards the line. Despite the best efforts of Brendan Devenney, who ended up registering 1-4, Armagh romped home by 3-11 to 1-10.
Will Donegal repeat their victory over Armagh in the recent Ulster Championship clash at Ballybofey? Can Armagh repeat their performance last time out against Tyrone? We are certain that this weekends meeting is a fascinating clash that will add to the rich tapestry of games between the counties at the Monaghan venue down the decades.
The cauldron which is St. Tiernach’s Park provides a unique atmosphere for titanic clashes and over the years, Armagh and Donegal fans have created a magnificent sea of colour within the ground and around the County Monaghan town.
This season has already provided many talking points for both counties but few would have imagined after the recent clashes in Ballyshannon and Ballybofey that a mouth-watering third instalment would be on the horizon, in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers, their 30th Senior Football Championship meeting.
Sunday will mark the counties being paired at Clones for the seventh time, just who will be in seventh heaven in the last eight of this year’s Championship at the culmination of this contest.
Each of the previous encounters in Clones have provided lots of drama and intrigue, with many talking points along the way.
Their initial meeting in Clones was in a replay of the Final of the 1952 Dr. Lagan Cup, then the Northern qualifying section for the National League. The counties had been impossible to separate the previous weekend in Ballybofey, even after half an hour of extra time. Armagh commenced the replay with a new midfield partnership, with Dan Murphy being brought in to partner Bill McCorry. It would prove to be an eventful afternoon for the latter, scoring a penalty to put the Orchard County ahead early on, before retiring with a facial injury. Tom Wickham and Paddy Coyle turned the game in Donegal’s favour before the break and Tir Chonaill were able to survive early Armagh attempts to erase the deficit and went on to record a decisive 2-6 to 1-4 victory.
Armagh and Donegal did not meet in Clones in the Ulster Senior Football Championship until the counties qualified for the 1990 decider. It was a game where Donegal played attractive football without shaking off the Armagh challenge. Manus Boyle (0-5), current manager Declan Bonner (0-3) and Martin McHugh (0-3) led the way for Donegal, who held a two point lead at the break. Shane Skelton proved an inspirational substitute for the men in orange, registering three second half points, assisted in the scoring charts by Ollie Reel (0-4) and two points apiece for Gerard Houlihan and Kieran McGurk, but their challenge fell short by the narrowest of margins, as Donegal led at the final whistle by 0-15 to 0-14.
It was the drama of a replay all over again when the counites were drawn in the Quarter-Final stage of the 1999 Ulster Senior Football Championship. On the 6th June at Ballybofey, Tony Boyle and John Duffy goaled early on, as Donegal found themselves seven points clear in the early minutes. But this was an Armagh side with a steely determination and they chipped away at the lead throughout the remainder of this pulsating tie, with Paddy McKeever registering a crucial goal, to force a draw which saw the sides visit Clones the following week. Donegal started stronger in the replay also, amassing a four point lead close to the break, against a fourteen men Armagh team, after the dismissal of Oisin McConville. Armagh provided an inspirational second half display, with goals from Cathal O’Rourke and Diarmaid Marsden critical in a confidence boosting 2-11 to 0-12 success, which provided the foundation for the county’s first provincial success since 1982.
Three years later, the counties crossed swords in their second-ever Ulster Senior Football Championship Final, where John McEntee had the Clones scorekeepers busy marking up a goal in the second minute. That proved the score that separated the teams at the turnaround, before a Jim McGuinness goal brought Donegal within two points of the Orchard County. In a game where Donegal registered 14 wides, the Armagh forward pairing of Ronan Clarke (x2) and Steven McDonnell found the target with late points to steer their county to success, en route to capturing Sam Maguire a few short months later.
The most recent Clones clashes between the counties occurred in 2005 when thousands of supporters from each county descended upon the town on successive weekends in the month of May. When Kevin Cassidy received his marching orders after 28 minutes of the first game with Armagh three points to the good, it seemed that his sides luck might be out. An inspired Donegal though took the game by the scruff of the neck, leading by two entering the last ten minutes, at which juncture, Paddy McKeever also saw a red card flashed in his direction. Paul McGrane and Aaron Kernan breathed new air into the Orchard challenge, tieing the game, before Christy Toye seemed to have secured a semi-final berth for himself and his teammates. But Oisin McConville had the last word, ensuring a second bite of the cherry for the defending provincial champions, with the teams scoring 12 points each.
An explosive rematch was in store seven days later at the same venue. A Ronan Clarke goal had Armagh five clear at the break but a Steven McDonnell goal early in the second period and further major for Malachy Mackin, against the backdrop of four sendings-off, including three for Donegal, who lost Brian Roper, Eamon McGee and latterly Adrian Sweeney in an incident which Francie Bellew also was directed towards the line. Despite the best efforts of Brendan Devenney, who ended up registering 1-4, Armagh romped home by 3-11 to 1-10.
Will Donegal repeat their victory over Armagh in the recent Ulster Championship clash at Ballybofey? Can Armagh repeat their performance last time out against Tyrone? We are certain that this weekends meeting is a fascinating clash that will add to the rich tapestry of games between the counties at the Monaghan venue down the decades.
