Galway edged a tense, tight battle with Donegal by 1-14 to 0-15 to progress to an All-Ireland SFC final showdown with Armagh in two weeks time.
The sides were level 10 times in a gripping semi-final which looked like it would follow Saturday’s first semi-final between Armagh and Kerry by going to extra time.
However Galway, who had defeated outgoing champions Dublin with a sparkling second half two weeks ago, again finished strongly with a good final-quarter push as Donegal ran out of ideas.
Paul Conroy’s fortuitous goal after 24 minutes was a huge score in the context of such a tight game.
Although Galway fluffed a second major goal chance late on, it did not prove to be decisive as Donegal could only manage one point in the last quarter of the game compared to Galway’s three.
Johnny Maher, Rob Finnerty (free) and Liam Silke tagged on vital points in the last 10 minutes while Donegal were forced into rash pot shots as Galway sat deep to protect their lead.
Jim McGuinness and Donegal will leave Dublin with regrets as they were close to setting up the first all-Ulster All-Ireland final since 2003, while for Galway – beaten finalists to Kerry in 2022 – the planning for the 28 July 28 decider with Armagh starts now.
More to follow.
