It was a case of what could’ve been if Donegal nailed over their 12 shots that all resulted in wides, but Barry Ward’s side were playing catch up from the off, with the home team not hitting their first score until the 19th minute and by that stage they were already trailing by six points.
Donegal who were playing against a strong wind in the first half couldn’t build up a dangerous enough attack as Armagh’s defense remained solid.
Daithi O’Callaghan opened the scoring after five minutes when he drove through the heart of the Donegal defense to slot over, which was followed by points from Tomás Fox, Ross Marsden and Fionn Toale to leave it 0-5 points to no score after 17 minutes.
The Orchard County kept their dominance despite three Donegal points from Donnchadh Boyle, Max Campbell and Alex Cunnea which brought the first half to an end with the scoreline standing at 0-8 to 0-3 points.
Armagh would eventually strike first with the opening goal of the game on the 37th minute when Aaron Garvey launched a long ball one-on-one into midfielder O’Callaghan who fetched high in the air before turning to fire home into the net.
Conor McCahill attempted to get Donegal back into the game with a long-ranged score, but that point was made irrelevant when James McCooe charged up the field with ease to get his side’s second goal when he slapped the ball into the back of the net after playing a one-two ball with Eoin Duffy to make it 2-8 to 0-4 points.
Colm Ó Dochairtaigh would pull the scoreline back with a Donegal goal but it was too far of a hill to climb as Armagh marched out deserved winners on the day.
Scorers – Armagh: J McCooe and J Loughran 1-0 each; R Marsden, D O’Callaghan, and F Toale 0-2 each; K McEntee and T Fox 0-1 each. Donegal: C McCahill 0-3, 2fs; C Ó Dochairtaigh 1-0; D Boyle, E Gallagher, M Campbell, and A Cunnea 0-1 each.
Armagh: M Finnegan; T Fox, G O’Rourke, C Wilson; F Toale, S Woods, D O’Rourke; J Loughran, D O’Callaghan; A Garvey, J McCooe, K McEntee; F Toale, E Duffy, R Marsden. Subs: O Gribben for Marsden (46 mins); S Loughran for Garvey (47 mins); A McGrane for Woods (52 mins); M Walker for Toale (60 mins).
Donegal: P Mac Giolla Bhride; E Friel, J Gribbin, C Mac Aoidh; P Devine, C Ó Gallachoir, M Campbell; K McLoughlin, L McGuinness; A Cunnea, T Carr, C Ó Dochairtaigh; C McCahill, D Boyle, E Gallagher. Subs: P Ward for Boyle (40 mins); E Ban McNelis for McLoughlin (42 mins); T McDevitt for Friel (50 mins); G Sweeney for Cunnea (57 mins).
Referee: J Lewis (Fermanagh)
