Donegal player ratings
Shaun Patton
Made a fine save to deny Aidan Nugent early in the second half with Donegal winning 17 of his 21 kick-outs. Another accomplished performance from of the finest ‘keepers in the business. 7.5
Caolan Ward
Cut in behind the Armagh defence and played the crucial pass for McBrearty’s goal. Also held Jason Duffy scoreless. 8
Brendan McCole (STAR-MAN)
Tasked with marking Armagh’s talisman Rian O’Neill, Brendan McCole passed the test with flying colours. Enjoyed a solid League campaign himself and is growing in confidence. Lost O’Neill for the opening move of the second half as the Orchard County full-forward had a goal disallowed, but the Crossmaglen native never scored and that was a body blow to his team. 9
Stephen McMenamin
Lost Conor Turbitt for a score on 12 minutes, but recovered well to win his personal battle and Turbitt never scored for the remainder of the contest. 7
Ryan McHugh
One of the game’s most intelligent players. Hits the right pass time and time again. Was the link man between defence and attack and even had a spell on Rory Grugan late on. 8
Eoghan Ban Gallagher
Showed his pace to power through for the game’s opening point. Stuck more to his defensives duties as the game wore on and rarely wasted a ball. 7
Peader Mogan
Drafted in for Paul Brennan and it would be difficult to drop Mogan for the semi-final after an excellent performance. 7.5
Hugh McFadden
Criminally underrated midfielder. Hugh McFadden relishes the physical battle and his reading of the breaks means he is in the right place at the right time more often than not. 8
Jason McGee
Was probably set to challenge for the man-of-the-match before an injury ended his game on 50 minutes. Scored a fine point from play and, along with McFadden, helped Donegal boss the midfield battle. 8
Ciaran Thompson
Took his score well, but was probably not as effective as the majority of colleagues and made way for Conor O’Donnell for the final quarter. 6.5
Shane O’Donnell
Another late addition, like Mogan, Shane O’Donnell will be hard to dislodge from the first 15. Landed a cracking point and hand a hand in the goal for Donegal. 7
Michael Langan
Scored three points from play and yet could have ended up as the game’s leading scorer. Sometimes took the wrong option and missed a few chances, including when firing over the bar in the second half. 7.5
Paddy McBrearty
It is hard to keep a good man down. Armagh might have thought they had McBrearty’s measure, but forwards of genuine quality only need a hint of a chance. Played a one-two with Ward for the goal and landed a stunning point from play. 7.5
Michael Murphy
Despite some aggressive marking from Aidan Forker, Michael Murphy kept his cool throughout. Kicked 0-5 including two class effort from play and left two Armagh players in his wake in the closing moments just to illustrate Donegal’s superiority. 8
Jamie Brennan
While Donegal were on song on Sunday, Jamie Brennan didn’t seem up to the pace of his teammates. Found it difficult to escape James Morgan and failed to score. 5.5
Subs
Caolan McGonigle
Introduced for McGee on 51 minutes and fared well in the closing stage as Donegal controlled the game. 6
Conor O’Donnell
Made the most of his time on the pitch and scored a good point and put himself about well. 7
Niall O’Donnell
Introduced for Hugh McFadden for the last 10 minutes as Donegal surged clear. 6
Paul Brennan – not on long enough to be rated
Aaron Doherty – not on long enough to be rated
Armagh player ratings
Ethan Raffety
Struggled to find an Armagh jersey when he went long in the first half as Donegal seemed to win every breaking ball. Better in the second half and looked assured when coming out the field and caught two of Patton’s kick-outs. 6
James Morgan
Armagh’s best defender on the day, Morgan got the better of his duel with Jamie Brennan, holding the Donegal corner-forward scoreless. 7
Aidan Forker
Plays on the edge and was in Michael Murphy’s face from the start. Picked up a booking in the second half and lost the Donegal skipper too often. Taken off with an injury on the hour mark. 6
Aaron McKay
Fared well in the early stages on McBrearty before the Donegal ace upped his game in the second half, plundering the game’s only goal. 6.5
Niall Grimley
Played out of position and never looked comfortable in a man-marking role. Michael Langan was a handful all afternoon and should have scored more than three points. 5
Greg McCabe
Was in the wars all day and never backed down. Showed well for the short kick-outs and turned in a solid display. 6.5
Jarly Óg Burns
One of Armagh’s best players in the League, Burns couldn’t exert his usual influence on the game. Was picked up by Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Ban Gallagher at different stages and couldn’t shake the attentions of either. 5.5
Connaire Mackin
Armagh were second best at midfield from the opening stages of Sunday’s contest and Mackin was hauled off after 50 minutes. 5
Ben Crealey
The Maghery clubman took his point well made a few good tackles in the first half. Yet, Armagh simply didn’t win enough of their own kick-outs to trouble the home side. 6
Jemar Hall
Like many Armagh players, Jemar Hall didn’t get his hands on the ball often enough to have an impact. Struggled to cope with the power of Donegal and missed an opportunity to turnover possession in the build-up to McBrearty’s goal. 5
Rory Grugan
Armagh’s best player on the day. Grugan took responsibly and nailed a few difficult frees against the breeze in the first half and finished with 0-5. 7.5
Tiernan Kelly
Linked up with Rian O’Neill for a fine score early in the half and set up a score for Grugan. Failed to have much of an impact on the game after an encouraging first 20 minutes. 6.5
Conor Turbitt
Scored Armagh’s third point when he showed Stephen McMenamin a clean pair of heels and split the posts with a classy point. It was to be the Clan Éireann’s only score of the day however. 6
Rian O’Neill
Armagh’s joint-captain failed to score on a day when much was expected of him. Brendan McCole never gave him an inch. Perhaps unfortunate that his goal on the restart was disallowed, but missed a free soon after that his side badly needed. 5
Jason Duffy
Armagh’s failure to secure primary possession in the middle third meant that chances were limited and Duffy simply wasn’t on the ball enough to be a threat. Made way for Aidan Nugent at half-time. 5
Subs
Aidan Nugent
Delivered a great pass from the restart into O’Neill for the goal which was disallowed. Might have scored one himself, but was denied by Patton and also kicked two wides. 5.5
Stefan Campbell
Always seems to kick a point when introduced and Sunday’s game was no different. However, Armagh needed more scores from their attackers. 5.5
Oisin O’Neill
Came into the full-forward line as Rian O’Neill drifted out to midfield and scored a point and was involved in another score. 6.5
Ross McQuillan
Replaced Aidan Forker with 10 minutes of the game remaining, but Donegal were in control of proceedings by that stage. 5
Read more: Donegal v Armagh: Score recap as Donegal claim a seven-point win over Orchardmen
Read more: BBC Championship pundits divided on Mick McCann’s red card
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