Fixtures:
FT - Meath 0-15 Donegal 3-26
FT - New York 0-20 London 2-13 (All-Ireland JFC Final)
That’s all from me today, but there’s still plenty more coverage to come in The Irish Times, including the match report from the Donegal-Meath semi-final. Sadly, not a tight game today, but the final promises to be a classic between two very in-form sides.
It’s been a very disappointing day to finish a wonderful first season as Meath manager for Robbie Brennan.
Patrick McBrearty might be one of the best subsitutes on any county team in history. He was fantastic off the bench today again and here’s his post-match thoughts.
Jim McGuinness has brought Donegal to a first All-Ireland final in 11 years. Here’s his post-match interview after today’s semi-final victory.
A delighted Finbarr Roarty is today’s man of the match. At just 19, Roarty has been having an unbelievable championship, and this game was no exception.
That emphatic win sets up the first Kerry-Donegal final since 2014, where a Kieran Donaghy goal helped the Kingdom lift Sam.
Here’s Donegal’s opening goal, and the pick of the three. Oisín Gallen had a great game in corner-forward today.
Here’s Malachy Clerkin’s summing up after a savage Donegal performance:
Full-time: It doesn’t get much more emphatic than that. Donegal didn’t so much beat Meath as feed them through a mincer. They won the second half by 15 points, rattling in goals from Oisin Gallen, Ciarán Moore and Conor O’Donnell. They were able to get Michael Murphy off by the 44th minute and Ryan McHugh sat out the closing quarter as well. A fine year for Meath deserved a better end than this but they were completely outclassed in both halves. It sets up a mouth-watering final with Kerry now.
Full-time: Meath 0-15 Donegal 3-26
68 Mins: Eoghan Frayne curls a free over. Meath 0-15 Donegal 3-25
66 Mins: Langan barrels another over, but McBrearty is raging that he didn’t get fed in for a goal. 20 points in it now, and still fuming over missed goals, that sums up Donegal’s attitude today. Meath 0-13 Donegal 3-25
63 Mins: First score of the match from Daire Ó Baoill now. Meath 0-13 Donegal 3-24
59 Mins: Ciarán Moore adds a point to go with his goal. Nice play from Ó Baoill in the build up. Meath 0-13 Donegal 3-22
58 Mins: Goal for Donegal! Huge kickout from Patton goes to McBrearty. Gallen plays a lovely square ball off his right boot, and Conor O’Donnell taps it home. Meath 0-13 Donegal 3-21
56 Mins: McBrearty gets a third, this is turning into a real hammering now. Meath 0-13 Donegal 2-21
55 Mins: Conor O’Donnell adds his third of the afternoon, another for Donegal. Meath 0-13 Donegal 2-20
53 Mins: Peadar Mogan looks a hundred times quicker than any Meath player, racing through and wellying a point over. Morris tries the same at the opposite end, but his effort flies well wide. McBrearty adds another. Meath 0-13 Donegal 2-19
52 Mins: Eoghan Frayne adds another point for Meath. Meath 0-13 Donegal 2-17
51 Mins: Lovely strike from Conor Duke for a point for Meath. Caolan McGonagle replaces McColgan for Donegal. Meath 0-12 Donegal 2-17
49 Mins: Great save Billy Hogan, getting fingertips to Ciarán Thompson’s effort. Meath are really under the cosh totally. Patton strikes the 45 over. Jason McGee is on now as well. Meath 0-11 Donegal 2-17
48 Mins: Another goal for Donegal! Ciarán Moore slips it into the bottom corner. It all came from a turnover of Keith Curtis, where Roarty tackled him ravenously. Meath 0-11 Donegal 2-16
46 Mins: Jim McGuinness give Michael Murphy the curly finger, and McBrearty comes on for an immediate point. Do they think it’s all sewn up now? Meath 0-11 Donegal 1-16
45 Mins: An ambitious pass from Jordan Morris works out for Meath, as they get a free when the ball goes loose. Costello pops it over. Meath 0-11 Donegal 1-15
43 Mins: Point by Murphy puts the lead out to eight. Meath 0-10 Donegal 1-15
42 Mins: GOAL for Donegal! Cracker off the left boot of Oisín Gallen, Billy Hogan had no chance. Meath 0-10 Donegal 1-14
40 Mins: Really poor wide from Conor O’Donnell. A great run gave him a half-chance at goal, but he puts it high and wide instead. Eoghan Frayne gets a great point then, off the point, and then bouncing over off the crossbar. Meath 0-10 Donegal 0-14
37 Mins: Conor O’Donnell gets the first score of the second half for Donegal, after great work by Shane O’Donnell. Meath 0-9 Donegal 0-14
35 Mins: Keith Curtis opens the second half with his third point. Meath 0-9 Donegal 0-13
A full house has been announced in Croke Park. It’s a sea of gold and green we’ll see again in two weeks, but will it be Donegal who see it out to join Kerry in the All-Ireland final?
Here’s Malachy Clerkin’s thoughts on the first half:
Half-time: Donegal are five points ahead with the wind to come - it’s very hard to see a way back here for Meath. The underdogs needed to take full advantage of the breeze in that opening half and they have wasted it. They have made eight attempts at kicking two-pointers and only landed two of them. Donegal haven’t been overly efficient either - they kicked seven wides in that first half - but they are getting their scores a lot more easily. Michael Langan is having a huge effect on the game around the middle, dominating kick-outs form both goalkeepers. It will be an enormous shock if Donegal don’t see this out.
Half-time: Meath 0-8 Donegal 0-13
34 Mins: Huge missed chance by Murphy, but it’s over the bar! The goal was gaping for the Donegal full-forward. They’re all over these kickouts, Meath can’t win a break at all. Meath 0-8 Donegal 0-13
33 Mins: Great score by Morris on his left foot from just inside the arc. Then Gallen responds with a simple point. Meath 0-8 Donegal 0-12
32 Mins: Keith Curtis pops a nice strike over for Meath. Then an amazing save! Billy Hogan stops McFadden from next to no distance to keep Meath in it. Meath 0-7 Donegal 0-11
31 Mins: Big save by Donal Keogan, who was behind his ‘keeper. Conor O’Donnell’s effort is stopped. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-11
29 Mins: Ciarán Thompson hits a shot rather tamely from in close, and it nearly creeps into the net. It hits the bar an bounces over instead. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-11
28 Mins: First point of the day for Oisín Gallen. Donegal winning every Hogan kickout with Menton gone. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-10
26 Mins: Another effort by Costello that drops short. Shane O’Donnell then sends a ball about 20 yards wide under no pressure at the top of the D. Hogan can’t get his kickouts off though, and Gallen wins an easy free that Murphy puts over. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-9
23 Mins: Wild miss from Ciarán Thompson under pressure. Donegal win Billy Hogan’s kickout and build up slowly again. More pressure on the kick forces Oisín Gallen’s effort wide. But they win the next kick, and Langan scores. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-8
21 Mins: Frayne hits another two-pointer wide. They’re doing very well on Donegal’s kickouts though. It’s not worth much though, as Donal Keogan puts another effort wide. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-7
20 Mins: Donegal got a massive turnover, raced up the other end, but then somehow made a mess of what seemed to be a four-on-one with Seán Rafferty. Bryan Menton is off injured after that, with the goalscorer from the Galway quarter-final Conor Gray coming on. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-7
18 Mins: Ryan McHugh goes for a two-pointer but puts it wide. Meath go up the other end, and Morris also puts a tw-pointer wide. They’re not even hitting them from the line, they’re taking these shots from miles out. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-7
15 Mins: There’s a wind behind Meath, and they really are putting a lot of faith in it. Frayne is the latest to misfire for a two-pointer. Shane O’Donnell finally shoots Donegal’s first wide of the game. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-7
13 Mins: Donegal are so efficient up front, another score, this one from Langan. Costello misses a shot from a tight angle for Meath. They win another Patton kickout though, and Keith Curtis gets his first of the day. Meath 0-6 Donegal 0-7
11 Mins: This time it’s McHugh who points it, another for Donegal. Kinsella breaks their momentum with a two-pointer at the Canal End. Meath 0-5 Donegal 0-6
10 Mins: Another wide by Meath, four now. This time it’s Costello from outside the two-point line. They nearly turn over Murphy, but Donegal recycle and Shane O’Donnell floats it over. Meath 0-3 Donegal 0-5
8 Mins: Matthew Costello gives away a cheap free outside the arc, and Murphy puts it over. Meath 0-3 Donegal 0-4
7 Mins: Meath turnover Donegal, but Morris is too keen for a goal and his pass is overplayed. Then they win another turnover, but Duke fires wide from the arc. Rafferty got some late dunt from Murphy there. Meath 0-3 Donegal 0-2
5 Mins: Donegal patiently play with the Meath defence before Conor O’Donnell gets their second. At the other end, Meath captain Eoghan Frayne slams over a super two-pointer. Meath 0-3 Donegal 0-2
3 Mins: Meath a little ponderous, but then they win the Patton kickout. Kinsella pops it over for their first of the afternoon. Meath 0-1 Donegal 0-1
1 Mins: And we’re off! Menton wins the throw-in, but Seán Coffey puts it wide in Meath’s first attack. From the kickout, Michael Murphy gets the game’s opening point. He had a lot of space there. Meath 0-0 Donegal 0-1
The teams are off on the parade now. Not long to go!
Malachy O’Rourke is in Croker for the semi-final and here’s his thoughts before throw-in:
It’s a blustery day in Croke Park, which will be a merciful relief for the players. By the look of the flags behind the Artane Band, the wind is blowing directly down from the Hill into the Canal End so it will be interesting to see who wins the toss and what use they make of it. There are no changes to either team, with just one swap on the Meath subs bench. Michael Murphy – no, not that one – comes in at number 26 in place of Cathal Hickey. The stadium is buzzing – it will come very close to a capacity crowd.
No changes for either side from the teams named midweek. There’s the first surprise of the day.
Robbie Brennan is in great form before his side’s semi-final.
Meath have made no changes to their named team for the semi-final.
Meath will be relying on their star corner-forward Jordan Morris again today. He scored 1-6 in their quarter-final victory over Galway, despite having to play with major injury risks.
[Meath’s Jordan Morris playing through major injury risks ahead of semi-final against Donegal]
Here’s Seán Moran’s previews of the semi-finals. He was right to plump for Kerry in yesterday’s game; will he be right again?
[All-Ireland SFC semi-finals previews: Tyrone need to produce more to threaten Kerry]
We will have updates on any changes before throw-in, but, as it stands, the starting lineups for today’s All-Ireland semi-final are as follows:
Meath: B. Hogan, S. Lavin, S. Rafferty, R. Ryan, D. Keogan, S. Coffey, C. Caulfield, B. Menton, A. O’Neill, C. Duke, R. Kinsella, K. Curtis, J. Morris, M. Costello, E. Frayne
Donegal: S. Patton, F. Roarty, B. McCole, P. Mogan, R. McHugh, E. Bán Gallagher, C. McColgan, H. McFadden, M. Langan, S. O’Donnell, C. Thompson, C. Moore, C. O’Donnell, M. Murphy, O. Gallen
There’s a few green and gold jerseys starting to fill up the stands, just in time to hear Frank Sinatra ring around Croke Park for New York’s win. Our attention now turns to Meath vs Donegal (throw-in 4pm).
Full-time: New York 0-21 London 2-13
New York are the All-Ireland Junior Football champions for 2025.
54 Mins: Things have gotten very tense, with only a few minutes left in the All-Ireland Junior Final. No score in the last nine minutes for either side, before New York finally get another point. New York 0-18 London 2-10
45 Mins: A goal from Conor Redican and a two-pointer from Noel Maher have London back in it, but New York are still a point ahead. New York 0-17 London 2-10
31 Mins: The All-Ireland Junior Football Final is back underway in Croke Park, and New York open the half with a beauty of a two-pointer. New York 0-14 London 1-7
Earlier in the week, former Donegal player Kevin Cassidy pointed out how similar this season feels to 2012 for his county. In both stints, Jim McGuinness’ first season ended in defeat in the semi-finals. Now he has a chance to make his second season an All-Ireland winning one again.
Half-time: New York 0-12 London 1-7
Garvin Lee with a great score for New York to end the half.
21 Mins: New York now have the stronger foothold in the junior final in Croke Park, with two-pointers helping them build a lead. New York 0-10 London 1-3
David Clifford’s tally of 1-9 in yesterday’s semi-final was an unbelievable tally, and Kerry’s reliance on himself and Sean O’Shea has done them no harm this year. Here’s a breakdown of who each semi-finalist relies on for scores, and the consistency of team selection from each side. The latter explains why Donegal have looked so strong this year.
[David Clifford and Seán O’Shea carrying big scoring burden for Kerry]
This is the biggest match that any of these Meath players will have played in so far in their careers. Gordon Manning’s profile piece goes through the squad that will line out in Croker this afternoon.
[Meet the Meath footballers who have taken the championship by storm]
6 Mins: The All-Ireland junior final is underway in Croke Park, with London taking an early lead. An early goal has them four points to the good, although New York made a big chance of their own right after. New York 0-1 London 1-1
Irish Times columnist Darragh Ó Sé was right in his prediction that Kerry would have too much for Tyrone yesterday. He sees today’s semi-final playing out similarly, with Donegal big favourites for this afternoon’s match.
It’s been a mad summer for Meath, the surprise package of the football championship. Losing the Leinster Final was a big blow, but they’ve beaten Dublin, Kerry and Galway on the way to their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2009. Malachy Clerkin describes how new manager Robbie Brennan has changed the Royals’ fortunes.
[Vibes and victories: how Robbie Brennan put smiles on Meath faces]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of today’s championship football in Croke Park. In today’s main event, Donegal take on Meath (4pm), with a place in the All-Ireland final against Kerry at stake. Donegal come into the match as favourites, but Meath have already beaten the odds to get here.
Before that, London play New York in the All-Ireland Junior Final. Stay with us for updates throughout the afternoon.
