“McBrearty comes up with this… WHAT A SHOT!”
At long last, the Ulster Championship was sparked into life as Donegal just nicked past Derry in a very close and competitive contest, to win by a single point.
Shane McGuigan looked to be the hero just moments earlier, equalising for the oak leaf county, making it 15 points apiece after swinging over a serious pressure kick, from a difficult angle.
However, with literally two seconds left in injury time, Paddy McBrearty took the ball on the loop, created just enough space to shoot, and the last two seconds of the 74 minutes were filled between the ball leaving his boot and soaring over the bar.
Although the referee allowed a further minute to be played, to give Derry a chance to seek an equaliser, their insistence to pass sideways and not take the shot on, forced the man in the middle to blow the game up.
Donegal usually look to Michael Murphy to dig them out of a hole in situations like this, but it’s easy to forget that McBrearty has been there since the start of the Jim McGuinness era.
Forever seen as the young prospect, this could be the year that he really steps up and adds some leadership qualities to his already glittering assets of skill.
Declan Bonner’s side has been criticised in recent years for being inconsistent, drifting from playing fantastic football but then retreating into their shell when the going gets tough.
Coming through this stern Derry test, could be the springboard needed to propel them back to championship glory.
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