This is not the final the St Vincent’s man probably had in mid at the start of the year, but it will be one he’ll relish all the same.
Diarmuid Connolly scoring vital points and being involved in flash-points. Sounds like a regular championship outing, but this one took place in Boston.
Connolly joined Donegal Boston earlier this summer after opting to step away from the Dublin senior football panel.
He joined the club when they were mid-table in the league section of the championship but helped them to a win on his debut. Neither he nor Donegal have looked back since.
The two-time All Star helped his new side reach the Boston SFC final after a hard-fought win over Aidan McAnespies.
Connolly scored 0-4 as Donegal won 0-13 to 0-9 but they were indebted, too, to Hugh Boyle in goal as he made a number of good saves, a couple of them point-blank. He popped over a couple of points in the first half but, despite not having too much of the ball, McAnespies were unlucky to trail 0-6 to 0-5 at the break.
McAnespies were not helped when sub Paul Clifford was sent off for what was reported as an ‘off the ball incident’. Both sides traded points and Donegal kept their opponents at arm’s length heading into the final 10 minutes.
Connolly was proving hard to keep quiet and Rob Piggott, his marker, was on a yellow card from early doors. He eventually picked up his second caution, midway through the half, and McAnespies were down to 13 men and up against it.
Shane Carthy and Lee Carr chipped in with scores but Connolly, who had earlier scored a nice one from play, added an insurance point in the closing stages. It meant a goal would not be enough to force extra time but even then the stingy Donegal defence held firm.
When the final whistle blew, they had won with four points to spare and set up a final against rivals Wolfe Tones.
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