Donegal power past Louth to reach All-Ireland semi-final

Donegal are through to their first All-Ireland SFC semi-final in a decade, a power-packed second-half performance at Croke Park propelling them beyond a game but eventually overwhelmed Louth.

From Man of the Match Peadar Mogan - his All-Star credentials at this stage are undeniable - to leading scorer Oisin Gallen, to Michael Langan, Ryan McHugh and Caolan McColgan, the list of those who impressed in green and yellow was a lengthy one.

In his first season back as Donegal manager, Jim McGuinness will pit his wits against Padraic Joyce on the weekend of 13/14 July, as Galway will be their opponents.

On this sort of form, Donegal will fancy their chances. Galway may have taken holders Dublin out in sensational fashion on the same pitch last night but the Ulster champions and Division 2 league winners have strong momentum on their side and look a robust, physical and slick outfit as the Sam Maguire Cup comes into view.

They led from McHugh's first point after just 29 seconds all the way until full-time though it wasn't until the final quarter that they truly burned Louth off.

Donegal were four clear with 20 minutes to go but moved up a gear from there and Eoghan Ban Gallagher's 60th minute goal, just their third in six games, killed off the Leinster finalists for good.

In what was a first ever championship meeting between the teams, Louth chased a maiden quarter-final win and lost no face in the eventual defeat.

It was still a historic season on a number of fronts with the north-easterners contesting eight championship games for the first time ever, beating Cork for the first time since 1957 and reaching back-to-back Leinster finals for the first time since 1958.

Boss Ger Brennan wasn't about to accept that as Louth's lot though and