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Donegal coach Declan Bonner praised his team for claiming a win over Tyrone in appalling conditions at Ballybofey on Sunday.
Tír Chonaill’s men advanced in the November rain after their sail burned stronger in a close fourth quarter, with late points from Ciaran Thompson and Oisin Gallen pushing them over the line.
The game marked the first clash of the entire Division 1 championship by old-style knockout this year, and means that Donegal has yet to lose a game in the province since the 2017 semi-final.
“This was always going to be a great day,” Bonner told RTÉ’s 6.01 News.
“Conditions were terrible. We know in Donegal we have brilliant footballers.
“Today was about digging deep, today we dug very, very deep there. And it’s always tough against your closest rivals, Tyrone.
“We got off to a bad start, but we settled into the game in the first half. We started well in the third quarter, we kicked a couple of touchdowns.”
Donegal took a two-point lead at halftime, but a pass from Eoghan Ban Gallagher gave Tyrone a scoring opportunity, and Darragh Canavan made no mistake in hitting the net.
The major’s award might have taken Bonner’s men out of breath, but instead the Donegal manager saw it as a positive moment for his team.
“I thought the goal was the turning point. We gave away a terrible goal, but I thought our response immediately after was excellent.
“We made three touchdowns on the rebound. During the 76 minutes I thought we were the best team.”
On the other hand, Mayo manager James Horan said he was happy to see halftime in his win over Leitrim in the Connacht quarterfinals.
The underprivileged, relegated to Division 4 of the Allianz League last weekend, got off to a brilliant start at Avantcard Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada and led by four points from the start.
Mayo gradually began to find his rhythm and took a three-point lead at halftime thanks to a Tommy Conroy goal in his championship debut.
And they turned it into an 11-point margin of victory to set up a semi-final with Roscommon next Sunday.
“In the first half we were a little slow,” Horan later admitted.
“Leitrim was the opposite. But we managed to get into the break and I think we opened a bit in the second half, it still took time.”
He concluded: “We are delighted to pass. Without injuries, seven newcomers entered the field.”
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