Donegal, Derry and Monaghan were the winners on the opening evening of the Bank of Ireland 2024 Dr. McKenna Cup competition.
Donegal cruised to a 3-16 to 1-6 victory over Armagh in their Section A Round 1 opener.
A crowd of around 4,000 flocked to MacCumhaill Park to see Jim McGuinness’ first competitive game in charge since returning to take over the Donegal job.
The result was never in doubt from early on as Donegal were too strong for a youthful Armagh side.
Boosted by an early goal from man-of-the-match Michael Langan the home team led by 2-6 to 1-3 with debutant Kevin McGettigan getting the second goal for Donegal. Oisin Gallen added a third goal at the start of the second half, and in the end Donegal had 16 points to spare.
Elsewhere in the competition, new Derry manager Mickey Harte watched his side chalk up a two point win over a battling Cavan side as they began the defence of the Dr. McKenna Cup with a 0-15 to 1-10 success at Kingspan Breffni in Section B. At half-time, Derry led by 0-7 to 0-4.
A Gerard Smith goal put Cavan ahead by 1-6 to 0-8 seven minutes into the second half. Derry got on top again but there was only a point between them late on but points from Paddy Lynch and Shane McGuigan ensured a victory for the Oak Leaf County.
In Section C Monaghan beat Antrim 1-15 to 0-13 in Castleblayney.
Next up for Donegal is a trip to Omagh to face Tyrone on Sunday.
