Donegal Demolished by Rampant Mayo

Well that was just about as dark a day as you’ll get – Donegal were hammered out the gate yesterday by a Mayo side hell bent on ending their All-Ireland hoodoo. Coming into the game, deep down most Donegal supporters felt this was probably a game too far for the team but no-one expected what we witnessed in Croke Park.

Fair play to Mayo, they blew us away and there’s no substitute for sheer bloody mindedness and will to win. They were ravenous from the first whistle to the last and showed their intent with the first goal. When Eamonn McGee was dispossessed it was an easy chance for Kevin McLoughlin to pop the ball over the bar but he smelt blood and instead worked the ball inside to Cillian O’Connor who finished wonderfully past Paul Durcan. Donegal initially did well to work their way back into the game but once the second green flag was raised the game was up.

Durcan’s kickout strategy was a big factor in the early part of the game - time and again in looking for Neil Gallagher he was simply kicking the ball straight down on top of Aidan O’Shea who was simply majestic. In the same way that Gallagher dominated Cork in last year’s semi final, the Breaffy man towered above all around him and was unplayable. But that begs the question why did we continue to kick the ball to him? It was strange to say the least.

With able runners all around him Mayo attacked Donegal in droves and their pace against a heavy-legged green and gold defence led to a rout – we conceded more goals yesterday than we did in the entire championship last year.

In truth Jim and Rory probably knew Donegal weren’t quite there coming into the game and hence all the nonsense coming out of the camp during the week. That was designed to lift the boys and get a bit of bite into their game but they were flat again, just like against Monaghan and had no answer to Mayo’s speed and aggression.

The McGee brothers both looked well off the pace and with Neil being substituted at the break you wonder whether he had picked up an injury during the week – he had a fantastic game in Carrick last Saturday but was a poor imitation of his usual self yesterday.  Eamonn didn’t get anywhere near O’Connor and was then deservedly sent off in the second half for a reckless stamp and his manager didn’t look at all impressed as he trotted off the field.

Paddy McGrath tried his hardest and was doing a great marking job on Andy Moran until he picked up a caution leading to a more subdued second half display. McGrath, along with Michael Murphy and Frank McGlynn kept fighting right until the end but too many players seemed to stop trying.

Despite carrying an injury, Mark McHugh had a good game but his mistake in the build up to the second goal was a real killer. He kept plugging away though and finished with two points from play.

Mayo started emptying their bench soon after the restart but the scores kept coming with Kevin Keane’s point the icing on the cake – he was the man destroyed by Murphy in last year’s final and the management and supporters took particular satisfaction from his point off his left in front of the Hill.

It was tough to watch the game through Donegal eyes but you have to put up with these kinds of days as a GAA supporter. We’ve had plenty of them before of course and last year was obviously so much more special having been in the wilderness for so long before that and having being on the receiving end of beatings a lot more regularly. Some supporters have short memories though and despite these boys having given us some of the greatest days of our lives last year, plenty of the crowd left early and headed for the road or the watering holes of Drumcondra. The team were shockingly poor yesterday but they still deserved to be clapped off the field after all they’ve done for us.

Indeed they’re not quite finished yet - the team will be back next year competing for top honours. They’re still a hugely talented bunch and have the best manager in the game. Jim knows he’ll have to go away and dream it all up again; with so many teams adopting Donegal’s template they will need something different next year. Hopefully with injuries and niggles cleared up and a bit of freshness back in the legs the team will be ready to go again.

Mayo have now dethroned the All-Ireland champions for three years running but looking at Dublin this year should give encouragement to Donegal that they can come back. Despite the horror show and indeed embarrassment that players and supporters alike will feel, the nature of defeat might be a good thing in that the team will be itching to get back to Croke Park and put things right. They will have to live with loss over the winter and it won’t be easy.

After the winter though, spring will swap snow for leaves and it’ll start all over again – McKenna Cup, a Division Two league campaign and then Championship.

We’re All-Ireland Champions for another few weeks before the crown will be passed on and certainly if Mayo can repeat their performance again they will end their sixty-two years of hurt. Best of luck to them and who knows, we might get another crack at them next year. Roll on 2014.

Dún na nGall back on track as Mayo lie in wait

Donegal are back in the last eight and while they didn’t go the route they wanted the main thing is they were in the pot for the draw last Saturday night; as Jim said afterwards “we’re back were we would have been minus the cup.” We’re still the holders of the other cup and its up to Mayo now to take it off us. It’ll be a titanic clash, without doubt the tie of the round and one game that everyone will want to see.

Saturday was a typically nervy encounter, a real do-or-die feel to it early on with both teams being ultra-cautious and players desperate not to make mistakes. The downpours that hit Carrick in the hours before throw-in made for a greasy surface and added to the conservative nature of the play in the opening exchanges. This mind set was transferred to the crowd with the tight surroundings making for a claustrophobic cauldron. Carrick was a far from ideal venue as regards traffic, ticketing or ease of access but for atmosphere, a packed house at a small venue makes for a great noise.

It wasn’t just on the field and in the stands where the tension was evident, on the sideline Jim and Rory were up for the battle as well as their set-to with Justin McNulty and Fergal Byron clearly demonstrated – this game meant a lot, this title that Donegal are defending means a lot and they were hurting from the nature of their no-show in the Ulster Final.

The match took quite a while to settle down and the first huge roar from the green and gold contingent was provided by a booming score from the right by Michael Murphy. A few moments earlier he had hit Laois newcomer O’Carroll with a shuddering shoulder as he and his team set the tone for what would be a dogfight for the most part.

Michael had spoken midweek of righting the wrongs from Clones and with so many players needing to atone for abject personal displays, there was a real desire to make a statement. Neil McGee was one such man, coming in for a bit of a roasting against Conor McManus the previous week he was in no mood for a repeat performance. Composed at the back, he also drove forward on numerous occasions capping an excellent display with a surging run and point near the end. Paddy McGrath alongside him in the full back line again was fantastic; the Ardara man just never seems to have a bad game.

McGee’s point came in a closing period where players were happy to take on the posts, with Colm McFadden and substitute Leo McLoone also registering white flags. This was a welcome development as at times the patience the team shows up front can lead to scoring opportunities being neglected. The team has been very economical this year, hitting very few wides but there may be point scoring chances being ignored also. A more progressive shooting policy in the early stages, as well the latter of the game, could serve us well next week as a good start could be crucial against Mayo.

The green and red are still smarting from the early onslaught their Hill 16 goal took in last year’s All-Ireland Final and will be hell-bent on making a quick start this time around; .if they were to fall behind again their minds would inevitably drift back to September. Conversely, Mayo getting ahead early would see Donegal chasing the game and as we saw against Monaghan that’s not an easy task to be faced with, especially for a team who will be playing for the third weekend in succession.

If Murphy’s score was the first big cheer of the day then Anthony Thompson made the Donegal roar reverberate around Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada with his majestic piece of skill in the second half. Following good work from Eamon McGee to dispossess Laois as they attacked, Thompson broke onto the loose ball on the right wing. Aware that he was about to be tackled by a blue jersey, instead of bending his back to pick up the ball he delightfully chipped it into his arms without breaking stride. He kept going up the wing before driving the ball across to McFadden who popped it over the bar. That put Donegal five points up and despite a Laois rally to close to within two they were on their way back to Croke Park.

As the scoreboard ticked over in the closing stages Rory Gallagher turned to the Laois bench and let out a roar of his own, conveying just how much this meant. Donegal were down after the Ulster Final but not out. True it was Laois in Carrick-on-Shannon whereas Mayo at Headquarters will be an entirely different challenge but at least we’re back on track. Next week will require every ounce of character and every fibre of energy to repeat last autumn’s result.

Although it was tough to accept a defeat in the provincial showpiece, in some ways it was great to be back on the road for a qualifier. Before Jim came along this was a road very well-travelled by the Donegal faithful and it brought back some good memories. Of course our last sojourn through the back door ended on that fateful day in South Armagh three years ago. That was a seminal moment in the history of Donegal football – from the dying embers of that day came an All-Ireland winning team. Only time will tell whether or not Carrick can mirror Cross in being a catalyst for something special. If the team can come up with a mammoth performance and win on Sunday next, Carrick will also live long in the memory.

Farney Dash Dún na nGall 3-In-A-Row Dreams

The three-in-a-row dream died against a Farney onslaught yesterday but Donegal are still alive in this year’s quest for Sam - going by their display in the provincial showpiece though things need to improve quickly. Its six short days until the back door is bolted shut for another year and the team face a tough task in ensuring they are still at the party come closing time.

There can’t be any complaints about proceedings in Clones; the best team won on the day and there were no ifs, buts or maybes from the defending champions’ perspective. Mark McHugh going off injured was a blow but such was the lethargy and clumsiness on show from his team mates it didn’t make that vital a difference when the game is looked at as a whole.

Two key chinks were exposed in the Donegal armoury yesterday and they have been worries for quite a time - but this was the first time under McGuinness that a team successfully exploited both.

Firstly we were by and large wiped out at centre-field and this had already been a major problem against Tyrone and indeed in some of last year's games. Thankfully Neil Gallagher’s introduction steadied the ship somewhat and only for his efforts things could have been a lot worse. Apart from Gallagher's tour de force against Cork in last year's All Ireland semi, this Donegal side have rarely dominated a team around the middle third and yesterday it was Monaghan who were doing the dominating. Coupled with the midfield platform they created, they then attacked Donegal in a way that few teams have – with direct high ball in on top of our full back line.

Eamon McGee actually mentioned in an interview he gave earlier in the year that he had spent a lot of time doing extra training on high fielding – he and the management team were well aware that this was a potential weakness for the defensive unit and they had tried to correct it. Yet when someone like Kieran Hughes is in the sort of form he showed yesterday sometimes its just near impossible to cope. Hughes had a terrific game in Ballybofey in the McKenna Cup back in January and while that competition was disregarded by Donegal he left his mark that day and did so again with even greater aplomb in the biggest match of his life.

It was so unusual to see both McGee brothers given the run around yesterday; they’ve been the embodiment of this current Donegal team with their strength, power and assurance yet Hughes along with Conor McManus were unmarkable yesterday. How many times over the last couple of years have we seen full-back Neil come storming out from defence to take man, ball and all? It just didn’t happen this time, he was close to McManus on a number of occasions but was never able to get a hand in or shove the Clontibret sharp-shooter off the ball.

The tackling in general by the whole team was lazy. Monaghan players on numerous occasions side-stepped or wrong footed green and gold men with quick movement of the hips or shoulder and they created space easily. The game’s opening score was a case in point with Darren Hughes easily selling a dummy to Karl Lacey to get into a better scoring position. Normally the ferociousness of the Donegal tackle makes teams wilt and that’s why teams hit so many wides against us because they are forced to shoot when they don’t want to. Instead Monaghan took their scores when they were on and were supremely confident in their shot making ability.

Monaghan got the early run on Donegal and the four-point lead they amassed, just like we did in the semi-final, was a crucial cushion. In a game where both sides are setup the same way and both trying to hit on the counter, a deficit like that is extremely hard to claw back. Down only once got inside the three point margin against Donegal in Breffni Park and in Clones yesterday we never got inside that margin at all.

Aside from Gallagher in midfield there weren't too many players who could be happy with their days work. Paul Durcan was excellent in goal, dealing well with almost every high ball that came into his square - and Ryan McHugh was on hand to give him a dig out for the one he didn't manage to claim. The younger McHugh looked very composed when he came on and capped a good cameo with a wonderful score floated over with the outside of his right boot.

Unfortunately such scoring feats were few and far between. Michael Murphy was largely anonymous with Vinny Corey giving an imperious display at full back. He rarely looked at or for the ball, his eyes were firmly fixed on the Glenswilly man-mountain and it made for a frustrating day for the captain. Even when Murphy appeared to be hauled down in the box approaching half-time it was he who was shown a yellow card by the referee, thus infuriating him even further.

His strike partner Colm McFadden had a similar afternoon; twelve months on from shooting over booming scores from all angles in the 2012 decider he was thwarted time and again by Drew Wylie; there wasn't anything too scientific about the man-marking jobs carried out by Wylie or Corey, just good old-fashioned staples of defending - stay tight on your man and keep him on his weaker foot.

Of course everyone is now asking the question, why did this happen? Was it tiredness in the bodies, tiredness in the minds, hype getting to the players – the truth is nobody knows. The squad though are still supremely fit and well conditioned so the physical explanation doesn't really wash. The hype issue and the three-in-a-row thoughts seeping into the player’s mindsets is the most likely reason. Of course with pretty much every one of us having written Monaghan's chances off there was always a chance of that happening. If the treble bid is the reason for defeat then there's still every chance of progressing further in the Championship; however if tired minds are at play then we could be near the end of the 2013 road – we’ll only find out if that is the case next Saturday.

Whatever way you think about or analyse yesterday it wasn't pretty from a Donegal viewpoint - yet we’re still there. We’re not out of the Championship and we are still the defending All-Ireland Champions. The six-day turnaround for beaten provincial finalists is usually the kiss of death for teams but after such a wretched performance it may be beneficial having a game so quickly to try to put things right. Carrick on Shannon holds a special place in the hearts of Donegal Gaels – it was in Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada that the county secured a first ever national title, becoming All-Ireland winners at U21 level in 1982.

More recently it was the scene of a young Murphy’s Championship debut in a senior jersey on a night when the then reigning National League Champions needed extra-time to shake off a dogged Leitrim team in a Round 1 qualifier. This weekend could be something similar – it’s all about grinding out a win, nothing more.

All players and managers want to get to Croke Park for the August Bank Holiday weekend because that’s when the Championship starts in earnest. Donegal would have wanted to go there as Ulster Champions but instead that honour is now bestowed upon Monaghan. Its up to McGuinness’ men to earn their place amongst that last eight and if we get there anything is possible.

Jim always maintains that his team competes in two different knockout competitions – the Ulster Championship and the All-Ireland Championship; it’s no different this year except that we’re starting the latter a week earlier. The road is a bit rockier but the journey and destination remain the same.

We've heard so often in interviews with the players about the plans Jim and Rory have laid out for them before each game and the work that goes into preparing them for what the opposition will throw at them. That process was again meticulously followed before the Ulster Final as it will be before Saturday’s crunch encounter with Laois. However once they cross the white line its up to the players to determine the outcome. They were off-colour yesterday, no doubt about that; but these players have given us days of joy that we only dared dream of over the last couple of summers; they will know themselves that they didn't perform yesterday and were well beaten. But they also know they’re still good enough and that they haven’t suddenly become a poorer side - now is the time to back these boys.

Dún na nGall Edge Past Dogged Down

Donegal’s drive for three Ulster titles in a row is still on and after a tense affair in Cavan yesterday they booked their place at the provincial finale in four weeks time.

Down set the tone for the game with their tactical strategy, James McCartan determined not to let history repeat itself. In last year’s Ulster Final, Down stayed with Donegal for the first half before being blown out of the water - yesterday they were going to stay with them right until the end.

The Mourne Men set themselves up the same way Tyrone did in last year’s semi final and made life very difficult for the Champions. It was just what this Donegal team needed though; a tight, tough, tense encounter and while not playing at their best - indeed not being allowed to play at their best - they still came through and that’s the mark of a team who know how to win matches.

Most games are decided in the closing stages but in truth the first fourteen minutes settled this contest. With Down’s red and black bus parked at the town end of Breffni Park they were setup to defend a lead and look for scraps on the break, going 0-4 behind at this stage of the game though signalled trouble. They fought brilliantly throughout and McCartan and his players deserve huge credit but they never looked like finding enough scores to get over the line.

In the first half Down tried to attack through the middle when they may have been better off using the wings where there was more space. They did get back to within two points by the half time break but that was as close as they got. After the break, they used the wide areas more before bursting inside at angles and got some joy with Donegal forced to give away a number of frees. Every time though they got within striking distance, the men in green and gold mustered a point from somewhere. One key moment in the last quarter could have turned things but once Eamon McGee collected a Down free off the upright the Ulster Final was in sight – if that had been converted it was a one point game.

McGee alongside his brother Neil and Ardara’s Paddy McGrath were outstanding in the full back line. In today’s game positions around the middle don’t really mean a lot – half forwards, midfielders and half backs all do a similar job and have to work in a scrum of bodies everyday they take to the field. The other lines though have more individuality about them and that trio in the last line of defence were immense.

So too the inside line. Right now our full forward line is the best in the business and they proved their worth in spades yesterday. Patrick McBrearty worked tirelessly throughout and despite being under the weather, which resulted in a visit to a local dentist on Saturday night, he played his part in the victory, the highlight for him a beautiful point from play in the first half.

Colm McFadden was the star of the show and the win rounded off a very special week for him following the birth of his son Matthew (Jimmy’s nephew) on Wednesday night. When the game was growing tenser by the second it was the Creeslough man who stood up and boomed over two towering long range points to keep Down at bay.

Captain Michael Murphy came to the fore as well finishing the day with 0-5, four of those coming from frees. His last free, which sealed the win, was a massive 60 yard effort and it had plenty to spare as it sailed over the same crossbar which caused him so much grief three years ago in the U21 Final. Murphy gets a bit of stick for not contributing more from play on the scoreboard but there aren’t many players in the country who could nail such a mammoth kick.

Ryan McHugh made his Championship debut yesterday and despite reservations about the strength of McGuinness’ squad the substitutes again played their part with Marty Reilly and Martin McElhinney showing well once more.

McHugh was assigned a man-marking brief on Conor Laverty, just as he had been in the league match earlier this year in Ballybofey. Laverty had caused a lot of problems in the first half; his low centre of gravity allied to his balance and sharpness make him a difficult opponent and indeed an early challenge on him resulted in a yellow card for the elder McGee. His threat certainly waned though once McHugh got to grips with him.

Despite the good performance of McElhinney after his introduction, midfield was again a worry. Tyrone were on top in the middle third for long periods of the quarter final and with strong displays from Kalum King, Ambrose Rogers and Kevin McKernan yesterday Donegal were under the cosh again. It was clear after half-time that Paul Durcan used the short kick out a lot more in order to provide primary possession for his team-mates. Its obviously something the management are working on - Maxi Curran could be seen recording all of yesterday’s kick outs and these will no doubt be analysed forensically in the coming weeks.

Ryan’s brother Mark as usual treaded every blade of grass on the field of play and after an injury ravaged league he seems to be getting back to his best. Injuries, or hopefully the lack of them, as we go through the year are going to have a major impact on Donegal’s season. Without two starters yesterday, Karl Lacey and Neil Gallagher, the team lost two more by half time with Ryan Bradley and Frank McGlynn succumbing to concussion. Club Championship action this weekend has the potential to add more bodies to the treatment table so it will be a huge positive if Jim and Rory can get everyone to Clones on the 21^st fit and well.

Down will feel they let the game slip due to the fact they had Donegal within striking distance but couldn’t provide a killer blow. They didn’t actually have that many chances though and often seemed reluctant to shoot. A hallmark of the McGuinness tenure is the economy that his side shows in front of the posts – it’s very unusual to see a Donegal player take on a low percentage chance - they remain patient and wait for the right opportunity. Down on the other hand rushed a lot of their shots and played quite a number into the grateful hands of Durcan.

The absence of both Lacey and McGlynn left a distinct lack of pace in the half back line and against such a packed defence this can lead to slow ball and therefore more time for the defensive wall to regroup and get set. Donegal suffered from this in the now infamous semi-final defeat to Dublin in 2011 and it was shown up again yesterday.

Early on, Donegal counteracted Down’s deep lying blanket by pushing up on them and employing a high line pressing game that Mayo have used to good effect in their last two games. If anything though they committed too many men forward and cluttered things up even more for themselves. This led to poor, impatient passing and Down forced numerous turnovers. As the half went on, Donegal retreated to cope with the attacking threat which belatedly came from their opponents. After having too many bodies forward they then left the ball carrier isolated on a few occasions; Leo McLoone in particular found himself high and dry as he moved into a full forward role at the end of the first half. This is out of character for this team and unfortunately we also saw glimpses of it the league defeats to Cork and Mayo.

As for the game itself as a whole, some have described it as a tense, engrossing affair while others are lamenting the lack of flair and space. So far Championship 2013 analysis has been dominated by the lack of competitiveness and the gap between the haves and the have nots. You cant have it both ways and surely a gripping contest with a grandstand finish beats a one-sided stroll any day.

Either way Donegal or indeed Down won't care too much about the quality of the game - they both know the result. The latter head to the qualifiers in good fettle and with a good chance of making Croke Park in August - for the double Ulster Champions it's all about Clones in a month’s time and making it a treble.

Defiant Donegal Dismiss Tyrone

“Everything that happens to you in your life helps make you what you are today. Your past is your future.”

They were words uttered by Jim McGuinness last August – not that long ago but the thought process behind it seemed to have been lost in many people’s eyes in the build up to yesterdays totemic clash. Tyrone were the new kids on the block, the heir apparent to Donegal’s Ulster throne, primed for a raid on Ballybofey after an impressive league campaign and armed with an exciting array of new talent in their squad. One problem though – the recent past shows that Donegal are the best team in the country and after this display the future looks like mirroring that.

The Ulster Council’s decision to stage the game at MacCumhaill Park was rewarded with a feverish atmosphere and there’s a lot to be said in general for GAA matches being played in smaller venues with packed crowds. The old venue hadn’t seen a day like this in quite a while, probably going back to the Armagh game in 2007. The length of the traffic tailback approaching Stranorlar from the Letterkenny side has always been a good barometer over the years of the importance attached to a game. You’d always get a clear run in for McKenna cup games in January and even a league game wouldn’t be too bad as you were entranced by the sight of the giant floodlights in the distance. Yesterday though was blockbuster time, even before the minor game had thrown in there was a half a mile tailback approaching the T-junction before the twin towns and cars lining the road well before MacCumhaill Park came into view. It wasn’t quite knockout football but neither team could contemplate defeat.

Last year Mickey Harte felt his team weren’t good enough to take Donegal on and win, that was evident before throw in when Ryan McMenamin went straight to the edge of the square to take station as a sweeper (in his newspaper column last week he described his role that day as a defensive sweeper and at no time was he to push forward). This time around neither team played with an out and out sweeper to begin with, instead taking each other on in a deep lying counter attacking game of strategy.

As expected it was blood and thunder stuff from the outset, the ferocity of the shouldering on view was fantastic to see, none more so than the shuddering impact Stephen O'Neill felt when trying to level Neil McGee. The Tyrone sharp-shooter got a good run at McGee as he was about to lay off a hand pass and hit him with all he could muster but he just bounced off Donegal's full-back, who barely flinched.

Paddy McGrath was another who was flying into tackles and put his body on the line time and again. Paddy is a bit of an unsung hero on this team, going about his work in an unfussy manner; he was again magnificent yesterday, both in his defensive duties and in carrying the ball forward.

Tyrone took a while to find their feet but when they did they bossed the middle third and the hosts found primary possession hard to come by. In the last ten minutes or so of the opening half, Michael Murphy came out from his full forward position to try to stop the Red Hand momentum and it immediately paid dividends. With his team struggling to win possession, the captain steadied the ship and his positioning out the field proved even more advantageous as his long free into Paddy McBrearty led to Colm McFadden finding the net.

It wasn’t until the final league game that we saw signs of last year’s form coming back to McFadden but he led the line well yesterday in a composed display. He was outshone though by Kilcar’s McBrearty who brought real form into this game on the back of his U21 and club exploits and he had a huge bearing on the outcome. His neat touch down to McFadden was the mark of a class player and he showed his speed and skill to set up Ross Wherity for the second major later in the game.

The Donegal side-line was a busy place all afternoon; Rory Gallagher seems to put in as much running as the players on days like this with constant instructions being relayed to the troops. After everyone’s pre-match suspicions over the non-availability of Mark McHugh and Karl Lacey from the start were confirmed, Frank McGlynn was next to go and the strength of the panel was going to have its severest test. Many have questioned the quality in reserve but yesterday was hugely encouraging in that regard with Wherity, Martin McElhinney and Marty Reilly all making their mark when introduced while Lacey’s replacement Declan Walsh had a super game.

As always with McGuinness’ Donegal, the psychology of the game was vital. While it was widely anticipated that neither Lacey nor McHugh would start, the challenge was knowing when to introduce them. Lacey was warming up pretty much once the ball was thrown in and when he finally took off his jumper to reveal his No 6 jersey, Niall Morgan was just about to address the ball before another free. The stand in MacCumhaill Park erupted on seeing the Footballer of the Year and Morgan again fluffed his lines.

The Edendork youngster had a torrid afternoon. Hailed as the key difference as to why Tyrone had made up sufficient ground on Donegal after suffering two straight Ulster Championship defeats, he converted only one placed ball from six attempts and with every wide more confidence was drained out of the entire Red Hand team. Morgan didn’t help himself with his antics to the crowd after his sole score; no doubt he’s a confident young lad but he rubbed many of the home support up the wrong way and by the end of the game jubilant Donegal supporters took delight in ushering him forward to take the kicks; by the end he just stayed put.

Donegal felt they could put him under pressure and as with Enda Varley in last year’s decider there were blockers in front of the place kicker with Murphy running off to the side in his eye-line on one occasion just as the kick was to be struck.

The key moment of proceedings was the second goal and it made it a magical day for Ross Wherity. The Eunans man got quite a bit of game time in the national league and looked a good prospect for nailing a place as a key panel member. He missed a hatful of goal chances during that Division One campaign but he certainly picked his moment yesterday, finding the net with a deft touch from McBrearty’s cross.

The stats show Tyrone had plenty of chances, a lot of them ending in wides, but as with both the previous games in 2011 and 2012 many of these were kicked under pressure and weren’t gimmies by any manner of means. Donegal’s pressure cooker defence got to boiling point in the second half, keeping their opponents scoreless for thirty-two minutes.

While the visitors had bossed the midfield battle for a large part of the first half, they struggled there in the second and despite often having a free man on his own kick-outs Morgan continued to go long.

Morgan and many of his team-mates wilted under the strain placed on them in the second half; the Donnellys, Mark and Matthew, had impressive league campaigns but neither were able to stamp their authority on the game aside from that middle period in the opening half.

Even seasoned campaigners like Sean Cavanagh found the going tough and Tyrone lost all discipline and focus in the last quarter. Cavanagh was superbly marshalled by Eamon McGee for the seventy minutes as the Gaoth Dobhair man kept up his excellent form from the autumn. He was constantly in the Moy man’s ear as the verbals from both sets of players continued throughout the game.

Every free that was won, every kick missed, every score was re-inforced by letting the other side know what had just happened – it’s a side of the game these days that many don’t like but it just conveyed the ferocious intensity between both sets of players. It might not look like it at times but there does seem to be a genuine respect between the teams; Tyrone are the benchmark for Donegal, they won three All-Irelands and are quite rightly regarded as one of the great teams. That is the target for Donegal under McGuinness – greatness.

It was a procession for the home side late on with ‘Championes’ and ‘Jimmy's Winning Matches’ both getting renditions from the boisterous crowd by the banks of the Finn. It was a performance of character by Donegal yesterday, a real statement of intent.

Tyrone received most pundits’ nod for this game in what appeared a changing of the guard type prediction; this Donegal side though are relatively fresh, only entering their third campaign under McGuinness. He obviously feels there’s more to come from them and that he can find more in his players. Rory Kavanagh, another who had a fine game yesterday, spoke recently of not having played much football in his career to date. Even at 30, one of the elder statesmen of the panel, he believes there’s plenty more in him.

These are a hungry bunch of lads with a manager who can extract every last ounce of desire and ability in them; he can get the best out of them and he can get something out of them that they might not even know is there within themselves.

Analysts are using conventional wisdom to view this Donegal side but the last two years have shown us that Jim is anything but conventional – he’s a unique and special talent on the side-line.

A team with poor league form like Donegal’s against a team with hugely impressive form shouldn’t win so comprehensively – but they did. A team coming off a humiliating qualifier defeat in Crossmaglen shouldn’t win the All-Ireland two years later – but they did. Back to back All-Irelands are virtually impossible in the modern era so it shouldn’t happen – but it might.

Can Donegal break the mould? We’ll have to wait and see. If a team does beat us this year they will certainly have earned it and right now we remain the team to beat. Derry or Down will be next to try in four weeks time.

Donegal Down as Tyrone lie in wait...

Honours even in Ballybofey but that wasn’t enough for Donegal to retain their Division One status. Yesterday wasn’t what relegated us though, the damage was done in previous weeks at Pairc Ui Rinn and McHale Park. In fact the weekend thankfully saw Donegal get back to a level of performance that brought us success last year. As with most final day league shoot-outs, it was close to Championship pace and in the first thirty-five minutes we played some of our best football of the campaign.

Everything about the game and occasion had a Championship feel to it, from the traffic approaching the Twin Towns to the atmosphere of the crowd inside to the level of play on the field.

Stephen Cluxton’s renowned kick outs were causing Donegal problems early on, each and every one finding a blue shirt. Anytime the home side left a man free on a restart Cluxton found them and time and again quick, short distribution was the ploy.

Michael Murphy moved into a deeper role to stem the tide and while it worked in gaining more possession and a platform around the middle, it resulted in Michael having one of his quieter days at the office. One of his early efforts was blocked and after that he seemed a bit reluctant to shoot, strange for a man who made a stunning 0-13 contribution to his club’s league win over Buncrana last week. His marker and DCU team-mate Johnny Cooper did a wonderful shackling job on him as well, keeping him to 0-3, all from placed balls. Cooper has been an excellent addition to the Dublin panel and looks well placed to nail down a starting spot for their 2013 Championship odyssey.

Mark McHugh’s winter and spring has been interrupted by various niggling injuries and he hasn’t looked himself thus far – yesterday though he looked more like the McHugh of 2012. He played the sweeper/ball carrier role that he has made his own and produced his best display of the league. His marker Darren Daly, tracked him on his sorties back the field but as we’ve seen with numerous teams’ attempts, no particular plan seems to work against the Kilcar man.

As always Jim McGuinness was thinking a few steps ahead and even a few months down the line when selecting his team. Not many teams would throw in two League debutants in an important game like this but Eamon Doherty and Luke Keaney were given their chance and both acquitted themselves reasonably well. There’s a fair chance these sides could meet again in Croke Park at some stage during the summer so by picking some fringe players McGuinness is keeping his opposite number guessing while at the same time widening his own options – everyday is a school day after all.

The bizarre sight of the referee Padraig Hughes being stretchered off in the second half after what appeared a fairly innocuous coming together left the crowd somewhat bemused but that feeling would soon grow to frustration as Michael Duffy assumed whistling duties. Hughes had been consistent throughout, particularly in highlighting fouls for over-carrying for both sides. Duffy was anything but consistent though and some of his calls in the frantic last few minutes left players and supporters alike bemused. Dublin tagged on a few scores from placed balls in the closing stages and at least two of these calls should have gone the other way.
One example was especially frustrating; Luke Keaney made a fine catch in the air inside his own 13m line and was pulled down as he made his descent but instead of awarding a free out Duffy waved play on; Dublin gained possession as Keaney tried to release as he lay on the ground and only a superb save from Paul Durcan, one of many he produced on the day, prevented a goal.

Whilst it is obviously disappointing to be going back to Division Two the encouraging aspect from yesterday was how we competed with and even bettered Dublin from a physical and intensity perspective. Jim Gavin’s men will be our main challengers for silverware later in the year and at times they couldn’t live with our ability to break tackles, our direct running and our support play. All these traits brought Dublin to an All-Ireland two years ago so to out-do them in those departments for long periods is a big plus.

Ryan Bradley, Anthony Thompson and Frank McGlynn all put in excellent displays with the latter doing an efficient marking job on Kevin McManamon, keeping him scoreless.
The fact that the team trained on Saturday makes the good performance seem even better. They had also trained Tuesday and Thursday before that as Jim ‘pushed the button’ on the preparation for the Tyrone clash.

The Saturday training may have told in the final stages as Donegal sat deep and relied on picking the Dubs off on the break. It’s a risky strategy but one that we’ve become accustomed to Donegal employing and it will generally work on the proviso that when chances come on the break they must be taken - unfortunately while they did suffocate the visitors and break at pace, the team was guilty of missing crucial chances and thus the victory escaped them.

The first culprit was Ross Wherity who was through one-on-one with Cluxton but his poor effort was straight at the Parnells clubman who saved with his foot. Wherity had two similar guilt edged opportunities in the game against Cork and fluffed his lines on both those occasions as well. He does so many things right however and its easy to see why McGuinness is persisting with him. He’s a strong runner, athletically built and can carry the ball well, as demonstrated with his penalty wins against Tyrone and Kerry. It was just one of those days for him though with the ball spilling out of his grasp several times including one crucial occasion late on when Paul Durcan found him with a pinpoint kick out down the centre.

Wherity’s club-mate Rory Kavanagh had one final chance to secure Division One football for next year when put through by substitute Martin Reilly; he hesitated slightly, seemingly caught in two minds and this allowed the tackle to come in. Whether or not the tackle was legal is highly questionable but Rory should have made his mind up quicker in any case. The failure of Duffy to award a penalty further irked the players and spectators and from then until the end of the game almost all the decisions seemed to go towards the town end of MacCumhaill Park.


So what does this all mean for D-Day, May 26th? Relegation will not have any major impact on preparation for that game, if anything it might leave the players with a point to prove to themselves. As the scores were coming in from the other grounds yesterday it was clear that Kerry were giving Tyrone an absolute hiding early on and that their forwards were cutting through the Red Hand defence at will. Tyrone are very beatable on the evidence that Kerry provided and remember it was a fairly tight game in Omagh last month up until Michael’s red card just before half time.
It is going to be one hell of a battle and while it might not be the most aesthetically pleasing game of football ever played it will without doubt be a compelling, engrossing and intriguing affair.


Before that though we have an U21 Ulster Final to look forward to on Wednesday night; while Ray Durack’s hurlers also have a league final next weekend.

Along with the aforementioned Keaney, all of the U21s involved with the senior panel (bar Ryan McHugh) got game time yesterday and this was presumably worked out between Jim and Maxi Curran prior to throw in. It will have been a good test for them, not least in the physical stakes and this can only help them as they bid for a provincial title in Enniskillen. Ádh mór lads.

Dún na nGall Left With Much to Ponder

Another defeat for Donegal and just like last year the team are facing into a final day shoot out hoping to avoid relegation. Right from the start of this campaign Jim McGuinness’ focus has been on Tyrone in May and what happened before then mattered little. However the manner of the defeats to Cork last week and Mayo today have raised a lot of questions and some of those will need to be answered against Dublin in a fortnights time.

The team’s passing, particularly in the final third, was again very disappointing as it was in Pairc Ui Rinn last week. Bursting out from the back isn’t a problem, the team are so in tune with each other and know how to create overlaps and knit passing patterns together in order to turn defence into attack. They are struggling to find their forwards though and therefore are not scoring heavily. The ball going in isn’t favouring the attackers and Mark McHugh in particular epitomised the wayward distribution today with some terrible passes.

A fourth defeat of the campaign wont do much harm psychologically as it reminds the players that the core values of work ethic, honesty, effort and concentration that reaped such dividends last year must be maintained to have a chance of more success. Decision making today looked on the lazy, lethargic side and against a Mayo team with a point to prove that was never going to be good enough.

The home side and their supporters were well up for today’s game and they’ll be delighted to get one over on their All-Ireland conquerors. They have learned some tricks from that day in September too - it was interesting to see them having players run across Colm McFadden’s line of vision as he took his frees.

They also learned their lesson as regards marking duties with Michael Murphy well marshalled today, often by more than one defender. Last year this ploy was employed by most teams and Colm McFadden was the one who benefited due to the extra space. Teams are now trying to double up on both Murphy and McFadden, a risky tactic in a sense but if Donegal’s other players don’t step up to the plate then it’s one that can work. Others did get on the score sheet today but no one consistently offered help to the two main men up front with even Patrick McBrearty, fresh from a stunning midweek display for the U21s, looking a little off colour.

Towering midfielder Barry Moran was given the man of the match award and he had a huge influence on proceedings today. He caught numerous kick outs and as a result was the launch pad for many of his side’s attacks. What was frustrating from a Donegal perspective was that Paul Durcan kept hitting his kick outs down on top of Moran. It’s a basic enough tenet of football that if a midfielder is dominating then you try to keep the ball away from him. Granted Neil Gallagher was marking him and that’s who Durcan looks for on most of his kick outs but with Moran in such form it would have been better to try to find Rory Kavanagh.

Neil McGee hobbled off early in the second half and his importance to the team was illustrated in his absence. The defensive shape all but disappeared without the Gweedore man at full back and with regular centre back Karl Lacey also missing these days, there was a lack of solidity in the Donegal rearguard.

Donegal received a third major setback soon after; following the injury to McGee and Michael Conroy’s goal, Anthony Thompson was shown the line after he received his second booking. Marty Duffy issued plenty of yellow cards today and it was clear early on that there wouldn’t be thirty players left on the field at the end such was the booking rate. A lot will be made of the fact that its Donegal’s third double yellow red card this year and maybe the reputation they have gained as a systematic fouling team is starting to have an effect on referees. Its another thing that will have to be looked at by the management.

Indeed the team are giving away quite a number of scoreable frees, something which didn’t happen last year. Think of the big games last year - Colm Cooper, Bryan Sheehan, the O’Connors, Donncha and Cillian - all free takers with their respective teams but none of them scored too much against Donegal. Today Mayo’s O’Connor ended up with five points, four of them from placed balls.

Its not all doom and gloom of course and the McGuinness mantra of May 26th has to be kept in mind also. Colm McFadden is improving with every outing and today looked the sharpest he’s been this year so far. An incident at the end of the game highlighted another positive - the players hate losing and want to get back to where they were last year. An off the ball altercation involving Mark McHugh and Donal Vaughan led to a few players getting tangled up with the usual shouldering and pushing and shoving; but it was the normally mild mannered Frank McGlynn who got really riled up and he wasn’t going to let any of his team-mates be pushed around. He was worked up and it shows that there’s still plenty of fire in the bellies of these players. They’ll need to show that and more if they are to beat the Dubs and the drop when they welcome the table toppers to Ballybofey in two weeks time.

Dún na nGall Undone by Rebels Rising

Donegal’s high flying stars would have been grateful of their plane journey back to Carrickfinn last night - it would have been tough facing into a long bus journey home after a frustrating defeat to Cork at Pairc Ui Rinn.

It was the proverbial game of two halves as the All-Ireland Champions dominated the opening period but were uncharacteristically wasteful and inefficient in the second thus allowing a rejuvenated Cork side to take the spoils.

Captain Michael Murphy started at midfield at it looked a clever ploy from the management as the veteran Graham Canty couldn’t keep up with the Glenswilly man. He claimed a lot of possession around the middle early on and drove straight at the home defence and his team profited from some early frees as a direct result.

The strategy was soon abandoned though with Murphy restored to his natural habitat at the edge of the square and indeed it was strange to see it such was the good work he had produced from deep. Donegal continued to boss midfield however with the star of last year’s joust Neil Gallagher again impressing. Murphy was often double-teamed by the Cork defence after he moved inside, himself and Eoin Cadogan having an ongoing battle with the Douglas clubman performing well against the All Star.

Both these teams have numerous similarities as regards their footballing ability, their forward power and the conditioning. The key difference is that Donegal instinctively know what they are doing, what options are available to each player and they are so used to playing the system that its second nature to them. They illustrated this in the opening thirty-five minutes with an assured performance.

Cork on the other hand can run forward with endeavour but when confronted with a mass defence they appear short on ideas and move the ball around without a plan as to what they’re going to do with it. The groans from their own supporters in the stands convey the exasperation they feel when watching their team - they possess some classy footballers allied with big, strong athletes yet they wait for something to happen, wait for someone else to do something rather than knowing what they want to do collectively.

Indeed they were reminiscent of Donegal of a few years back - no one taking responsibility to shoot or to take their man on and instead engaging in laborious possession back and across the field.

Faced with a similar sight of a defensive blanket, Donegal are patient. Sure they move the ball around searching for an opening but the player in possession knows there will be man on his shoulder if and when he tries to take on an opponent. Such is the team’s upper body strength they can break a tackle and then dish the ball off to a runner and create two on one situations.

Donegal also showed their foot passing ability with Dermot Molloy and Rory Kavanagh unlocking the Cork defence playing clever passes in front of Colm McFadden and Ross Wherity and they were then able to offload to the obligatory runner coming through.

Cork lost their best forward Colm O’Neill to what looked like yet another serious knee injury. The current All Star was showing well early and produced a particularly impressive score off his right foot just before he suffered the sickening injury. As he went for the next ball that came his way his foot planted into the Pairc Ui Rinn turf and, in a similar way to what happened Tommy Bowe when playing for Ulster against Northampton last December, all his body weight went onto his knee and it buckled under the strain. The pace of the game dropped considerably following the stoppage in play; O’Neill’s history with knee injuries was on everyone’s mind and there was genuine sympathy amongst the crowd when he was stretchered off.

Onto the second half and it was as if the players swapped jerseys at the break. Suddenly it was the visitors who looked confused in possession and often took the wrong option. One of the great strength’s of this Donegal team, and it’s the same with the top teams in any sport, is that they do the basics very well. The quality of their passing, handling and soloing is taken as a given. Yet after the change of ends they made bad decisions and their passing into the forward line was poor. Instead of giving passes that gives the advantage to the attacker, on several occasions they gave at best 50-50 passes and it was often less than that, with the defender having the advantage.

Time and again long ball was played into Murphy but the technique of the kicks were awful. The optimum ball to play into a forward is a diagonal ball and with the majority of players being right-footed these usually come from the right wing, as we saw to devastating effect from Karl Lacey in last year’s All-Ireland Final. Substitute Ryan McHugh and midfielder Kavanagh were among those who tried to execute this type of pass in the last quarter last night and the result was a mis-kicked low, cross field ball straight to a red shirt. We have the country’s best footballer waiting for a decent ball to come inside and beside him we have last year’s top scorer and they were kept waiting.

You can be sure that this will be one the vital components that Jim and Rory will have the lads working on in training as it was a source of huge annoyance and greatly affected the team’s chances of claiming two points. Instead Cork used these stray passes to launch counter attacks and reeled off seven points without reply midway through the second half which ultimately left Donegal with too high a mountain to climb. Murphy's Dublin housemate Aidan Walsh and Nemo Rangers' Paul Kerrigan were especially impressive during this spell, despite the best efforts of Paddy McGrath to stifle with the latter.

Donegal managed to make a decent fist of a comeback and it looked as if the team would be awarded a third penalty in as many games when Murphy got inside the cover and was through on goal only to be hauled down by Michael Shields. The foul though was committed just outside the 13-metre line and with that Cork claimed the points, 0-12 to 0-10.

Donegal will likely need six points to stay in Division One so are one more win away from safety. With Dublin to come in the last game, the team will want to avoid a final day shoot out with Jim Gavin’s impressive side. That makes next week’s All Ireland rematch in Castlebar all the more important; Mayo will be relishing locking horns with their September conquerors, making a tough trip even more difficult. A performance of champions will be needed to secure the points.

Donegal Make Light Work of Unrecognisable Kingdom

Donegal recorded a vital win in Ballybofey today and such is the congestion at the bottom of the Division One table, they find themselves in the top half of the table and well placed to not only avoid the drop but also contest for a league semi-final place.

Perhaps the real story of the day though was the performance of the visitors; for those of us accustomed to Kerry being the standard bearers in the game its astonishing to see them at such a low ebb. Granted its early March and The Kingdom will be a different animal come the Summer but they're such a long way off their peak its hard to see them making up the difference. Watching their substitutes take their place on the sideline before the game, there were no familiar faces and they all looked liked fresh-faced minors.

The last team then that they want to face is the All-Ireland Champions. Donegal looked very efficient today,
exposing Kerry's frailties and the ten point winning margin could have been much bigger with a bit more composure in the final third.

The difference between the demeanour of both management teams on the sideline was noticeable; Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was quite reserved and barely said a word, with his selectors Diarmuid Murphy and Mikey Sheehy much the same. Indeed it was only the team’s trainer, Cian O’Neill, who looked in any way interested in the game and he was the one dishing out the instructions and encouragement.
On the other hand, regardless of the occasion, Jim and Rory are constantly urging their team on, annoyed when something is done incorrectly or when a call goes against them. Assistant manager Gallagher spends a lot of his Sunday afternoon racing on and off the pitch relaying messages to the players - every game is taken seriously and the management expect their players to reach certain levels of performance and do the right things, anything less is unacceptable.

It was evident from early on that Captain Michael Murphy wanted to atone for his disappointing afternoon in Omagh last Sunday. Inside five minutes he was given a chance at another penalty and he made no mistake this time, drilling the ball low and hard, giving Brendan Kealy in goal no chance.

Murphy was out in front of his marker Aidan O’Mahony on almost every occasion when the ball came his way, combining strength, pace and skill to get the better of the Rathmore man time after time.
In one attack he produced a moment of class that had to be seen to be believed. With the ball coming his way along the ground, instead of bending his back to pick it up, he dummied and allowed the ball to go through his and his marker's legs and ran around behind O’Mahony to retrieve possession. Pele famously did something similar against Uruguay in the World Cup Finals with his 'runaround' move and with the form Murphy is in at present he wouldn’t look out of place on that kind of stage.

He continued to torment his marker with his best score coming early in the second half when he held off O’Mahony with one hand, collected the ball with other and then spun and fired it over the black spot. His strength in holding off markers is incredible, and allows him to always have at least a yard of space to work with.

The forward line saw plenty of ball today and this was down to the work that went on behind them. Paddy McGrath, Rory Kavanagh and Ryan Bradley were hugely impressive in snuffing out attacks and then bursting out with pace and power; with every passing week the fitness and conditioning of the squad is getting better. A lot of the players, Bradley in particular, enjoy bringing the ball into contact knowing they have such upper body strength to break through tackles and knowing that when they do there is a man on the shoulder to carry it on further.

Patrick McBrearty had another good outing today, playing primarily as a centre forward with licence to dictate and link the play from deep. He could well be playing the ‘McHugh’ role come the Summer as McGuinness looks to develop new plans that will keep opposition bosses guessing. McBrearty has all the attributes to fulfil that deep lying task and allied to his finishing - he popped up for a fine first half score - he has become a much more rounded player.

Johnny Buckley was the standout of the newer Kerry players, following up a good showing against Kildare last week. Otherwise it was the old heads of Tomas O’Se and Kieran Donaghy who took the fight to the home side.

Donaghy played most of the game between midfield and half-forward and won quite a bit of ball around the middle third. Kerry’s problem is that he isn’t inside to receive the ball coming in; stationed on the edge of the square for the last fifteen minutes, he won every ball that came his way, including the possession that led to Kieran O‘Leary‘s missed penalty. Kerry have to somehow find a role for Star that allows him to have an effect on the game both inside and outside the 45. Donaghy made the long journey back home that bit easier for one young Kerry fan, giving him his match day gloves as a present as he took his place on in the dugout following a nasty looking foot injury. With the current turmoil in the camp they can ill-afford to lose the big Tralee man for an extended period.

O’Se is the veteran of the Kerry team and it was a joy to watch him in action today, flying up and down the wing like a rookie. He didnt help his team's cause though with one moment of indiscipline when he introduced himself to one of Donegal’s newest recruits early in the second half; the effervescent Ryan McHugh was on the receiving end of a box in the ribs right under the nose of linesman and O’Se was subsequently sent for an early shower.

Kerry’s other main forward star on show, Darran O’Sullivan, was given the full forward jersey and this provided Neil McGee with a different challenge to what he’s used to. McGee is an old-fashioned full back, physically dominating many of his opponents but today he had to use his intelligence as a marker to ensure O’Sullivan didn’t get a chance to burn him with pace. He did this fairly well and the Kerry sharp-shooter managed just one point, although McGee was relieved of his duties in the second half when the fabulous McGrath was given man-marking duties on O'Sullivan.

Despite a frustrating day for O’Sullivan he showed his class late on after an incident with his new marker McGrath. The former All-Ireland winning captain caught the Ardara man with a tackle around the neck but the corner back kept going and made nothing of it. As they returned to their positions, an apologetic hand was offered to McGrath and it was such a contrast to the nastiness on show in the card-ridden contest last weekend in Healy Park.

The snow falling throughout the game today suggested we were in the depths of Winter and it must feel like that for Kerry with the Summer and Croke Park seemingly a long way off. For Donegal on the other hand, they’re motoring along nicely and slowly but surely they’re getting to where they want to be. Their finest display of last year's odyssey came against Cork in the semi-final and its the Rebels who provide the opposition in Pairc Ui Rinn next weekend.

Battle Lost at Healy Park but War Still to Come

As dress rehearsals go this was pretty close to the real thing as regards Championship preparation; there is an intense rivalry between the neighbouring counties of Donegal and Tyrone and yesterday served to further highlight this. In 12 weeks they will do it all again but the prize will be much more than two league points.

Tyrone took the spoils this time and did the damage in a devastating third quarter when they pushed home their numerical advantage from the field to the scoreboard.

The size of the crowd at Healy Park conveyed the importance attached to this fixture and how both sets of supporters are eagerly awaiting the showdown in May. Unfortunately the organisation was somewhat lacking at the Omagh venue with hundreds of people still queuing up outside as the match threw in. Tyrone GAA in general is a shining example of how to do things right so it’s a shame that their premier ground is not setup to cater for a such a large crowd.

Much of the pre-match build up focused on how the managers would setup their sides and whether or not they would try to keep their cards close to their chests. Jim McGuinness opted to station Neil Gallagher on the edge of the square, only coming deep for kick-outs; he wouldn’t be unfamiliar with the role having fulfilled this with his club during their County title winning charge but you’d imagine there’ll be no repeat come May.

His influence and organisation was missing around the middle third with several instances of Tyrone men winning kick outs uncontested and it gave the home side a platform from which to launch their attacks. Even on limited primary possession Donegal looked incisive when they went forward and McGuinness will be happy with how they were able to open up the Tyrone rearguard. Primary possession of course isn’t hugely important to Donegal such is their ability to turn the ball over and win it back when opponents foray into the hungry tacklers lined up along Donegal’s 45 metre line but even still, the amount of pressure-free ball Tyrone players were allowed to win needs to be worked on.

Donegal didn’t yield too much from the Gallagher at full forward ploy but their running game was working and they also had a certain magician in the No 14 jersey. An outrageous point from Michael Murphy showed his glorious run of form shows no sign of stopping. Receiving possession on the right wing he took a hop, soloed with his right and came inside onto his left foot; then in feigning to shoot, he dummy soloed and in one movement turned 180 degrees and stroked it over from a tight angle without barely a glance at the posts. Not many players in Ireland could execute such a piece of skill but its just another magic trick from The Maestro’s ever-growing repertoire.

The great players, in any field sport, always have an ability to create time and space for themselves. Whether it’s a side step from Brian O’Driscoll or close control from Lionel Messi, these skills result in a player having more time than they had when they first received possession. Murphy’s marker Conor Clarke, who a super game in last year’s Championship clash, was within a half yard of his man but with the dummy and turn Murphy was in a few yards of space. It’s the art of forward play and artists like Murphy aren’t made, they’re born. He scored another from play soon after but just before half time the game was turned on its head.

A missed penalty from Murphy, a second booking for a sliding tackle on Joe McMahon and also a first yellow for Neil Gallagher which would be followed up by another in the second half . Michael normally throttles his penalty shots but he didn’t get that correct strike through the ball and Niall Morgan was off his line quickly to get his hands to the effort. As for the red card, it was a silly attempt to retrieve the ball by Donegal’s captain and could be deemed dangerous but he can feel hard done by for a challenge that was clumsy rather than malicious.

While that was undoubtedly a huge moment in the game, the real sucker punch came courtesy of Stephen O’Neill’s goal. A hesitant Neil McGee let a long ball drop in behind him and while he made a heroic effort to block the follow-up shot he couldn’t prevent it from finding the net. McGee and O’Neill had quite a battle on the edge of the square and they continued to exchange pleasantries after the final whistle - that’s certainly a confrontation brewing ahead of May.

Donegal had got a couple of scores on the bounce at this stage and were within a point of the home side so the goal couldn’t have come at a worse time. The hosts pushed on after that and even though Donegal stuck to their task and were helped by substitute Patrick McBrearty’s contribution they could never get to within striking distance of the Red Hand men.

There were encouraging signs from some of the players who’d been missing until now though with Paddy McGrath and Frank McGlynn both getting a valuable 70 minutes under their belts.

Leo McLoone ran well from deep, often sitting in front of centre-back McGlynn. Leo had one of his finest ever displays in a Donegal jersey in the same fixture two years ago when he produced a master class and gave the great Sean Cavanagh the run around.

Both McLoone and Cavanagh have endured injury nightmares since that fixture and Tyrone fans are delighted with the Moy clubman’s performances to date in 2013. He’s keen to make up for the amount games he’s missed through successive shoulder injuries and he was certainly fired up for yesterday’s encounter. A fine long range point in the second half and the salute to the crowd which followed it illustrated how pumped up he and his team-mates were in facing the All-Ireland Champions.

The atmosphere on the field of play spilled over on numerous occasions and losing a physical, heated battle such as this will generally give a team a sense that they’ve been bullied - this will give Donegal huge motivation for when the sides meet again.

Mickey Harte said in his autobiography a few years ago how annoyed he and his players were by what they saw as showboating on Donegal’s part in a league victory in 2007. He noted the lack of humility from those in green and gold but was well aware that “there’s always another day.” That day came a few months later when his Tyrone team blitzed Donegal in the Ulster semi-final at Clones.

While the home team enjoyed their victory and revelled in the nasty undercurrent on show, Donegal know that there will be another day - and, assuming the Ulster Council make the right call on the venue, you wont want to be anywhere other than Ballybofey on May 26th.

Dún na nGall open their Division One account

First two points on the board in Division One for Donegal and a good night all round at MacCumhaill Park.

As with last week, it took Donegal quite a while to get into their stride and get up to the pace of the game. A lot was made of the team’s second half performances in last year’s All-Ireland march - that was primarily due to the reserves of fitness that the players had in their collective tanks - at present though its more to do with the tank running a little low. The side found enough in the second half though to put this game to bed as the Down challenge fell away just as it did in last year’s Ulster Final.

The first half was a scrappy affair with the Mournemen employing a running game but didn’t make too much headway. They simply don’t have the physicality to burst through the Donegal rearguard although they did manage to win a few frees and with Donal O’Hare in good form from the boot they went in a point to the good.

The hosts’ handling throughout the game was a particularly impressive facet of the game; time and again players caught balls over their head or even one-handed and unlike the Irish at the Aviva today, the ball stuck. Its another insight into the training that Jim and Rory put this team through - its not all running and strength work. Clubs across Donegal and indeed all over the country are trying to emulate the McGuinness template with players enduring arduous long runs, numerous ascents of sand dunes and countless hours in the gym. It cannot be overlooked though that this Donegal team possesses superb footballers with extremely high skill levels - that, as much as the conditioning of the squad, is the reason why we are All-Ireland Champions.

Donegal weren’t at the races but whatever was said at half time had the desired effect. They immediately reeled the visitors in and took control of the game. They would keep Down scoreless until the latter stages of the game, while eight white flags were raised at the other end.

A quiet and subdued crowd in Ballybofey were awoken from their slumber with the news that Neil Gallagher was going to join the action for the second half. He had a huge impact on the game and gives such an important physical presence around the middle third as well providing his ability to win primary possession. Gallagher replaced Martin McElhinney who again failed to stamp his authority on the game at midfield; the hard work required in the engine room doesn’t allow him to show his full skillset. The St Michaels man is better suited to a deep lying half forward role where he can use his driving power and penetration to trouble defences. Indeed in last year’s league encounter with Down he did just that early on and gave Donegal some impetus at Pairc Esler.

That night last year in Newry, we were without our twin towers strike force of Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy but last night they were both in the side, the latter shaking off the hamstring injury he picked up last week. McFadden still looks a bit off the pace and the three week break will help him regain some of his sharpness. No such worries with the country’s form player Murphy however, his six-point haul last night brought his total for the week to twenty-four for county and college. God help the UCD defence who have to face him in the Sigerson quarter-final this Thursday.

Those six-points were key to Donegal registering their first points of the campaign and just as vital was the contribution of Mark McHugh. The Kilcar man is such a vital cog for this team, his paws are on so many of our scores and there isn’t a blade of grass on a pitch that he doesn’t cover at some stage during a match.
So much of Donegal’s approach centres on players using their physique to carry the ball into a tackle and then off loading, thus creating space for the receiver. So often that receiver is McHugh - he is the main outlet anytime one of his team-mates go on a foray into traffic.

Neil McGee picked up the Setanta man of the match award and while he did have a fine game, its quite possible that it was a case of mistaken identity. The older brother Eamonn gave a commanding display from start to finish and often it was him and not Neil who came marauding out of defence to instigate another Donegal attack.

Its hard to know where this Down side goes from here, two defeats and they are propping up the table with Kerry and Cork in Division One. Not bad company to be keeping but James McCartan’s men face a huge task in trying to retain their status in the top flight. They’ve always produced classy footballers and still have plenty of them in their ranks but getting a coherent plan together is crucial in the modern game and they have yet to find the right blueprint.

The teams are on the same side of the draw in this year’s chase for Anglo Celt honours so they may meet again. Tyrone will of course have a lot to say about that on May 26th and next up in the league is the dress-rehearsal for that crunch encounter. How seriously either team will treat that remains to be seen, neither manager will want to give too much away but as always with McGuinness and Harte it will be fascinating battle. Roll on Healy Park.

Murphy Magic not quite enough for Donegal

Michael Murphy put in another Tour de Force display at Croke Park on Saturday night but Donegal still came up short in a cracking encounter with Kildare.

No one really knew what to expect from the All Ireland Champions such was their truncated beginning to the season. They started brightly but Kildare soon began to dominant and without Neil Gallagher in the side we struggled for primary possession around the middle. They racked up some fine scores, with newcomers Niall Kelly and Daniel Flynn catching the eye. The 'home' side led by five and held all the aces at half time - well all but one Ace.

In the second half Michael took over and almost single-handedly got his side back into it. He played a roving role that saw him pop up just about everywhere on Jones Road and he finished the night with 0-9 to his name.

With Colm McFadden going off early with a hamstring injury Murphy took on extra responsibility with young Ross Wherity helping him out in the forward line. The Eunan’s newcomer showed well for the ball and kept trying but his slight frame was no match for Kildare’s physicality. Improvement in this area though and Wherity will see more and more game time - no doubt Jim already has Adam Speer working with Wherity, and indeed the other new panellists, and they will only get bigger and stronger.


Having Wherity up front was in stark contrast to Kildare who had the man mountain figure of Tomas O’Connor who got a lot of joy in his full forward role for the Lilywhites; both McGee’s had a go at marking him with neither faring too well. The big man up front is certainly one way to beat this Donegal team so expect to see teams employing this tactic quite often.

O’Connor got his side’s first goal after touching home a rebound off the post, bringing back memories of the infamous square ball in the 2011 Quarter Final.
The next key moment of the game was the second Kildare major and unfortunately it had a bit of infamy about it as well. The country’s All Star goalkeeper had one of those howlers that every net-minder dreads. A complete misjudgement of his positioning with the ball in flight and all Paul Durcan could do was help it into the goal. He’s not the All Star No1 for nothing though and he has barely put a foot wrong in the last few years so we certainly won’t hold it against the big Four Masters man. Moments later Kildare tested him again to see how his nerves were with a high ball in on top of him but he dealt with it well.

After Murphy, McHugh et al had done their bit in dragging Donegal back into the game, the goal concession halted the momentum and Kildare had enough to hold on for the win. All in all, the boys will be relatively happy with their performance; they showed plenty of heart and hunger in the second half when the game could have easily gone out of sight. Donegal lost their first two league games of last year’s campaign and they wont want that to happen again – this weekend’s clash with Down in Ballybofey is a crucial tie.

McFadden will most likely be missing for that game and his scoring threat will need to be replicated by Patrick McBrearty. The Kilcar man did well on Saturday but more is needed from the young sharp shooter. His potential as a minor had him on the radar for so long and there is huge expectation on his shoulders. Many parts of his game are in place and he sees plenty of the ball every day he plays but if he could get on the scoresheet more regularly and add that killer instinct that all great forwards have, he can push onto another level.

McBrearty was involved in one the scores of the game, a point started and finished in Kilcar. Substitute Mark McHugh, who made a big difference when introduced, played a ball down the channel for McBrearty. He immediately dinked it up into his hands, found McHugh again with a clever pass inside and McHugh slotted it over.

This had come just a couple of minutes after probably the game’s best score and no prizes for guessing who it came from. Michael won a ball 50 yards out, drove into a gap and motored past two defenders. One managed to stay with him though and threw himself at what he thought was going to be a shot on goal. Instead Michael, showing wonderful awareness and poise, took another solo, left the Kildare man on the floor and stroked it over. It was class personified and conveyed everything that’s good about Murphy.

It strange how such a wonderful individual display can lead to many viewing it as a negative but that’s often what happens, the main argument being that the team relies too much on the Maestro and if he wasn’t there we wouldn’t have a chance.

Sure why wouldn’t we rely on him? The boy is a genius.

Every effort should be made to get him on the ball and let him dictate proceedings. His outing on Saturday night was reminiscent of his display against Dublin in last year’s league; he got injured that night and missed three months of action yet Donegal won the games they played for that period and kept on winning upon his return.

Barcelona don’t get criticised for Lionel Messi scoring almost a half of his team’s goals. Their approach is to keep possession and when the moment is right get him on the ball in the final third and he does the rest. Sounds like a good plan to me.

For Michael Messi Murphy it’s no different. Gaels everywhere should just sit back and enjoy watching an artist at work. He’s the best player ever to pull on a Donegal shirt, a once in a generation talent and he’s an All-Ireland winning Captain. And thank God he’s ours!

McKenna Cup put to bed, now its back to Croker

The McKenna Cup has been put to bed for another year and now Donegal can firmly focus on training and catching up with the rest of the country in the fitness stakes.

The experimentation continued in tonight’s final game of the competition with John O’Malley and Eoin McHugh making their debuts while Adi O’Gara, Pauric Carr and Michael Cannon, after brief cameos in the previous games, all made their first starts. O’Malley is well known for his senior exploits with Naomh Conaill and is likely destined for many more games in the county jersey. A huge honour too was bestowed on the Cloich Cheann Fhaola club, with Kevin McFadden skippering the All-Ireland Champions.


The fact that a 3rd level side, in the form of Belfast teaching college St Marys, were the opposition meant Donegal’s newcomers enjoyed a bit more of a level playing field than in the previous exploits against Fermanagh and Monaghan. The lads were quick out of the blocks with Odhran MacNiallais doing the damage early on. The students found their feet though and in a high scoring affair they led by a point at the break.

Caolan Ward and Kevin McFadden again impressed and with both players having played in different positions over the course of the competition, their versatility could be an asset to both Maxi Curran’s U21s and possibly Jim McGuinness' senior squad.

The high scoring continued after the change of ends; Donegal went on a scoring spree with five unasnwered points before Marys pegged it back to make it all square. There was some confusion between the score the referee had noted and that of the MacCumhaill Park scoreboard but in the end the record books will show a one point win for the hosts.


The GAA season now goes up a notch with Kildare providing our next opponents in the league opener and it gives supporters an early opportunity to go back to the Graceland of Croke Park and relive some of those wonderful memories from September. From a playing point of view, following the switch of venue for the clash, it will do McGuinness’ troops no harm playing at Headquarters as opposed to Conleth’s Park in Newbridge - the players are obviously well used to it and any opportunity to play at the Mecca of football can only benefit a team.

Jim spoke at the weekend of the training the team are undertaking now that their holiday is firmly in the past - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday are all training days and the players will be glad to get back to the group dynamic and getting themselves prepared for what lies ahead.

Last year McGuinness along with Adam Speer and the rest of the coaching staff got the entire panel in incredible shape and in our best moments of the Championship other teams simply couldn’t live with our relentless stamina. 2011 was a case of getting the players up to a decent level of fitness based on the individual needs of each player. Last year however, to a man the squad was operating at close to peak condition - bringing them back up to that level again while also managing the niggles and knocks, and a serious hip injury in Karl Lacey’s case, is the target over the next few months.

Another goal of the management team will be to try to blend in those players who have shown well in this McKenna Cup campaign and there will be a few with an eye on at least a training spot with the panel and possibly more.

It is critical for any team that wins the All-Ireland to have competition for places and to avoid having players resting on their laurels. Someone breathing down the neck of a man in possession of a Celtic Cross should drive him on to win another one.

That’s all well in the future of course, for now its well done to the boys who’ve represented the jersey over the past week and all roads lead to Croker in a couple of weeks time.

Inexperienced Donegal Mauled by Monaghan

A first home game of the year for the All-Ireland Champions but its safe to say we’re all waiting for the homecoming proper in May after watching the mauling handed out by Monaghan today.

It was a similar story to Wednesday night with an inexperienced Donegal being well beaten by a superior conditioned side but it was a useful exercise nonetheless with some of the new lads doing their bid for a permanent squad place no harm at all.


The McGuinness ‘system’ is well known to the players, and everyone else really at this stage, and as such it makes it a bit easier for players to slot in when required; however it is certainly less troublesome for defenders to take up the baton. A mobile, pacey defender can answer most of the questions asked of him and with numbers behind the ball he has help by his side (even though the questions came a bit too quick for the back unit today). It’s a different story up front where a lot of Donegal’s forward play is built upon physical presence and ball winning ability. When the usual suspects aren’t available it can be very difficult for the forward line to play with any kind of cohesion and so much more work goes into each score. Today was a case in point when it took 28 minutes for the first score to arrive, that being Adrian Hanlon’s goal.

Daniel McLaughlin going off early after shipping a heavy knock to his knee while taking a shot at goal didn’t help matters up front; the St Michael's man was very effective on Wednesday night and his pace and piercing runs were missed.

The Naomh Conaill duo of Dermot Molloy and Marty Boyle were unavailable from the off today with each suffering from a bout of the vomiting bug and this further depleted the options available to Maxi Curran.

Gary McFadden was again prominent and looked Donegal’s most dangerous player. He played in midfield today but still got forward whenever he could and got his name on the score sheet, adding to the four points he registered in Brewster Park.  His leadership is vital on days like this when there are so many newcomers on the field and of course he’s no stranger to that type of role having captained his club to county glory in 2011. He’s one who could well have his eye on a starting spot in Croke Park in three weeks time.

Shane McGowan was another who put impressive back-to-back displays together and indeed was the standout performer in green and gold today. Playing what could be termed the ‘McHugh role’ he looked good on the ball and showed great anticipation - just like the Kilcar man did all last year.

A goal for the visitors almost straight from the restart killed the game and it was a second half procession for the Farney men. Monaghan have traditionally always had strong, tough footballers who bring great physicality to games and this was evident again today. They also moved the ball extremely well at times and regardless of the nature of the teams, wracking up 3-16 against Donegal is good going.

They had many excellent performances today but Kieran Hughes stood tallest and his afternoon was peppered with fine score taking, good build up work and some sumptuous assist play. One particular highlight came in the second half when he hit an overhead reverse pass with his weaker right foot to set up a point for substitute Dermot Malone.

Willie Gillespie came into the game more in the second half for the hosts and scored a wonderful point off his right following clever use of his body to shield the incoming ball from the defender before grasping it and slotting it over. He did something similar in the first half and was unlucky not to get a penalty when striking for goal on that occasion.


Malachy O’Rourke’s men appear to motoring along nicely and they will face Fermanagh on Wednesday night in a shoot-out for top spot. Of course Monaghan could easily have been our opponents in last year’s Ulster Final, their second half collapse in the semi against Down is no doubt still a sore point. They have a good manager in place in the shape of O’Rourke who had a good stint as Fermanagh boss and indeed the Ernemen were only a good free-taker away from an Ulster Championship in 2008.

Monaghan could certainly be in the mix again this Summer, they are on the weaker side of the draw and will fancy themselves as dark horses for the Anglo Celt.

There’ll be nothing dark about Donegal’s quest for three-in-a-row of course and depending on the decision from the Ulster Council over whether MacCumhaill Park is fit to the host eagerly awaited clash with Tyrone, that bid could begin on home turf. The old ground was quiet and hushed today but hopefully, with the correct call from Ulster HQ, the place will be rocking come the end of May.