Much of the pre-match talk this week centred on how much
Donegal would put into winning this league semi final fixture - would it be beneficial
to go all the way to a league final only five weeks out from championship
Sunday on May 17th? For long spells at Headquarters, Rory’s troops played
some sumptuous attacking football and looked as if they meant business. However,
once Cork realised that the back door protecting the Donegal defence had been
left ajar and was missing its normal padlock, they put this game to bed.
Usually, a forward line as potent and as talented as Brian
Hurley and Colm O’Neill would not be given anywhere near as much space as they
got today but in a very open game, lacking any sort of intensity, they were afforded free rein.
The full back line had very little protection throughout the
match, the McGee brothers and Paddy McGrath having trouble dealing with their
direct opponents. It was strange to see a team cut through Donegal’s centre on
so many occasions; regardless of the importance or otherwise attached to the
game, conceding four goals is worrying - you can be sure Tyrone will see no
such room in five weeks time.
Michael Murphy returned to the team after watching from the
stand in MacHale Park seven days ago. The break didn’t do the maestro any harm
as he posted a wonderful 0-8 comprised of three frees, two 45s and three points
from play.
Michael’s return meant all three of the team’s danger men started
and it was interesting to see Colm McFadden playing the deeper of the trio with
the captain and Patrick McBrearty staying inside for much of the day. It’s a
role that means a lot of work and effort but will be a big help in bringing McFadden’s
fitness and match sharpness to where it needs to be. The Creeslough sharpshooter
is still a long way short of his peak scoring form, a number of wides and a
missed goal chance in the first half evidence of this. Two fine long range points
though showed what he is capable of and they will have helped his confidence
and no doubt he will be busting a gut over the coming weeks to try to secure a
starting spot for the championship opener.
It was a disappointing week for the U21 contingent in the
squad following their defeat against Tyrone on Wednesday night. Three of those
lads started today – the McHughs, Ryan and Eoin, along with Hugh McFadden.
McFadden put in a big shift around the middle and has become
a vital cog in Donegal’s turnover ploys. He twice won the ball back for his
side early in the second half, the first from a block down at midfield which
eventually led to a point from Murphy and the other a tackle that sent a
Corkman over the line and gave Donegal a sideline kick.
Competition for starting places is fierce at present and it
may well be that we won’t see both McFaddens in the line up in Ballybofey
next month but Hugh has given himself a great chance to get a jersey.
Eoin McHugh got his first senior start at Croke Park and
similar to his cousin Ryan two years ago he looks very nimble and light but has
bags of ability. There is some bulking up to go through before he’ll fully
settle in at senior level but even this summer he could be an effective weapon
in Donegal’s arsenal.
While Donegal’s defence wasn’t what it normally is today,
the forward unit can take a lot of positives from their exploits. Nineteen points
is a great tally to post and will win most matches. The shooting was accurate,
the interchange slick and the kick passing in particular into the full forward
line was of the highest standard. Rory was of course a brilliant forward in his
day and it’s clear he is having an effect in this regard on the training field.
Despite the massed defences of nowadays, a precise kick pass
can still give a forward a chance to collect, turn and shoot in one movement
and it is very hard to defend against. We saw examples of such passes today
from Karl Lacey and Odhran MacNiallais while in the second game Conor McManus ran
riot for Monaghan on such ball.
In contrast Cork, despite winning an All-Ireland in 2010,
have taken quite a bit of criticism over the years over their hesitancy in
getting ball into their myriad of deadly score-getters. Many of their attacks
traditionally involved lateral hand passing and so many of their players were
fond of soloing laboriously up the field even when passes were on. There has
been a big improvement since Brian Cuthbert has taken the reins and much of their
good play today came from direct ball carrying. They still though need to add a
longer dimension to their game plan. Donegal didn’t play with an out and out
sweeper today and there were times where McGrath and one of the McGees were two
on two against Hurley and O’Neill – in this situation the ball must go in.
Donegal carry the ball quite a bit and always have done but when they sense an
opening inside the ball is delivered.
The absence of Neil Gallagher was acutely felt last week in
Castlebar with Mayo’s Barry Moran enjoying a free run of the park and lording
the middle third. With Gallagher again missing today, it was the turn of Fintan
Goold to put in a big scoring performance from midfield; the Marcoom native
finishing with 0-4 to his name.
On each occasion that Donegal looked to be getting back into
the game and had a chance to reel in the Rebels, they conceded another major
and the gap always remained. Goals have never been as important as they are these
days; they’re much harder to get and are precious commodities in big games.
Last year’s All-Ireland semi final and final involving Donegal are a case in point,
so too the last few meetings between today’s other semi-finalists. In the
quarter final meeting in August, Monaghan were well in the game until Bernard
Brogan raised a green flag but after that they fell away. They conceded early
again in last week’s meeting in Clones but today there was no goal concession
and the Farney men were unlucky to lose by the minimum after a great display. Giving
away four goals to top tier opposition like Donegal did only leads to one
thing - defeat.
All in all though, both teams will be relatively happy with
today and happy with their league campaigns. Cork have a final against Dublin in
a fortnight’s time to bridge the gap to their inevitable annual joust with
Kerry on Munster final day while Donegal have now no distractions and eyes only
for Tyrone.
This league has seen newcomers make their bows for Donegal;
some fringe players have pushed their way into the manager’s thoughts while the
stalwarts are all, by and large, in good knick and the team as a whole looks
like it means business in Championship 2015. Bring it on.
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