Donegal Surge Out of the Blocks but Tougher Tests Lie Ahead

Championship Sunday in May. First day out of the summer. Nothing like it.

Every county feels expectation and optimism at this time of year and there’s a sense that anything is possible. Reality kicks in for many teams pretty quickly of course but while that sentiment lasts it’s a level playing field for all.

Travelling from the North of the county to Donegal’s footballing Mecca by the banks of the Finn, the length of the tailback at the T-junction a couple of miles out from town tells you the significance of the match you’re about to attend. Half an hour before the curtain raiser's 2pm throw-in time, the sizeable row of cars ahead and behind made it clear that the Championship had arrived.

The minor match added to the atmosphere as a cracking tussle broke out amongst the mistakes and nerves on show from the young lads playing in the last ever minor championship.

Once the ball was thrown up for the senior game however the buzz died somewhat. Mac Cumhaill Park was as quiet as it’s been for some time; the primal, box office jousts against Dublin and Tyrone in the league a distant memory. There were plenty of scores early on but there was an inescapable mood that Donegal were simply going through the motions.

That particular phrase isn’t in the lexicon of one Michael Murphy though. Murphy continued his superb league form, putting in a man of the match display.

For the entire afternoon he had Sean McVeigh by his side and while the big Antrim man was game and did his best to nullify Donegal’s leader, it was an impossible task. It will be a different story of course if Donegal end up facing Tyrone next time out – that will give Michael and Justin McMahon a chance to renew their rancorous friendship.

From the off The Maestro bulldozed his way through the Antrim defence, winning frees and creating gaps from which others could profit.

Murphy's ability to break tackles around midfield is especially crucial in the opening stages of a game; when an opponent’s blanket screen is at its most stubborn and defenders’ minds are at their sharpest. As the game goes on more space appears, tiredness infests the limbs and runs aren’t tracked as they were. So early on is the most difficult time to breach a defence and the captain consistently leads the charge.

As we saw in second half yesterday, Donegal had the run of the place at the river end goal and picked off points and goals at their leisure. In this light, Donegal's porousness in their own backline in the first half was all the more unusual.

Paddy McGrath and Neil McGee were a wee bit more lackadaisical than normal, letting Antrim forwards get goal chances that, judging by their attempted finishes, they seemed shocked to have got. The inside duo of Tomas McCann and CJ McGourty caused problems with their movement but once Frank McGlynn got the call from Maxi Curran to drop back in front of the full back line, things tightened up considerably.

Jamie Brennan’s goal before half-time ended the contest and it was a great finish from a man making his debut at this level. His point soon after displayed his best characteristics – quick feet to get around his man in order to create space for a composed shot at the posts. There were other times when the Bundoran sharp shooter had chances to take his man on but opted to turn back and look for support. If he can add a bit more directness to his game not many corner backs will relish pitting their wits against his raw speed.

Six others joined Brennan in making full Championship debuts and all acquitted themselves well. Granted the nature of the game, with the hosts pulling away comfortably after half-time, made things easier and didn’t give a true measure of the white heat of Ulster fare.

Jason McGee made a welcome return after missing several weeks of training due to concussion picked up in the U21 match with Dublin but he showed no ill-effects and produced an accomplished performance in the engine room alongside Murphy.

With that duo stationed at centrefield, there’s big men aplenty around the middle, which allows Hugh McFadden to provide the bulk in front of goal. McFadden spent most of his time in a county jersey up until this year in a defensive role but looking lean and fit he is relishing the chance to show what he can do in attack. He is much more inclined to take his shots on nowadays rather than pass on responsibility and his booming score in first half illustrated his ability in front of the posts.

There was plenty of other fine marksmen on show with the second half turning into shooting practice for the likes of substitutes Michael Langan and Karl Lacey.

When corner back McGrath pops up for his first ever goal, you know things are going your way. Paddy has been making that run for many years now yet he still seemed surprised to arrive in front of goal with ball in hand. A typical defender, the first instinct was to look for contact with the goalkeeper; after he bounced off Chris Kerr he had the wherewithal to get his foot to the ball before running straight through the goal line.

McGrath’s hit prior to his goal was one of the few incidences of physicality we saw in the closing stages such was the lack of intensity in the match by then. Things will definitely be different the next day – an expected Tyrone win over Derry at the weekend will lead to an Ulster Final rematch in Clones on June 18^th.

If that comes to pass, we'll see more hefty belts in the opening five minutes than we saw over the entire 70 yesterday. Throughout the league, the displays of Rory's young guns have suggested that they have what it takes to represent the green and gold jersey - in four weeks we'll know for sure.

Dún na nGall Back in Ulster FInal After Second Half Surge

A fourth provincial final on the bounce awaits for Donegal and while the test they will face in four weeks time will require a further step up in performance, the team can be pleased with today’s workout.

Antrim were given little or no chance of causing an upset and thus came into the game with nothing to lose. Liam Bradley had his side setup well and they were intent on denying Donegal space and catching them on the break. Sadly they were forced to line out without the Johnston brothers, Ricky and Marty, following after the death of their father on Friday. Those changes meant that Sean McVeigh was given the onerous task of shadowing Michael Murphy and the full back immediately set about roughing up Donegal’s captain as best he could. Murphy is well used to close attention at this stage and despite being pulled and dragged all over the Clones pitch he was heavily involved in a lot of Donegal’s scores and finished up with three of his own.

Jim McGuinness also made changes prior to throw-in; despite reports during the week of a full deck to choose from, the manager felt the game had come a few days too soon for Karl Lacey following a recent leg muscle complaint while Rory Kavanagh suffered a strain at training during the week and didn't tog out today. Neil Gallagher’s ongoing injury troubles show no sign of abating, a tight hamstring forced him off just ten minutes into the game. Many of the big Glenswilly man’s contributions in recent times have been off the bench and he might well be kept in reserve in future games should his niggles persist.    

While the loss of Lacey and Kavanagh was unfortunate, it was encouraging to see trust being placed in the young duo of Darach O’Connor and Odhran MacNiallais – and they certainly repaid the faith shown in them. They were both on the scoreboard early on from their respective spots at wing forward and midfield. MacNiallais has always looked confident on the ball and his languid kicking style makes his left foot a potent weapon. O’Connor on the other hand, even going back as far as the McKenna Cup, has sometimes looked unsure in possession but he was intent on running at defenders today having obviously been encouraged by Jim and his staff to be more dynamic with ball in hand. He took his first point off his left and then later in the half received a wonderful outside-of-the-foot pass from his captain before turning inside two players and slotting over; the master and the apprentice working in tandem.

To cap off a brilliant individual display he drove through the heart of the Antrim defence in the second half to fire home a goal that made sure of the win for his team and he deservedly got a standing ovation from the Donegal faithful as he left the field to be substituted later on.

MacNiallais also pushed on in the second half, he finished with 0-4 to his name and would have been many people’s choice as man of the match. One point in particular showed his confidence and skill when he dummy soloed near the end line, fooling a Saffron defender, before cutting inside and slotting over the bar. The competition for places around the middle sector for Donegal is fierce at present with MacNiallais battling with Gallagher, Kavanagh, Christy Toye and Martin McElhinney for the two spots – on this evidence the Gaoth Dobhair man is at the head of the queue.

McGuinness’ men were on top in the opening stages but Antrim fought their way back into the game and managed to gain parity as the end of the half approached. As is now customary for a team playing Donegal, they mirrored the game plan they faced and kept proceedings as tight as possible. Leo McLoone retreated to centre back in place of non-starter Lacey, leaving Kevin O’Boyle as Antrim's spare man which resulted in Donegal having a free player for all of their own kick outs. Paul Durcan went short to Paddy McGrath and Eamon McGee for most of the first half and therefore the departure of Gallagher didn’t hamper Donegal too much. 

Antrim eventually pushed O’Boyle further up for the restarts, allowing Niall McKeever to compete in the air and his team mates were finding joy in attacking Donegal down the central channel vacated by Lacey. Generally there are two types of centre backs in the game - one who attacks like Leo and the more traditional version who holds the middle and keeps his defensive unit cohesive and disciplined. Lacey of course is worth his weight in gold because he is equally adept at both strands of centre back play and as we saw today, opposition attackers seem to find gaps that little bit easier when he’s not there.

Jim made a further switch in defence early in the game as Frank McGlynn was instructed to shadow Kevin Niblock, with McGrath given licence to get up the field. On numerous occasions the Ardara dynamo strode forward into swards of open St Tiernach’s Park terrain unopposed and he was the primary source of many of the early scores.

Antrim would have been delighted with their opening period display but as is generally the case with Donegal, the start of the second half is when the handbrake comes off. Derry felt the full force of the 3^rd quarter blitz in Celtic Park last month and again today players surged forward in waves, annexing 2-4 from the Antrim rearguard inside thirteen minutes. As we’ve seen time and again, teams set up defensively at the beginning of games against Donegal and run out of steam but in truth they’d probably be better off going ultra-defensive at the start of the second half as that is undoubtedly when the damage is done.

In a sense Donegal can find it easier to play against the better teams because those opponents come with their own game plan that they want to implement rather than focusing solely on how to counteract the McGuinness system.

That system was moving through the gears nicely towards the end of the match but a much sterner examination of its effectiveness will be witnessed in the Ulster Final. The Championship capitulation of this Donegal team last year is still a sore point for many and is acting as a huge motivation for the players and management to make amends this year. What better way to make up for last year’s final defeat than a re-match with reigning Anglo Celt holders Monaghan?

The Farney Army have to first get past Armagh next weekend and while the Orchard men won’t have any fear going into that game, it would be a surprise if they were to succeed. So barring a reversal of form, the province’s blue ribbon event will see the sides who have shared the last three titles go head-to-head. That same pairing could also lock horns in the minor match, with Declan Bonner’s charges assured of a place following their win in today’s early game. 2006 was the last time Donegal had both minor and senior teams competing on finals day with the names of McElhinney, Murphy and McLoone amongst those on the minor team sheet eight years ago. Croke Park was the venue that day and the outcome for Donegal read ‘won one lost one’ – for Clones 2014 we’re all hoping for two from two and a clean sweep.