Ruthless Rory Exposes Gullible Geezer

Everyone expected a tight tussle, a war of attrition and a real test of Donegal’s championship credentials but in the end it was nothing of the sort. Armagh were woeful from the off, this largely due to the naivety they showed and the false impression they have of themselves as a team ready to join those at the top table.

Perhaps it was because they have won so often this year, having plied their trade in Division 3 of the league, that Armagh had become used to taking the initiative in matches, that they felt the onus was on them to take the game to their visitors and go at them from the whistle – whatever the reason for the gung ho approach it cost them the match.

The home side immediately pushed up on the Donegal defence and almost all of their players were in the Donegal half of the field. This left Patrick McBrearty one-on-one in the full forward line and the Kilcar man made hay as the summer sun shone brightly on the Athletic Grounds. Rory Gallagher had anticipated the approach adopted by his counterpart Kieran McGeeney and instructed his troops to hit McBrearty early and often. Michael Murphy played deep and produced a passing exhibition with some wonderful deliveries, mixing it up between high boomers and low chasers into the chest.

The damage was done after only a few minutes and with 1-3 coughed up Armagh brought a sweeper back to play in front of McBrearty but it was too late by then.

It defied believe that Armagh and McGeeney could be so immature in their tactics. There is nothing wrong with a coach admitting that his team are playing against a better side and setting up his team up accordingly. It illustrated a sort of bravado nature in the home team’s psyche but the days of Donegal wincing before an Armagh challenge are long gone.

This Donegal team is the best counter attacking side the game has ever seen – pushing up and leaving on ocean of space behind midfield was playing into their hands. Despite Rory predicting the hosts’ thinking even he must have been a bit surprised at how easy it all was as it unfolded before his eyes.

The primary reason for optimism amongst the Orchard faithful and many pundits this week was the closeness of the skirmish in last year’s All Ireland quarter final. Yet put into context, the game was just about getting over the line for Donegal before they faced the challenge their entire year had been geared towards, that never to be forgotten joust with the Dubs. Armagh are a decent team who can be competitive against the big boys but that's as far as it goes for the time being.

Donegal of course had to take advantage of the situation they found themselves in and they did to the highest standard in the first half. The power each player possesses on the ball, the ability to burst through tackles whilst protecting the ball and coming out with it the other side is exceptional.  Armagh met Donegal high up the field as they had so many players pushed up, so once that high screen was broken there was a vast prairie of space to exploit.

Also the angles and lines of support running from team mates are wonderful and so hard to defend against. It is instilled into the players by now, its instinctive – the man in possession knows where the support runner will be coming from and when he’ll make the run. They make it look so fluid and that is down to the work meticulously carried out on the training field.

Even in the age of packed defences, this style of support play gets rewarded with space and opportunities to create scores. If one defender is beaten then the entire defence is at risk because someone has to leave their position to cover the space just created; Donegal are masters at breaking that first tackle and breaking the gain-line. It is a hugely important facet of play in rugby and with so many bodies in and around the ball nowadays in gaelic football, it is a vital weapon in any team’s arsenal.

Teams can get frustrated when faced against a mass of bodies but those that display a bit of innovation and above all else patience can break it down. At Lansdowne Road on Saturday we unfortunately saw an Irish team bereft of ideas when faced with a compact defence, passing over and back with no incisiveness before eventually going long in hope. Donegal on the other hand are patient, try to work openings, make runs to create space for others and then go long if the defence has been dragged apart and there is sufficient space. Other times they drag the backline from one side of the field to the other and work a scoring chance from out wide – typified by the magnificent Odhran MacNiallais point in the opening period.

It is a great source of encouragement that the younger players on the team are stepping up and making big contributions. Along with MacNiallais, Martin O’Reilly capped a fine day with the killer second goal, showing great composure and intelligence to round the goalkeeper before firing to the net.

Ryan McHugh had a terrific game after being quieter than usual in Ballybofey four weeks ago. Armagh simply had no answer to his running ability and his trick of slowing down as he carries the ball towards a defender before instantly accelerating away once they try to make a tackle is becoming a feature of his game. Similar to Sean Cavanagh’s famous left to right jink, everyone knows the trick is coming but stopping it is a different story – they nearly always take the bait and are made to look very ordinary.

Somewhat inevitably Donegal's tempo decreased in the second half allowing Armagh to become a bit more of a threat on our goal. The Orchard men were in a real catch-22 situation after Donegal’s blitz start – they were well behind on the scoreboard and therefore needed to attack but also had to play more defensively as the half went on in an effort to stop Donegal. They did manage a couple of decent goal chances with Paul Durcan producing one brilliant stop to keep his clean sheet intact.

Once Donegal lost their target man McBrearty to a hamstring twinge, they played without any focal point in their attack with only O'Reilly occasionally up front.

It mattered little by that stage and a nine point winning margin at the end only told half the story of Donegal’s dominance. Rory will be delighted with having an easier than expected day in the sun especially with a short turnaround of thirteen days until the semi-final.

His cult following continues to grow too - even in the sweltering June heat there were a few of his famed bobble hats, made famous during the much cooler league, on show in the stand.

His managerial reign has got off to a great start and enormous credit must go to Donegal’s favourite Fermanagh man. The boys will resume training tomorrow night and all focus will switch to Derry. One thing will be certain - the Oakleaf County will not be as nascent in their thinking in Clones on June 27^th. They understand the template of how to beat Donegal and will have taken note of Armagh’s abysmal attempt at creating their own. It is unlikely that Derry will have the wherewithal to create a shock and indeed they won’t have many backers but certainly they will give Rory’s men the battle that they were expecting to be involved in yesterday. 

Dún na nGall Edge Orchard To Setup Dubs Showdown

The dream semi-final, the match that everyone wants to see is now a reality; though there looked to be a real chance of a nightmare unfolding for Donegal in the dying stages of yesterdays contest with Armagh.

Two wonderful points from the left pegs of Michael Murphy and Patrick McBrearty finally shook off an Orchard side who were behind for much of the game but looked to have timed their raid to perfection.

It was a patchy performance from Donegal, the overall unit not performing anywhere near the level it is capable of but there were some stirring individual displays. The McGee brothers were fantastic in the full back line while in front of them Frank McGlynn and Anthony Thompson put in incredible shifts.

Thompson won a huge amount of ball and in tandem with Neil Gallagher, was the source of so much of the side’s primary possession. Gallagher had another big game at midfield; Donegal just don’t function in the same way when he’s not on the pitch, he holds it all together around the middle and his fielding is a joy to watch. There were a few of Paul Durcan’s kick outs that went awry, on occasion kicking straight to unmarked Armagh men. Whether these were errors from Durcan or from the his men not making the correct run its hard to say but that particular facet of the game will be hugely important in the semi-final and Gallagher again will need to be at his best.

McGlynn meanwhile ran himself into the ground, attacking the left flank over and over again - he can’t have been far off leaving tracks in the Croke Park sod. With McGlynn raiding down the wing the central channel was the route taken by Leo McLoone. The Glenties man’s direct running and superb ball control has been a feature of this year’s Championship and with him being so comfortable off both feet he’s a nightmare for defenders trying to stop him.

While the aforementioned players and others of course all played their part, there was one man who stood taller than anyone else, captain Murphy. We’ve seen numerous exhibitions of football from the Maestro but yesterday was as good as he’s ever been from a leadership perspective. So often when Donegal ran into the Armagh defensive wall, the play slowed down as the team had to be patient and hold possession. Invariably it was Michael who would then inject some pace into a move, make a run, create something from nothing and his fingerprints were on almost every Donegal score.

His equaliser was a perfect example. Making a surge from deep he collected the ball at halfway before off loading; he continued his run and two passes later he was on Frank McGlynn’s shoulder to receive the ball and slot it over the bar with his left foot.

You could almost sense it amongst the team whenever they engaged in the patient, keep-ball build up – they were waiting until Michael got on the ball and then suddenly the runs were made, openings created.

Odhran MacNiallais continued his dream debut season of Championship football, scoring a well taken goal while also getting a crucial score after Armagh had taken the lead late on. He and Ryan McHugh have firmly put themselves in the frame for the Young Player of the Year gong, as well as All Stars. His goal came at a time when Donegal were struggling, content to stifle their opponents but not showing much inventiveness themselves. That changed after twenty minutes when Michael was pushed up alongside Colm McFadden in the full forward line. With that switch Armagh had to reorganise their defence with Charlie Vernon and Brendan Donaghy sharing responsibility for Murphy. The consternation he creates in opposition defences merely by his presence leads to space for others – within minutes of the switch being made, MacNiallais found room in behind and cracked his goal in off the upright.

From then on Donegal appeared to have the measure of Armagh with the Orchardmen reduced to initiating scraps and doing their best to get under Donegal’s skin. As Karl Lacey made his was off the field at halftime, Aidan Forker immediately ran towards him to give him a shunt and some pleasantries in his ear. Lacey looked bemused by the episode and by the childishness of Armagh.

Lacey had a quiet enough game after picking up an early injury; while you’d want to have your top players firing it is encouraging to see Donegal winning games knowing that there is more in the tank. McFadden is certainly a case in point – it is just not happening for him. In trying to make amends he’s probably trying even harder and trying to force things, going for shots that aren’t on. It would be a surprise to see him start the semi-final on the bench but you can be sure it will be discussed amongst the management team.

The third quarter surge that has been key to Donegal over recent years was evident again; the scoreboard was kept ticking over and they found themselves three points to the good as we approached the hour mark. Some wastefulness didn’t help matters and with a bit more composure the lead could have been a few points more.

Then came Armagh’s goal, very unlucky from Paul Durcan’s point of view, with the ball rebounding off the post and into the net off his foot. Armagh sensed blood and started to believe the game was theirs. Donegal though showed huge courage to get back into the game and get back in front, a real mark of seasoned champions.

Substitute Martin McElhinney showed great bravery and heart to throw himself onto a loose ball and guide it into the path of a team-mate in the build up to McBrearty’s winner. That type of play, putting your body on the line, will be required from every man that takes the field in the semi-final. McElhinney’s clubmate Christy Toye didn’t see much of the ball from an attacking sense put he was another who put in a huge amount of work. For large parts of the first half he was marking Aaron Kernan and he covered his runs diligently and sacrificed himself for the cause in attempting to negate one of Armagh’s main threats.

And so to what awaits in three weeks time. The Dubs will present a huge challenge. Many have said that Donegal are the only team that can potentially topple the juggernaut. That is probably true but it will still take the performance of our lives to make that happen. At times yesterday we got turned over in the Armagh half of the field when we were expecting to get frees – these little nuances of the game all have to improve, everything has to be lifted a notch.

Donegal will not have impressed many with their overall display yesterday and as such the team will be rank outsiders for the last four encounter. We’re winning games with our best finisher, McFadden, out of form and with other players who have another gear or two to find. Others though like McLoone, McHugh and Thompson are going above and beyond – is that enough to beat Dublin?

Jim has lost just three championship games as Donegal bainisteoir; with the Ulster Final win this year and now redemption in the quarter finals after last year’s horrow show, two of those three wrongs have been righted. Only one remains - Dublin in an All-Ireland semi-final. The game will represent the greatest test of the McGuinness system but no doubt it will be a task he will relish. A win would be his greatest achievement. 

Dun na nGall Raid the Orchard

A first McKenna Cup win against inter county opposition for Jim McGuinness today at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh and with it Donegal have given themselves a chance of semi-final spot. That’s largely irrelevant as regards the actual competition but an extra game or two would do his charges no harm at all.

There are still plenty of cobwebs to blow off before the National League commences and for large parts of this game Armagh had control and looked to be well on their way to victory. The introduction of Neil Gallagher in the second half proved decisive; prior to that the home side were dominating the exchanges around the middle but the Glenswilly man’s presence swung the pendulum the way of the green and gold.

Donegal had the better of the first quarter and were two points to the good despite playing into a swirling wind that made shooting very difficult. It seemed to take Armagh a while to realise how best to use the wind to their advantage but once they did they had their best spell of the game, registering four unanswered points; many of them efforts from distance carried over by the breeze.

The Orchard men were intent on not letting Donegal dictate the pace of the game. Paul Grimley encouraged his team to take all restarts as quickly as they good – in one case net-minder Philip McEvoy had taken a short kick out taken before the umpire had barely got his hands on his flag to signal a point for Michael Murphy.

Murphy was marked today by Charlie Vernon, a vastly experienced player but more noted for his midfield endeavours. Michael was brought out to centre forward early in the game and it would have been interesting to see how Vernon would have coped on the edge of the square as a relative rookie in the full-back spot. Instead he saw more of the ball in following Murphy out the field and this probably suited him and his teammates.

While Vernon and Armagh saw plenty possession in the first half they were rather ponderous with the ball and didn’t appear to have a definitive way to break down the Donegal defensive screen – only when they began to use the wind to good effect did the scoreboard begin to tick in their direction.

Buncrana youngster Darach O’Connor again made the starting fifteen and opened his Donegal account as well with the game’s first score. Even in the wet and heavy conditions his pace and power was evident but it will be on a drier sod and with a quicker tempo that he’ll really come into his own. Just as he did against Tyrone last week, he began to cramp up towards the end of today’s proceedings and its just goes to show the massive step up there is from minor to senior – O’Connor was replaced by fellow newcomer Stephen McLaughlin for the last few minutes.

Pace is the key differentiator in the modern game and because O’Connor possesses that he has every chance of making it at the top level. Other speed merchants such as today’s centurion Frank McGlynn, Karl Lacey and Leon Thompson (who was introduced at the break) can find it hard to discover their best form at this time of year but when Summer comes they eat up the yards.

The kick-out strategy on display last week wasn’t used as much today; the movement around the middle third was still taking place but things were much more crowded in that sector than they were in O'Donnell Park. Michael Boyle was between the sticks and he incurred the wrath of the home support on numerous occasions when taking his restarts. On placing the ball he’d pause to wait for a signal or a run from one of his midfielders or half forwards as to where the kick should go; this took up to a few seconds each time and the crowd were getting restless but again its all part of the work that is going on with the kick outs at training.

Armagh were much smarter with the ball after the short whistle; knowing that scoring from distance wasn’t an option against the wind they instead executed short kick passes to their inside forwards who took on their men at every opportunity and were rewarded with a couple of easy scores early in the second half; Robbie Tasker and Niall McConville were both particularly impressive with ball in hand.

It was here that Donegal really missed Paddy McGrath. While Eamon McGee, Frank McGlynn and today Declan Walsh all have experience of playing corner-back, McGrath is the only specialist in this position in the panel. The Ardara man has resumed training following his groin surgery and the sooner we see him back the better.

Of course Karl Lacey has two All-Stars as a corner back but those days seem to behind him; today he was stationed at wing back and it was encouraging to see him in action after so many different injury problems over the past year.

Armagh held their lead for most of the second half but when Colm McFadden netted after a goal mouth scramble the visitors sensed an opportunity. It was Murphy and Odhran MacNiallais who stood up to be counted in the closing stretch; the Gaoth Dobhair man produced a massive last ten minutes to get his side over the line. First he cleanly fetched a McEvoy kick-out and immediately off-loaded to his captain who split the posts from 40 yards.

Murphy then scored a wonderful free soon after to put his team one point to the good – the effort was from the ground on the far touchline on the 21-yard line and it sailed over the black spot. MacNiallais would have the final word as he registered Donegal’s final two points to cap an excellent individual performance and put the seal on a two point win for McGuinness’men.

While it was good to get the win, the positives were in the chances given to players such as Thompson, Gallagher and David Walsh, the Naomh Brid clubman making a real difference when introduced; they all need game time as they work their way back from injuries or in Thompson’s case, get used to the rigours of inter county football again. MacNiallais and O’Connor got another game under their belts while we will likely see more from Malin’s McLaughlin in the coming weeks.

The final Section A fixtures take place this coming Wednesday and Donegal are well positioned for a crack at the last four.  It might well be a night for the calculators with score difference likely to be the deciding factor; as it stands now Donegal could conceivably finish anywhere from 1^st to 4th in the group.