Six of the Best as Donegal Reach Final

“Donegal are back!” So uttered Dessie Dolan on RTE Radio after last night’s encounter at Breffni Park. 

Well Dessie, we hadn’t gone anywhere ya know!

Donegal have qualified for a sixth successive Ulster Final and that is a terrific achievement. Four of those of course were under Jim so for that streak to carry on as it has, Rory deserves huge credit. This was also his first time beating Monaghan since he became manager, at the fifth time of asking.

As one point wins go, this was a fairly comprehensive one; Donegal led inside a minute and bar a brief period where the sides were level after Conor McManus’ penalty, they led throughout.

Donegal made hard work of the victory in a contest where they were always the better team. The first goal was a crazy one to concede as everyone fell asleep once a free-in was awarded. Some of the players even went over to the sideline to get instructions from Rory as if there was a break in play but with the ball in his hands McManus was the most alert man on the field.

The second goal was certainly contentious – inside or outside the box? Black card or not? Anthony Thompson or Eoin McHugh? The black card was surely the harshest out of all the calls; there was no doubt that a foul was committed but a deliberate act of cynical play? It was guesswork from Maurice Deegan and his guess went against Thompson, who appeared to do his best in trying to get a hand on the ball.

Aside from the goals, the first half belonged to Donegal. It was as good a thirty-five minutes of football as we’ve seen in the Championship since the famous win over the Dubs.

They ran incessantly at the Farney defence, finding plenty of gaps and crucially took their chances through the likes of Rory Kavanagh, Thompson and Martin McElhinney.

There could have been even more joy on the scoreboard as on numerous occasions, Donegal attacked down the left wing but usually ended up with a right footed player on the end of the run, unprepared to take a punt off his weaker left.

The middle sector of the field, where most of Donegal’s surges came from, was dominated by McElhinney, McGlynn and Martin O’Reilly. The latter has improved steadily since Rory took charge but he managed to find another level of performance, finishing the game with 0-3 and was the outstanding player on the field. O’Reilly also played a vital role in negating the effect of Karl O’Connell and his subdued evening was a major factor in his team’s demise.

McGlynn gave yet another masterclass in how to play against modern defences. He has the innate ability to know when to hold onto the ball and when to slow the game down. Then suddenly in an instant, he can inject some pace, change the angle of attack, move up a gear or two and pierce a hole in a defensive line. His intelligence in possession makes him such a valuable player and he is reminiscent of the great Denis Irwin – Mr Consistent. McGlynn rarely, if ever, dips below a seven out of ten rating and very often goes beyond that.

One man who did as much moving as anyone, when he was let, was Maxi Curran. It was a bit like Paddy McGrath’s battle with McManus as the linesman played the role of the back, not letting Maxi out of his sight. 

The sideline official didn’t fare as well as McGrath though as several lapses in concentration let the Downings man run free across the Breffni pitch, much to the angst of the Monaghan crowd in the stands.  

A particularly pleasing aspect of the win was that the team was able to produce such an accomplished performance despite a number of frontline men being kept reasonably quiet in open play. Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty, Odhran MacNiallais and Ryan McHugh were all well marked but the supporting cast stepped up to the plate.

Ryan was shadowed throughout by Ryan McAnespie, who generally ignored the ball and instead eyeballed McHugh and did everything he could to block his runs and time on the ball.

Eoin was also stifled to a degree and indeed it was the elder statesman of the McHugh clan, Mark, who made the biggest impact on proceedings following his introduction when replacing Thompson. He scored a fine long range point early in the second half and put in a huge shift of running up and down the field.

In spite of all this, there was a sense that Donegal could not shake Monaghan off and some fantastic scores from distance kept Malachy O’Rourke’s team right on the coat tails of their rivals.

For the closing stages, as the pressure was ratcheted up, Mark Anthony McGinley sent nearly all his restarts down on top of Murphy and Vinny Corey and it was the Glenswilly man who got his hands to most. A few fumbles and dispossessions though from his teammates and Monaghan were able to attack from deep and with five minutes of added time announced it made for a tense finale. Five minutes this week and six last week – another example of the GAA making a mess of something they try to improve, the idea being that each substitution now leads to time added on but with twelve replacements permitted it will lead to every game having four of five minutes added, which is too many.

It would have been daylight robbery had Donegal not come away with the win and they now deservedly take their place in the provincial showpiece in a fortnight’s time. Murphy commented afterwards that this display wont count for much unless they can repeat it in the final.

It will be an early start for the faithful on July 17^th with the minors pencilled in for a high noon start against Derry. Its a great problem to have though, two teams in Clones on Ulster Final Day.

Battle Ends Level, War Resumes Next Week

Honours even then in Cavan but the performances of both teams were closer to a pass level. Neither team played to their potential, though in a contest between two bitter rivals perhaps that was to be expected. There was never going to be free flowing football on show and tactics would always dominate the narrative but even accounting for all that, both teams will know they can deliver much more.

Donegal probably produced their best display against Monaghan since the Ulster Final of 2014 and seemed to have a much better handle on how to hurt their opponents offensively than in previous games. The fact that the game was played on the wider expanses of Breffni Park rather than St Tiernach's in Clones is certainly to Donegal’s benefit in this regard.

On a number of occasions in the first half, they were close to breaking through the Farney defensive shield and looked to be in on goal but sloppy final passes or inopportune slips proved detrimental.

Overall Donegal’s finishing was very poor throughout and will be a source of huge frustration for the lads; management of course have to look at the positives and as such will be pleased that so many opportunities were created – making them count is objective number one next weekend.

Defensively, Donegal were content to setup extremely narrowly, giving Monaghan free rein on the flanks. This worked well in the first half but it did allow Monaghan’s players ample space to run into when collecting Rory Beggan’s kickouts and meant the full court press employed by Donegal became somewhat redundant.

At the other end, the vast majority of Mark Anthony McGinley’s restarts went long and while his team-mates got their hands to a lot of these, for long stretches it was Monaghan players picking up the breaks from any knock downs. McGinley performed well and commanded his own box whenever danger threatened; his play-acting antics towards the end of the game though we can do without.

Just before that incident, confusion reigned as Christy Toye supposedly entered the fray for the excellent Rory Kavanagh. Kavanagh was on his goal line defending a free kick at the time and remained on the pitch along with Toye so Donegal were briefly restored to their full complement of fifteen for one passage of play, following Martin McElhinney’s earlier dismissal.

Regardless of what game plan is employed, it is clear that Monaghan are a nuisance for these Donegal players. They don’t like playing against these fellas. From early on, the players were in the ears of the umpires, linesmen and referee Joe McQuillan himself about what they were being subjected to off the ball but their claims fell on deaf ears. It is no more than every team puts up with but their grate at Monaghan having an edge over them is clear. There is one way to fix that of course – win the replay.

Michael Murphy is the prime example of this; no matter what he tries against those blue and white jerseys, nothing seems to go right for him. The harder he tries the unluckier he gets.

He is usually bottled up in Ulster matches and tends to spend his time roaming in the middle third but in a clever move by Rory Gallagher, he was stationed on the edge of the square for long periods and did plenty of damage from open play.

At one stage in the first half, the captain did brilliantly to control and collect a long ball one-handed; he followed it up with a fabulous dummy to create space for a shot but his footing gave way at the vital second and the chance was gone. Typical.

Surprisingly it was with his dead ball striking that Michael did struggle but that can happen to even very the best and is one of those things. If the team has an important, pressure free, he’s still the man you’d want standing over it.

One man who didn’t have a problem with his free taking was Conor McManus. The ace finisher was lethal from frees, racking up seven over the course of the match along with one trademark effort from play. Seven scoreable frees, plus another couple that he missed, is far too many to be giving away and the defensive discipline must improve.

What makes his points haul even more infuriating is that he was otherwise having a relatively quiet game. Paddy McGrath didn’t let him out of his sight for the entire match.

McGrath was certainly one of Rory's better match-ups but he has to yet to find a solution in stopping Karl O'Connell. The wing-back turned midfielder was immense again yesterday, as he was in last year's provincial decider.

McManus’ kicks kept his team ticking over on the scoreboard and in a matter of second half minutes the game went from a tight, inseparable battle to Monaghan suddenly opening up a three point lead.

McElhinney’s expulsion made matters even worse for Donegal and a result almost looked beyond the team at that stage. They persevered though and huge credit has to go to the players for getting back into the game and it was the goal machine himself, Odhran MacNiallais, who got the pivotal score to haul his side back into the mix.

In a frantic finish, both teams might have thought that the game was both won and lost at different times but in the end ice-cool McManus ensured the shares were spoiled.

The Ulster Championship is a tough slog at the best of times. Replays will now take place next weekend on both sides of the draw and the eventual winners will certainly have earned the title the hard way. For the three other teams, it means a futile battle fought in trying to claim the Anglo Celt and will make it very difficult for them to make a serious impression on the All-Ireland series. That is looking fairly far ahead though, for now there’s no need to look past the weekend, when both teams will once again go to war.

Donegal Into Last Four Despite Fourth Defeat

The packed stand at St Mary’s Park roared their approval at the final whistle yesterday as their Monaghan team managed to cling onto their Division One status. Donegal on the other hand weren’t sure how to react - a fourth successive defeat but such was the fantastic form shown in the early weeks of the competition, their score difference comfortably saw them into the semi finals.

Those who travelled to Castleblayney were treated to a rip-roaring battle played in a beautiful setting; the massive field crouched below the main stand gives spectators a great view of the action. Monaghan have honed their game plan specifically to the tighter environs of Clones over the past few years - that is partly to blame for their failure to win big games once they reach Croker – and despite the logistical reason provided for the switch in venue a few weeks ago, perhaps they didn’t want to give Donegal any unnecessary practice at St Tiernach’s Park in case it might stage a potential Ulster Semi-Final in the offing in June.

Many Donegal folk would have passed the pitch on the old Dublin road over the years, before the town was bypassed. The Glencarn always provided a welcome break and a mighty breakfast for the convoy of buses transporting the faithful on those all too seldom journeys to Croke Park.

Donegal got to grips with the new surroundings very quickly, racing into a seven point lead in the first quarter. Martin McElhinney powered home the all-important goal, finishing an incisive move, one of many that troubled the hosts’ rear-guard.

The old adage of being vulnerable after scoring unfortunately proved true and despite the best efforts of the Donegal defence moments later, Daniel McKenna eventually finished to the net after his initial shot was blocked.

For the most part, certainly in that first half, Donegal performed well at midfield. It has been a problem area throughout the spring but with both teams pushing up on the others kick out, we saw a lot of old fashioned, up the middle restarts and the visitors were the ones who profited.

Patrick McBrearty and his forward colleagues did brilliantly in splitting defenders to ensure that Rory Beggan’s short options were cut out and he was forced to go long.

At times there was a fairly similar shape to the Donegal defence as was seen against The Dubs last week but there was an obvious intent in committing more players to attack. After going back to basics, it is a case of step by step and we’d expect much more endeavour to be on display in Croke Park next week than was shown on Easter Saturday.

1-7 was a decent return from the first half but in truth it could have and should have been more. Despite numerous turnovers and counter-attacking opportunities, there was a hesitant element to Donegal’s play when arriving inside Monaghan’s 45m line. That continued throughout the second half and played a big role in the end result.

Donegal’s profligacy coupled with the impressive McKenna at full forward kept Monaghan within touching distance and that was all they needed to do - their final point of the game saw them hit the front for the one and only time all day.

McKenna was being marked by Neil McGee and it was interesting to note that he wasn’t giving the task of shackling Conor McManus – possibly another example of one eye on the Summer and keeping bird and prey apart until then.

Frank McGlynn’s return was a big plus for Rory Gallagher with the Glenfin man making such a difference to his team’s general play. His composure, pace and assuredness on the ball are vital to initiating attacks.

All of those important traits deserted Donegal in the closing stages however as Monaghan produced a huge late surge to preserve their Division One status. Decision-making of any standard disappeared as time and again the wrong option was taken – ball taken into contact, hand passes delayed unnecessarily, bad shot selection – all gifting possession back to a ravenous Monaghan back line.

Michael Murphy was stripped of the ball in the tackle several times in the final minutes – when have we ever seen that? Murphy generally struggles against Monaghan and sure enough before throw-in his old buddy Vinny Corey was a late addition to the starting line-up with a brief to keep him company for the afternoon. Colm McFadden is another who has struggled against this opposition and his wild strike from the wing in stoppage time summed up his team’s approach in the final quarter.

One man who didn't struggle was Ryan McHugh, who put in yet another exceptional performance. Worryingly, his cousin Eoin went off with what looked like a bad hamstring injury; he had also produced a fine display and has become such an integral part of the team that any doubts over his fitness for next week will surely see him excused so as not to aggravate anything further before Championship.

Donegal were punished for their waywardness and when McManus drew the sides level, the visitors would have certainly taken a point having gone over twenty five minutes without scoring. The Faughs branch of the Farney Army demanded more though and Colin Walshe was the man to deliver the point that kept his side up.

Kieran Hughes became more of a threat in that frantic closing stanza, pushing up on the excellent Hugh McFadden, Donegal’s designated sweeper, and having a much bigger impact than he had in the previous hour.

While that point from Walshe was crucial for Monaghan, had Donegal held on for a draw or managed a win the outcome would have been the same regardless of the final score – fourth place in the table and a last four date with Dublin. Granted a positive result would have relegated our fierce rivals, always a satisfying prize but Monaghan are without doubt a top tier team so it is only right that they keep their place amongst the elite.

Despite the negative criticism that both of these teams can often receive due to their style of play, today was a real traditional bruising encounter and a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon for those present. Referee, Rory Hickey, deserves credit for letting most things go for most of the game, which added to the contests’ pace and physicality, although he did seem a bit more whistle-happy as the game reached its conclusion.

It all means that both teams play Division One football next year and that Donegal will make a trip back to Headquarters for another crack at the league and All-Ireland holders. It also means that in three league and championship attempts, Rory has yet to get the better of his fellow Fermanagh man Malachy O’Rourke. That is a statistic that will need to change in the coming months if his charges are to regain the Anglo-Celt.

Donegal Fall to the Farney Army

Simply a bad day at the office or a sign that all is not well? There are arguments for both when looking at all of the different aspects of today’s Ulster Final but we won’t know the definitive answer for another few weeks.

What is not in doubt is that Monaghan were the sharper, hungrier team today and despite a valiant comeback, the last few fingers clinging onto the Anglo Celt cup eventually slipped off.

All pre-match predictions forecasted a tight game with nothing much expected to separate the teams and so it proved.

Donegal, as they have done regularly this year, started well and posted three early points from play through Patrick McBrearty, Karl Lacey and Frank McGlynn. There were plenty of players breaking forward - Eamonn McGee in particular was marauding towards the town end goal, setting the agenda with his marker Kieran Hughes, daring the Scotstown powerhouse to follow him.

All seemed to be going according to plan at the other end too with good hassling and pressure put on the ball carrier while there was some wonderful blocks put in, including two fabulous shutdowns from Christy Toye.

The transition to counter attack was slick and Donegal made numerous incisions into enemy territory in the opening quarter but once there they became ponderous, began to over elaborate with intricate passing and inevitably Monaghan started turning the ball over. Turnovers are like fuel in the modern game, each time a team successfully stops an attack and takes possession they find a bit more in the legs, the crowd gets up and there’s always an extra runner or two committed to the offensive effort. The partisan home crowd thrived off these incidents and it conversely sapped the enthusiasm and energy from those in green and gold, both in the stands and out on the field.

In recent contests between these sides, most notably in last year’s league final, Monaghan have been superb at shooting from distance against the blanket and again today they chalked up a few mammoth scores. It was in stark contrast to Donegal’s shooting in the second half which was woeful - and that is putting it mildly.

At no stage during the opening exchanges, when Donegal were in control, was there any hint of panic from the men in blue and white. They were completely focused on the task in hand and stuck rigidly to their plan. Their evergreen defender Dessie Mone hit an absolute stinker of a wide early on, the ball screwing wildly off his foot, yet soon after he backed himself when presented with another opportunity and delivered a glorious score. He epitomised the attitude of Monaghan and they just looked that bit more clued in throughout the seventy minutes.

Another who exploded into life following a quiet start was Conor McManus. Clontibret’s finest is up there with Michael Murphy, Diarmuid Connolly, James O’Donoghue et al as the games’ leading forwards and he showed his class with six points. His marker Neil McGee was intent on roughing him up from the first whistle and the pair were involved in a couple of flashpoints before eventually being booked. This didn’t perturb McManus who went about his business and kicked over point after point. At one stage in the second half, McManus attacked up the left wing with McGee and Paddy McGrath in tow. The defensive pair did everything right – didn’t allow McManus to get past them, forced him out wide; half the job was done, now they had dispossess him or force him to pass. Inexplicably, the duo let McManus turn back, find a yard of space and drill the ball over the bar. It was a most un-Donegal sequence of play and one which will be raised when the video analysis is carried out amongst the squad this week.

It’s quite a while since we’ve seen McGee on the end of such a run around, particularly in the Ulster Championship, and you can be sure the three-time All Star will be determined not to let it happen again.

The ‘roughing up’ was obviously a deliberate tactic and you’d have to wonder is it worth it or does it work? Glenswilly’s Murphy was quite simply ‘McMahoned’ against Tyrone yet stepped up to dispatch the last three points in a three point win. Dublin had three men marking McManus at certain stages of their league semi-final in Croke Park earlier this year yet he still scored 0-8 and came away with the man of the match award. Maybe defenders are better off focusing on the ball more than the man.

Donegal spluttered and stammered their way through the second half and despite wide after wide stayed in the game. Monaghan only scored three times in the second half as they dug the trenches in front of their goal and were prepared to hold what they had. That task was helped by some horrid shooting from the likes of Martin McElhinney and Odhran MacNiallais but of course in previous games in this campaign those two and many others were splitting the posts from all angles. Maybe it was just one of those days.

There is so much analysis and meticulous studying of games these days yet quite often a bit of luck here and there can have a big influence on games. Karl Lacey went off early in the second half, whether it was an injury or a tactical switch is not known, either way it didn’t help his team’s cause. The heavy strapping on Captain Murphy’s right knee suggested all is not right with the Maestro and Vinny Corey certainly had an easier day that he would have been anticipating.

History can also play a factor in these jousts; even though there has been an intense rivalry building up between both teams over recent years, the truth is that Donegal have a wretched record against the Farney Army.

So even with luck and history not quite on Donegal’s side today, the team very nearly snatched a draw or could maybe even have got a win. A large part of the comeback and the fact that the gap was closed to the minimum was down to the Kilcar contingent. Ryan and Mark McHugh along with McBrearty were immense in the second half with the brothers taking responsibility time and again in collecting possession and trying to find gaps in the Monaghan rearguard. They won frees, took the hits and went back for more.

At half time the likely message from Rory Gallagher and his backroom team was to shoot on sight. It would keep the score board ticking over while also drawing out the Monaghan back line. As the wides mounted, Rory was short on options and it is clear he needs to work on his team’s attacking shape. With Colm McFadden misfiring, Darach O’Connor and Martin O’Reilly became the Donegal full forward line. Two small, fast players who could normally cause defences all sorts of problems but with so little room in front of the Monaghan goal and physically imposing defenders beside them, the pair were on a hiding to nothing. O’Reilly did make some brilliant runs from deep when he came out the field for the ball and even looked to have the slightest chance for a goal at one stage before he won a free for McBrearty to tap over.

While the county held its collective breath as McBrearty’s last gasp effort hung in the Clones sky, in truth a replay would have spelt the end of All-Ireland ambitions for the eventual losers. Had we been travelling back to Clones next weekend for a replay, it would have meant one of the teams would have faced a qualifier the week after followed possibly by a quarter final – four matches on four successive weekends would have taken its toll. As it stands Donegal have a potential fixture list of three games in four weeks; still a tough itinerary but manageable. At the start of the year, the last eight is where every team wants to be and Donegal will still expect to be there.

The road is now mapped out in front of Donegal – Galway in two weeks time and while the Tribesmen are an up and coming force, a fully functioning system should be too much for them. Should the qualifier hurdle be cleared, Mayo lie in wait, just as they did two years when the Ulster title was last surrendered. For the first time under his stewardship, Rory is now under pressure. How he and his team respond over the weeks ahead may well define his tenure.

For Monaghan, it’s show time. They’ve collected a second provincial crown in three years, now they have to ask themselves the question – is that it or have they the wherewithal to go the distance? It’s going to be an interesting August.