Donegal Crash Out As Only One Tribe Goes To War

Shambles. Embarrassing. Flat. Stale. Capitulation.

All these words and more have been used to describe what happened at Markievicz Park and in scrutinising the game on its own they’re pretty accurate.

The year as a whole also has to be looked at though and while it may seem that the team is hurtling towards rock bottom, there are some signs for hope.

None of these signs are based on what we saw on Saturday obviously.

The lack of intensity, particularly in defence, was the most striking take away from the match. Tomas O’Se mentioned during The Sunday Game, that there was no divilment or menace in Donegal’s defending and he was spot on.

The opening goal was a case in point. Sean Armstrong collected the ball in the corner with Kieran Gillespie for company. Armstrong showed strength and power to work his way in along the end-line and a couple of hand passes later the ball was in the net. In years gone by, with a spiteful Donegal defence at its peak, the Galway forward would have been unceremoniously hauled down or else would have been put out over the line.

Donegal, as they have had in most games in the Championship, had plenty of bodies back but most were chasing shadows, marking space, not effecting the play. A blanket defence is meant to suffocate the opposition; when it’s not utilised correctly it is useless.

While Gaelic Football has changed almost irrevocably in the last decade there's only so much it can change - the pitch is still the same size and the number of players on the field hasn't changed. And old adages remain too – if you’re not up for it and your opponent is, there’s only going to be one winner.

There has been much talk about how Rory Gallagher has gone about changing Donegal’s style of play. There have been tweaks but nothing radical. The team, as was abundantly evident in Sligo, are more open than before but the large numbers behind the ball remain. So that is not a change of tactic but rather a change of attitude or more pertinently – a lack of experience.

Our players don’t yet have the know-how or the competency to play with the manic aggression needed at this level. They also don’t yet have the physicality. The important word here is yet. We’ve seen these players at underage level, there is talent there but when moving from underage to senior that talent is only potential. It takes time to nurture and develop it.

The main tweak Rory has made to the team’s shape is that he has committed more men to the middle third and sacrificed a player or two at either end of the field. As a result, Paddy McGrath and Neil McGee at one end and Paddy McBrearty at the other are at times isolated.

As the conditioning of the debutants introduced this year improves over the winter the gaps between midfield and either end of the pitch will reduce.

Management must become more definitive in their gameplan though. Panic substitutions have been the order of the day in both big reversals this summer, while at other times, against Antrim for example, the team’s defence has started without a sweeper before one has been introduced.

If Donegal are to be a compact, aggressive defensive team then fine. If they are to be a bit more expansive and pacey then fine. But the objective must be clear.

While all these aspects in relation to the younger players can and will improve, there is one component that will be difficult to alter and will be the biggest task facing Gallagher and his management team – expectation.

As a county, Donegal has not recovered from double whammy of All-Ireland Final day in 2014. Between the senior and minor matches that day, a large number of the current squad were involved and on the big days since they’ve got to know even better that greatest of imposters, defeat.

Two Senior Ulster Finals, a Minor All-Ireland Semi-Final and an U21 All-Ireland Semi-Final have all seen opportunities passed up in bringing silverware to the Hills.

Granted underage Ulster titles have been annexed in amongst all those and they’re the reason why there is still optimism that the likes of Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Jason McGee and Ciaran Thompson can grow into top level inter-county operators.

Saturday was reminiscent of that awful September day three years ago because the general feeling going in on both occasions was that Donegal would win. Drawing Galway was seen as favourable and there was an outside chance of reaching the last four. Whatever about supporters getting carried away and looking ahead players have to focus on the game in front of them. It’s the tough reality but that’s how it works.

Perhaps the most distressing part of Saturday’s loss was the sense of déjà vu. For many years in a time before Jim, we went along to games in trepidation because anything was possible – and not in a good way. Anything often meant heavy beatings.

Those days were often defined by ill-discipline and as each black card was brandished at the weekend, it felt like we were going back in time.

No one wants to go back and for now it’s best to look forward. All we can hope for is that in years to come we can look back on 2017 as a year that formed many of these players’ characters and where lessons were learned.

Jim used to say ‘every day is a school day’ and we’ve had a fair few of late.

Donegal Survive Battle Royal to Beat Meath

That was more like it. Donegal were still a long way short of their best in edging out Meath on Saturday night but there were pointers of improvement from their two previous outings.

Many of the traits associated with this team showed signs of reappearing – committing numbers to attack, intensity in defence, quick transfer of the ball in tight spaces – and while this was far from a blemish-free display, they left with what they came for, the win.

After the dull football witnessed by the masses in Ballybofey a week previously, this felt much more like a Championship encounter; a sun drenched Summer Saturday evening in the glorious setting of Pairc Tailteann.

The game was tight and claustrophobic to being with. The teams were feeling each other out. Slowly but surely it was the visitors who took control and the scores started to come.

Mark Anthony McGinley had success early on in finding his players with his short restarts. Meath attempted to push up but there was often a man free on the edge of the D. Anytime the hosts managed to cover all options and McGinley was forced to go long, the Meath midfield, led superbly by Bryan Menton, were winning the middle third battle.

The dependency on going short was illustrated with Meath’s first point from play. As the ball hung in the air on its way goalwards, McGinley rushed around his right hand post to grab a ball and his kicking tee, getting ready for the impending kick-out.

Unbeknownst to the St  Michael’s netminder, the ball was to strike the upright and could have easily landed in front of his unguarded goal. Fortunately the ball went over after the bar after striking the post.

It provides an insight into the ongoing problems facing Donegal – if they’re forced to kick long they’re vulnerable.

As usual though in purely goalkeeping terms, McGinley was excellent. One crucial moment in the game happened in the first half; as a Meath shot looked to be dropping over the bar, McGinley rose high to claw the effort away and prevented what seemed a certain point. In a game of such tight margins it was a magnificent piece of play.

Meath rallied before half time to grab the last two points of the opening exchanges, the sides going in level after Donegal had probably been the better side.

Youngsters Jason McGee and Caolán Ward had been Donegal’s best performers in that first half with McGee helping himself to two well taken points in the process.

Another plus was Kieran Gillespie’s contribution. He’s had a frustrating time with injuries but everyone is well aware of the quality and ruggedness he brings to the table and getting the full seventy minutes under his belt bodes well.

In the second half, it was the established brigade who made the difference. Michael Murphy was immense around the middle and despite having an off day with his free taking, the captain played a huge role in the win.

In the congested centrefield area, when plenty Donegal players were happy to pass the ball on, Murphy on a few occasions drove through the Meath rearguard and either scored or setup up opportunities for his team mates.

Others like Ryan McHugh and match winner Paddy McBrearty were outstanding. The Kilcar duo seemed to thrive in the high pressure environment, delivering when it mattered most.

McHugh hasnt been his normal stunning self in the last few matches, somewhat understandable given that he’s barely put a foot wrong since his breakthrough young player of the year winning season in 2014. A dip at some stage was perhaps inevitable but he produced a massive final quarter in Navan, starting and finishing the move for the crucial goal.

While form can be a fickle thing with footballers, it doesn’t seem to apply to one man – Paddy McGrath. Once again, he had a fantastic match, this time charged with keeping tabs on one of the country’s most accomplished finishers, Graham Reilly.

In the second half, Reilly simply could not break free from McGrath’s shackles. The one and only time the Meath captain managed to get into a half yard of space for an attempt on goal, McGrath flung himself at the shot, the ball flying high into the evening sky and not even reaching the endline such was the pressure applied.

McGrath knew that he was inside Reilly’s head by this stage. When the psychological battle has been won by a defender, a forward will almost always snatch at the chance when it comes his way.

McHugh’s goal seemed to have finally broken the home team’s resistance but the Royals to their credit refused to lie down and responded almost immediately. The two goals were similar in the creation, both teams running the ball through traffic before finding the opening.

It was encouraging to see three Donegal players getting in behind the Meath defence and in a position to finish the chance; a sign that the energy and drive were back after being absent in the last two games.

Meath got the next point after their equalising major and the outcome was in doubt to the end as the embers began to fade on what was a stirring championship bout.

Karl Lacey was brought on to steady the ship and in being a complete and utter nuisance in slowing Meath down in the dying seconds, he played his part. When the final whistle is blown on Donegal’s season, presumably it will also signal the end of Lacey’s illustrious county career.

The Four Masters legend obviously didn’t want it to end in the qualifiers and so he stood in front of Paddy O’Rourke’s kickout following McBrearty’s winner and then promptly dragged back a Meath defender when the kick was taken to earn himself a yellow card. Dark arts indeed.

The final shrill of the referee’s whistle sounded soon after and Donegal were through. Galway await in Round 4 and despite a tough, sobering summer one win is all that’s required for a place in the Quarter Finals.

If the same rate of improvement that occurred from Longford to Meath, can accrue from Meath to Galway then Rory Gallagher will be confident his charges can seal their place in Croke Park.

A Point a Piece in Ballyshannon Battle

Donegal only have themselves to blame after seeing a three point lead evaporate with Conor McManus’ coolly taken stoppage-time penalty in Fr Tierney Park yesterday.

The home team were in control for most of the second half, repelling the Farney attacks with relative ease while giving the umpire with the white flag enough to do at the other end.

The breeze played a big part in proceedings, as it usually does at the venue perched high above Ballyshannon below. Both team’s shooting was erratic with neither able to judge the wind with any degree of confidence.

Even taking the elements into consideration, there was no excuse for some of the poor striking technique on show. Donegal’s first half waywardness was in stark contrast to the economical nature of the returns garnered last week by the banks of The Finn.

Micheal Carroll’s early goal set the hosts on their way and it was a vital score to have in the bank such was the amount of subsequent chances squandered during the remainder of the half.

Carroll's effort and work rate off the ball has been encouraging in the games so far but in most games his finishing has let him down; he made no mistake this time, drilling the ball under Rory Beggan despite being fouled as he struck the ball.

Michael Murphy has mucked in at midfield alongside Carroll, doing plenty of selfless work but he was back in the familiar role of chief scorer. The big man finished up with 0-7 which included three delightful scores from play, his first from open country in 2017.

Monaghan didn’t let the early goal concession affect them though and with Jack McCarron on song they didn’t take long to wrestle the lead from their familiar foes.

McCarron gained the upper hand on Neil McGee and with the Gaoth Dobhair man picking up a yellow card before half-time a change was needed. McGee’s clubmate Ciaran Gillespie was introduced for his first taste of league action this year and made a terrific impact. He’s a tigerish defender, mad to attack the ball and now that he appears to be over his recent hamstring trouble, could prove to be an important player over the summer months.

Another man making his return from injury was Paddy McBrearty and he was gleefully greeted by the 6,000+ crowd on his introduction in the second half. This was the Kilcar sharpshooter’s first appearance since coming off with a groin problem in Hyde Park and he made up for lost time, stroking over two fine points.

McBrearty initially played quite deep which didn’t help the Donegal attack as it allowed Monaghan to push out and clog up the middle of the pitch. Time and again runners were turned over, with Eoin McHugh in particular losing possession several times. When McBrearty moved closer to goal he took a couple of defenders with him and Donegal built a decent lead in this period which should have been enough to see them home.

With McCarron’s influence waning and Paddy McGrath keeping tabs on McManus, the two league points looked a safe bet.

Holding a three point margin, Donegal became a wee bit lackadaisical in their shooting. A few shots drifted to the wrong sides of the uprights, many of them lazy efforts lacking in conviction.

There was nothing absent from McManus’ penalty, awarded following a Martin McElhinney foul on Kieran Hughes. Out of nowhere, Monaghan suddenly secured a point they scarcely merited. It meant Donegal GAA ended the week on somewhat of a downer following brilliant senior and U21 wins over Tyrone.

By that stage, the team had lost Ryan McHugh to an ankle problem and it’s unlikely he’ll be seeing any action in Castlebar next week. Once he’s fit and well for June, that’s all that matters. McHugh had a frustrating afternoon getting constantly dragged and fouled off the ball; he’s probably getting used to it at this stage but it still doesn’t make it any less infuriating.

McHugh was the second player carried off after a worrying incident early on when Ryan McAnespie collided with Hugh McFadden. McAnespie was taken to hospital with suspected concussion.

The wellbeing of sporting stars in the North West has been brought into sharp focus this week of course. There was an uneasy hush around Lansdowne Road on Friday night as the medics treated Seamus Coleman and the messages of goodwill that he has received since shows his standing in the game. Captain, leader and legend.

At the complete other end of the spectrum of tragedy was the passing of Derry’s Ryan McBride. A young man in the prime of his life taken away.

It makes no sense. Life often doesn’t.

McBrearty Breaks Rebel Resistance

Donegal have cleared the qualifier hurdle once again and are back in an All-Ireland quarter final. Its probably taken for granted a bit now, it being our sixth on the spin but its an important milestone nonetheless. The fact that Dublin lie in wait frames the magnitude of it.

At times it was a struggle and the inevitable Ulster Final hangover was evident early on. Once the line was breached with Paul Kerrigan’s goal, the Donegal players upped the ante and dipped into their vast reservoirs of experience, grit and determination to haul themselves back into the game. And of course, there was a certain man by the name of Patrick McBrearty to play a leading role.

From the first ball that Paddy got into his hands, he was in the zone. Regardless of distance or angle, he fancied everything he hit to sail over the bar. A case in point was his second half strike when he shot with his back to goal, instinctively guiding the ball over his right shoulder and splitting the posts. It was a sensational display to witness.

Part of the reason for the space McBrearty was able to find was due to Michael Murphy having two Cork players for company. Their sweeper sat in front of Murphy, leaving swathes of open country elsewhere in the forward line.

Usually when the team reaches Headquarters, Murphy gets freed from the claustrophobic marking of Ulster and flourishes in more space and more direct ball from his team mates. His displays against Galway and Mayo this time last year were vintage Murphy. Yesterday though, in the opening quarter, the lads out the field seemed over anxious to get the ball into him and ended up playing a lot of poor passes. Michael found the going tough thereafter and one party piece aside – a delightful point with the outside of his boot – he didn’t have a major impact on proceedings. Hopefully he’s saving something special for next week.

McBrearty’s brilliance kept Donegal in the match in the first half as the team found it difficult to win possession such was Alan O’Connor’s dominance at midfield. An obvious height advantage over Odhran MacNiallais allowed O’Connor to win ample ball when Cork went long with their restarts. MacNiallais did manage to break some ball but Cork’s runners were more alert and picked up most of these.

Donegal couldn’t cope with the second wave of runners coming from deep and Cork racked up some handy scores in a period of ascendancy. They found it extremely easy to cut through Donegal’s defence and this aspect of play will be Rory’s main worry as Dublin loom large on the horizon.

Cork simply ran up the middle with those in front of the ball carrier making made runs out to the wings, leaving the man in possession with ample space to drive in to. Straight forward enough ploy but it took Donegal quite a while to figure it out.

When Cork were forced to go short on their own kickouts, Donegal had a bit more joy and that led to a change of tact after half time. The instruction was clear – let them have it. Donegal retreated to midfield leaving several defenders free and this negated the Rebels’ aerial supremacy. It would be no surprise to see similar tactics employed next week.

Parity was slowly gained in midfield with Martin McElhinney coming to the fore, justifying his recall with an industrious shift in the engine room.

As the McBrearty show continued into the second half, it looked as if Kilcar was going to do it all on its own with Ryan and Eoin McHugh taking the game to Cork. The pair ended up five points between them, leaving the club’s total at a whopping 0-16.

As mentioned with Murphy earlier, some players generally up their game when they reach Jones Rd and, despite already hitting some impressive heights in this year’s Championship, Paddy McGrath did just that. He was fantastic tearing up and down the wing and also got his hands to some important clearances and interceptions in his full back line. His performance culminated in a courageous block towards the end of the game, flinging himself in front of a goal bound shot.

Incidentally, Neil McGee also came up with a crucial block to save a certain goal in the 1st half; his early departure from the field was hopefully just an exercise in breaking up play rather than anything more serious ahead of Saturday.  

One man whose introduction was greeted with huge cheers was that of Leo McLoone. Rory came under a bit of fire for not introducing Leo in the Ulster Final and certainly the support was delighted to see the Glenties man make such a positive impact on the game.

Donegal closed out the contest reasonably well and while there were some worrying moments, overall they always seemed to have that little bit more than Cork.

Little bits of anything wont do next week as it will take a full performance at full throttle to take on the Dubs. Croke Park will be heaving next week, in stark contrast to the early stages of yesterday’s game where the shouts and calls of the players could be heard in a library-like atmosphere.

Donegal famously delivered a masterclass to beat Dublin two years, in a result that surprised many across the land. It wasn’t a huge surprise to a lot of Donegal support though, who were quite happy to take the 8/1 and better on offer from the bookmakers.

The key then was belief. Donegal players and spectators believed they could do it whereas right now the overriding emotion is that of hope. That is what it looks like six days out.

Come 6pm Saturday though, Croke Park will be teeming with optimism and defiance from those in green and gold and that wee voice inside will whisper, ‘you know, we might just be able to pull this off’.