Dún na nGall Edge Past Dogged Down

Donegal’s drive for three Ulster titles in a row is still on and after a tense affair in Cavan yesterday they booked their place at the provincial finale in four weeks time.

Down set the tone for the game with their tactical strategy, James McCartan determined not to let history repeat itself. In last year’s Ulster Final, Down stayed with Donegal for the first half before being blown out of the water - yesterday they were going to stay with them right until the end.

The Mourne Men set themselves up the same way Tyrone did in last year’s semi final and made life very difficult for the Champions. It was just what this Donegal team needed though; a tight, tough, tense encounter and while not playing at their best - indeed not being allowed to play at their best - they still came through and that’s the mark of a team who know how to win matches.

Most games are decided in the closing stages but in truth the first fourteen minutes settled this contest. With Down’s red and black bus parked at the town end of Breffni Park they were setup to defend a lead and look for scraps on the break, going 0-4 behind at this stage of the game though signalled trouble. They fought brilliantly throughout and McCartan and his players deserve huge credit but they never looked like finding enough scores to get over the line.

In the first half Down tried to attack through the middle when they may have been better off using the wings where there was more space. They did get back to within two points by the half time break but that was as close as they got. After the break, they used the wide areas more before bursting inside at angles and got some joy with Donegal forced to give away a number of frees. Every time though they got within striking distance, the men in green and gold mustered a point from somewhere. One key moment in the last quarter could have turned things but once Eamon McGee collected a Down free off the upright the Ulster Final was in sight – if that had been converted it was a one point game.

McGee alongside his brother Neil and Ardara’s Paddy McGrath were outstanding in the full back line. In today’s game positions around the middle don’t really mean a lot – half forwards, midfielders and half backs all do a similar job and have to work in a scrum of bodies everyday they take to the field. The other lines though have more individuality about them and that trio in the last line of defence were immense.

So too the inside line. Right now our full forward line is the best in the business and they proved their worth in spades yesterday. Patrick McBrearty worked tirelessly throughout and despite being under the weather, which resulted in a visit to a local dentist on Saturday night, he played his part in the victory, the highlight for him a beautiful point from play in the first half.

Colm McFadden was the star of the show and the win rounded off a very special week for him following the birth of his son Matthew (Jimmy’s nephew) on Wednesday night. When the game was growing tenser by the second it was the Creeslough man who stood up and boomed over two towering long range points to keep Down at bay.

Captain Michael Murphy came to the fore as well finishing the day with 0-5, four of those coming from frees. His last free, which sealed the win, was a massive 60 yard effort and it had plenty to spare as it sailed over the same crossbar which caused him so much grief three years ago in the U21 Final. Murphy gets a bit of stick for not contributing more from play on the scoreboard but there aren’t many players in the country who could nail such a mammoth kick.

Ryan McHugh made his Championship debut yesterday and despite reservations about the strength of McGuinness’ squad the substitutes again played their part with Marty Reilly and Martin McElhinney showing well once more.

McHugh was assigned a man-marking brief on Conor Laverty, just as he had been in the league match earlier this year in Ballybofey. Laverty had caused a lot of problems in the first half; his low centre of gravity allied to his balance and sharpness make him a difficult opponent and indeed an early challenge on him resulted in a yellow card for the elder McGee. His threat certainly waned though once McHugh got to grips with him.

Despite the good performance of McElhinney after his introduction, midfield was again a worry. Tyrone were on top in the middle third for long periods of the quarter final and with strong displays from Kalum King, Ambrose Rogers and Kevin McKernan yesterday Donegal were under the cosh again. It was clear after half-time that Paul Durcan used the short kick out a lot more in order to provide primary possession for his team-mates. Its obviously something the management are working on - Maxi Curran could be seen recording all of yesterday’s kick outs and these will no doubt be analysed forensically in the coming weeks.

Ryan’s brother Mark as usual treaded every blade of grass on the field of play and after an injury ravaged league he seems to be getting back to his best. Injuries, or hopefully the lack of them, as we go through the year are going to have a major impact on Donegal’s season. Without two starters yesterday, Karl Lacey and Neil Gallagher, the team lost two more by half time with Ryan Bradley and Frank McGlynn succumbing to concussion. Club Championship action this weekend has the potential to add more bodies to the treatment table so it will be a huge positive if Jim and Rory can get everyone to Clones on the 21^st fit and well.

Down will feel they let the game slip due to the fact they had Donegal within striking distance but couldn’t provide a killer blow. They didn’t actually have that many chances though and often seemed reluctant to shoot. A hallmark of the McGuinness tenure is the economy that his side shows in front of the posts – it’s very unusual to see a Donegal player take on a low percentage chance - they remain patient and wait for the right opportunity. Down on the other hand rushed a lot of their shots and played quite a number into the grateful hands of Durcan.

The absence of both Lacey and McGlynn left a distinct lack of pace in the half back line and against such a packed defence this can lead to slow ball and therefore more time for the defensive wall to regroup and get set. Donegal suffered from this in the now infamous semi-final defeat to Dublin in 2011 and it was shown up again yesterday.

Early on, Donegal counteracted Down’s deep lying blanket by pushing up on them and employing a high line pressing game that Mayo have used to good effect in their last two games. If anything though they committed too many men forward and cluttered things up even more for themselves. This led to poor, impatient passing and Down forced numerous turnovers. As the half went on, Donegal retreated to cope with the attacking threat which belatedly came from their opponents. After having too many bodies forward they then left the ball carrier isolated on a few occasions; Leo McLoone in particular found himself high and dry as he moved into a full forward role at the end of the first half. This is out of character for this team and unfortunately we also saw glimpses of it the league defeats to Cork and Mayo.

As for the game itself as a whole, some have described it as a tense, engrossing affair while others are lamenting the lack of flair and space. So far Championship 2013 analysis has been dominated by the lack of competitiveness and the gap between the haves and the have nots. You cant have it both ways and surely a gripping contest with a grandstand finish beats a one-sided stroll any day.

Either way Donegal or indeed Down won't care too much about the quality of the game - they both know the result. The latter head to the qualifiers in good fettle and with a good chance of making Croke Park in August - for the double Ulster Champions it's all about Clones in a month’s time and making it a treble.

Defiant Donegal Dismiss Tyrone

“Everything that happens to you in your life helps make you what you are today. Your past is your future.”

They were words uttered by Jim McGuinness last August – not that long ago but the thought process behind it seemed to have been lost in many people’s eyes in the build up to yesterdays totemic clash. Tyrone were the new kids on the block, the heir apparent to Donegal’s Ulster throne, primed for a raid on Ballybofey after an impressive league campaign and armed with an exciting array of new talent in their squad. One problem though – the recent past shows that Donegal are the best team in the country and after this display the future looks like mirroring that.

The Ulster Council’s decision to stage the game at MacCumhaill Park was rewarded with a feverish atmosphere and there’s a lot to be said in general for GAA matches being played in smaller venues with packed crowds. The old venue hadn’t seen a day like this in quite a while, probably going back to the Armagh game in 2007. The length of the traffic tailback approaching Stranorlar from the Letterkenny side has always been a good barometer over the years of the importance attached to a game. You’d always get a clear run in for McKenna cup games in January and even a league game wouldn’t be too bad as you were entranced by the sight of the giant floodlights in the distance. Yesterday though was blockbuster time, even before the minor game had thrown in there was a half a mile tailback approaching the T-junction before the twin towns and cars lining the road well before MacCumhaill Park came into view. It wasn’t quite knockout football but neither team could contemplate defeat.

Last year Mickey Harte felt his team weren’t good enough to take Donegal on and win, that was evident before throw in when Ryan McMenamin went straight to the edge of the square to take station as a sweeper (in his newspaper column last week he described his role that day as a defensive sweeper and at no time was he to push forward). This time around neither team played with an out and out sweeper to begin with, instead taking each other on in a deep lying counter attacking game of strategy.

As expected it was blood and thunder stuff from the outset, the ferocity of the shouldering on view was fantastic to see, none more so than the shuddering impact Stephen O'Neill felt when trying to level Neil McGee. The Tyrone sharp-shooter got a good run at McGee as he was about to lay off a hand pass and hit him with all he could muster but he just bounced off Donegal's full-back, who barely flinched.

Paddy McGrath was another who was flying into tackles and put his body on the line time and again. Paddy is a bit of an unsung hero on this team, going about his work in an unfussy manner; he was again magnificent yesterday, both in his defensive duties and in carrying the ball forward.

Tyrone took a while to find their feet but when they did they bossed the middle third and the hosts found primary possession hard to come by. In the last ten minutes or so of the opening half, Michael Murphy came out from his full forward position to try to stop the Red Hand momentum and it immediately paid dividends. With his team struggling to win possession, the captain steadied the ship and his positioning out the field proved even more advantageous as his long free into Paddy McBrearty led to Colm McFadden finding the net.

It wasn’t until the final league game that we saw signs of last year’s form coming back to McFadden but he led the line well yesterday in a composed display. He was outshone though by Kilcar’s McBrearty who brought real form into this game on the back of his U21 and club exploits and he had a huge bearing on the outcome. His neat touch down to McFadden was the mark of a class player and he showed his speed and skill to set up Ross Wherity for the second major later in the game.

The Donegal side-line was a busy place all afternoon; Rory Gallagher seems to put in as much running as the players on days like this with constant instructions being relayed to the troops. After everyone’s pre-match suspicions over the non-availability of Mark McHugh and Karl Lacey from the start were confirmed, Frank McGlynn was next to go and the strength of the panel was going to have its severest test. Many have questioned the quality in reserve but yesterday was hugely encouraging in that regard with Wherity, Martin McElhinney and Marty Reilly all making their mark when introduced while Lacey’s replacement Declan Walsh had a super game.

As always with McGuinness’ Donegal, the psychology of the game was vital. While it was widely anticipated that neither Lacey nor McHugh would start, the challenge was knowing when to introduce them. Lacey was warming up pretty much once the ball was thrown in and when he finally took off his jumper to reveal his No 6 jersey, Niall Morgan was just about to address the ball before another free. The stand in MacCumhaill Park erupted on seeing the Footballer of the Year and Morgan again fluffed his lines.

The Edendork youngster had a torrid afternoon. Hailed as the key difference as to why Tyrone had made up sufficient ground on Donegal after suffering two straight Ulster Championship defeats, he converted only one placed ball from six attempts and with every wide more confidence was drained out of the entire Red Hand team. Morgan didn’t help himself with his antics to the crowd after his sole score; no doubt he’s a confident young lad but he rubbed many of the home support up the wrong way and by the end of the game jubilant Donegal supporters took delight in ushering him forward to take the kicks; by the end he just stayed put.

Donegal felt they could put him under pressure and as with Enda Varley in last year’s decider there were blockers in front of the place kicker with Murphy running off to the side in his eye-line on one occasion just as the kick was to be struck.

The key moment of proceedings was the second goal and it made it a magical day for Ross Wherity. The Eunans man got quite a bit of game time in the national league and looked a good prospect for nailing a place as a key panel member. He missed a hatful of goal chances during that Division One campaign but he certainly picked his moment yesterday, finding the net with a deft touch from McBrearty’s cross.

The stats show Tyrone had plenty of chances, a lot of them ending in wides, but as with both the previous games in 2011 and 2012 many of these were kicked under pressure and weren’t gimmies by any manner of means. Donegal’s pressure cooker defence got to boiling point in the second half, keeping their opponents scoreless for thirty-two minutes.

While the visitors had bossed the midfield battle for a large part of the first half, they struggled there in the second and despite often having a free man on his own kick-outs Morgan continued to go long.

Morgan and many of his team-mates wilted under the strain placed on them in the second half; the Donnellys, Mark and Matthew, had impressive league campaigns but neither were able to stamp their authority on the game aside from that middle period in the opening half.

Even seasoned campaigners like Sean Cavanagh found the going tough and Tyrone lost all discipline and focus in the last quarter. Cavanagh was superbly marshalled by Eamon McGee for the seventy minutes as the Gaoth Dobhair man kept up his excellent form from the autumn. He was constantly in the Moy man’s ear as the verbals from both sets of players continued throughout the game.

Every free that was won, every kick missed, every score was re-inforced by letting the other side know what had just happened – it’s a side of the game these days that many don’t like but it just conveyed the ferocious intensity between both sets of players. It might not look like it at times but there does seem to be a genuine respect between the teams; Tyrone are the benchmark for Donegal, they won three All-Irelands and are quite rightly regarded as one of the great teams. That is the target for Donegal under McGuinness – greatness.

It was a procession for the home side late on with ‘Championes’ and ‘Jimmy's Winning Matches’ both getting renditions from the boisterous crowd by the banks of the Finn. It was a performance of character by Donegal yesterday, a real statement of intent.

Tyrone received most pundits’ nod for this game in what appeared a changing of the guard type prediction; this Donegal side though are relatively fresh, only entering their third campaign under McGuinness. He obviously feels there’s more to come from them and that he can find more in his players. Rory Kavanagh, another who had a fine game yesterday, spoke recently of not having played much football in his career to date. Even at 30, one of the elder statesmen of the panel, he believes there’s plenty more in him.

These are a hungry bunch of lads with a manager who can extract every last ounce of desire and ability in them; he can get the best out of them and he can get something out of them that they might not even know is there within themselves.

Analysts are using conventional wisdom to view this Donegal side but the last two years have shown us that Jim is anything but conventional – he’s a unique and special talent on the side-line.

A team with poor league form like Donegal’s against a team with hugely impressive form shouldn’t win so comprehensively – but they did. A team coming off a humiliating qualifier defeat in Crossmaglen shouldn’t win the All-Ireland two years later – but they did. Back to back All-Irelands are virtually impossible in the modern era so it shouldn’t happen – but it might.

Can Donegal break the mould? We’ll have to wait and see. If a team does beat us this year they will certainly have earned it and right now we remain the team to beat. Derry or Down will be next to try in four weeks time.

Donegal Down as Tyrone lie in wait...

Honours even in Ballybofey but that wasn’t enough for Donegal to retain their Division One status. Yesterday wasn’t what relegated us though, the damage was done in previous weeks at Pairc Ui Rinn and McHale Park. In fact the weekend thankfully saw Donegal get back to a level of performance that brought us success last year. As with most final day league shoot-outs, it was close to Championship pace and in the first thirty-five minutes we played some of our best football of the campaign.

Everything about the game and occasion had a Championship feel to it, from the traffic approaching the Twin Towns to the atmosphere of the crowd inside to the level of play on the field.

Stephen Cluxton’s renowned kick outs were causing Donegal problems early on, each and every one finding a blue shirt. Anytime the home side left a man free on a restart Cluxton found them and time and again quick, short distribution was the ploy.

Michael Murphy moved into a deeper role to stem the tide and while it worked in gaining more possession and a platform around the middle, it resulted in Michael having one of his quieter days at the office. One of his early efforts was blocked and after that he seemed a bit reluctant to shoot, strange for a man who made a stunning 0-13 contribution to his club’s league win over Buncrana last week. His marker and DCU team-mate Johnny Cooper did a wonderful shackling job on him as well, keeping him to 0-3, all from placed balls. Cooper has been an excellent addition to the Dublin panel and looks well placed to nail down a starting spot for their 2013 Championship odyssey.

Mark McHugh’s winter and spring has been interrupted by various niggling injuries and he hasn’t looked himself thus far – yesterday though he looked more like the McHugh of 2012. He played the sweeper/ball carrier role that he has made his own and produced his best display of the league. His marker Darren Daly, tracked him on his sorties back the field but as we’ve seen with numerous teams’ attempts, no particular plan seems to work against the Kilcar man.

As always Jim McGuinness was thinking a few steps ahead and even a few months down the line when selecting his team. Not many teams would throw in two League debutants in an important game like this but Eamon Doherty and Luke Keaney were given their chance and both acquitted themselves reasonably well. There’s a fair chance these sides could meet again in Croke Park at some stage during the summer so by picking some fringe players McGuinness is keeping his opposite number guessing while at the same time widening his own options – everyday is a school day after all.

The bizarre sight of the referee Padraig Hughes being stretchered off in the second half after what appeared a fairly innocuous coming together left the crowd somewhat bemused but that feeling would soon grow to frustration as Michael Duffy assumed whistling duties. Hughes had been consistent throughout, particularly in highlighting fouls for over-carrying for both sides. Duffy was anything but consistent though and some of his calls in the frantic last few minutes left players and supporters alike bemused. Dublin tagged on a few scores from placed balls in the closing stages and at least two of these calls should have gone the other way.
One example was especially frustrating; Luke Keaney made a fine catch in the air inside his own 13m line and was pulled down as he made his descent but instead of awarding a free out Duffy waved play on; Dublin gained possession as Keaney tried to release as he lay on the ground and only a superb save from Paul Durcan, one of many he produced on the day, prevented a goal.

Whilst it is obviously disappointing to be going back to Division Two the encouraging aspect from yesterday was how we competed with and even bettered Dublin from a physical and intensity perspective. Jim Gavin’s men will be our main challengers for silverware later in the year and at times they couldn’t live with our ability to break tackles, our direct running and our support play. All these traits brought Dublin to an All-Ireland two years ago so to out-do them in those departments for long periods is a big plus.

Ryan Bradley, Anthony Thompson and Frank McGlynn all put in excellent displays with the latter doing an efficient marking job on Kevin McManamon, keeping him scoreless.
The fact that the team trained on Saturday makes the good performance seem even better. They had also trained Tuesday and Thursday before that as Jim ‘pushed the button’ on the preparation for the Tyrone clash.

The Saturday training may have told in the final stages as Donegal sat deep and relied on picking the Dubs off on the break. It’s a risky strategy but one that we’ve become accustomed to Donegal employing and it will generally work on the proviso that when chances come on the break they must be taken - unfortunately while they did suffocate the visitors and break at pace, the team was guilty of missing crucial chances and thus the victory escaped them.

The first culprit was Ross Wherity who was through one-on-one with Cluxton but his poor effort was straight at the Parnells clubman who saved with his foot. Wherity had two similar guilt edged opportunities in the game against Cork and fluffed his lines on both those occasions as well. He does so many things right however and its easy to see why McGuinness is persisting with him. He’s a strong runner, athletically built and can carry the ball well, as demonstrated with his penalty wins against Tyrone and Kerry. It was just one of those days for him though with the ball spilling out of his grasp several times including one crucial occasion late on when Paul Durcan found him with a pinpoint kick out down the centre.

Wherity’s club-mate Rory Kavanagh had one final chance to secure Division One football for next year when put through by substitute Martin Reilly; he hesitated slightly, seemingly caught in two minds and this allowed the tackle to come in. Whether or not the tackle was legal is highly questionable but Rory should have made his mind up quicker in any case. The failure of Duffy to award a penalty further irked the players and spectators and from then until the end of the game almost all the decisions seemed to go towards the town end of MacCumhaill Park.


So what does this all mean for D-Day, May 26th? Relegation will not have any major impact on preparation for that game, if anything it might leave the players with a point to prove to themselves. As the scores were coming in from the other grounds yesterday it was clear that Kerry were giving Tyrone an absolute hiding early on and that their forwards were cutting through the Red Hand defence at will. Tyrone are very beatable on the evidence that Kerry provided and remember it was a fairly tight game in Omagh last month up until Michael’s red card just before half time.
It is going to be one hell of a battle and while it might not be the most aesthetically pleasing game of football ever played it will without doubt be a compelling, engrossing and intriguing affair.


Before that though we have an U21 Ulster Final to look forward to on Wednesday night; while Ray Durack’s hurlers also have a league final next weekend.

Along with the aforementioned Keaney, all of the U21s involved with the senior panel (bar Ryan McHugh) got game time yesterday and this was presumably worked out between Jim and Maxi Curran prior to throw in. It will have been a good test for them, not least in the physical stakes and this can only help them as they bid for a provincial title in Enniskillen. Ádh mór lads.

Dún na nGall Left With Much to Ponder

Another defeat for Donegal and just like last year the team are facing into a final day shoot out hoping to avoid relegation. Right from the start of this campaign Jim McGuinness’ focus has been on Tyrone in May and what happened before then mattered little. However the manner of the defeats to Cork last week and Mayo today have raised a lot of questions and some of those will need to be answered against Dublin in a fortnights time.

The team’s passing, particularly in the final third, was again very disappointing as it was in Pairc Ui Rinn last week. Bursting out from the back isn’t a problem, the team are so in tune with each other and know how to create overlaps and knit passing patterns together in order to turn defence into attack. They are struggling to find their forwards though and therefore are not scoring heavily. The ball going in isn’t favouring the attackers and Mark McHugh in particular epitomised the wayward distribution today with some terrible passes.

A fourth defeat of the campaign wont do much harm psychologically as it reminds the players that the core values of work ethic, honesty, effort and concentration that reaped such dividends last year must be maintained to have a chance of more success. Decision making today looked on the lazy, lethargic side and against a Mayo team with a point to prove that was never going to be good enough.

The home side and their supporters were well up for today’s game and they’ll be delighted to get one over on their All-Ireland conquerors. They have learned some tricks from that day in September too - it was interesting to see them having players run across Colm McFadden’s line of vision as he took his frees.

They also learned their lesson as regards marking duties with Michael Murphy well marshalled today, often by more than one defender. Last year this ploy was employed by most teams and Colm McFadden was the one who benefited due to the extra space. Teams are now trying to double up on both Murphy and McFadden, a risky tactic in a sense but if Donegal’s other players don’t step up to the plate then it’s one that can work. Others did get on the score sheet today but no one consistently offered help to the two main men up front with even Patrick McBrearty, fresh from a stunning midweek display for the U21s, looking a little off colour.

Towering midfielder Barry Moran was given the man of the match award and he had a huge influence on proceedings today. He caught numerous kick outs and as a result was the launch pad for many of his side’s attacks. What was frustrating from a Donegal perspective was that Paul Durcan kept hitting his kick outs down on top of Moran. It’s a basic enough tenet of football that if a midfielder is dominating then you try to keep the ball away from him. Granted Neil Gallagher was marking him and that’s who Durcan looks for on most of his kick outs but with Moran in such form it would have been better to try to find Rory Kavanagh.

Neil McGee hobbled off early in the second half and his importance to the team was illustrated in his absence. The defensive shape all but disappeared without the Gweedore man at full back and with regular centre back Karl Lacey also missing these days, there was a lack of solidity in the Donegal rearguard.

Donegal received a third major setback soon after; following the injury to McGee and Michael Conroy’s goal, Anthony Thompson was shown the line after he received his second booking. Marty Duffy issued plenty of yellow cards today and it was clear early on that there wouldn’t be thirty players left on the field at the end such was the booking rate. A lot will be made of the fact that its Donegal’s third double yellow red card this year and maybe the reputation they have gained as a systematic fouling team is starting to have an effect on referees. Its another thing that will have to be looked at by the management.

Indeed the team are giving away quite a number of scoreable frees, something which didn’t happen last year. Think of the big games last year - Colm Cooper, Bryan Sheehan, the O’Connors, Donncha and Cillian - all free takers with their respective teams but none of them scored too much against Donegal. Today Mayo’s O’Connor ended up with five points, four of them from placed balls.

Its not all doom and gloom of course and the McGuinness mantra of May 26th has to be kept in mind also. Colm McFadden is improving with every outing and today looked the sharpest he’s been this year so far. An incident at the end of the game highlighted another positive - the players hate losing and want to get back to where they were last year. An off the ball altercation involving Mark McHugh and Donal Vaughan led to a few players getting tangled up with the usual shouldering and pushing and shoving; but it was the normally mild mannered Frank McGlynn who got really riled up and he wasn’t going to let any of his team-mates be pushed around. He was worked up and it shows that there’s still plenty of fire in the bellies of these players. They’ll need to show that and more if they are to beat the Dubs and the drop when they welcome the table toppers to Ballybofey in two weeks time.

Dun na nGall Undone by Rebels Rising

Donegal’s high flying stars would have been grateful of their plane journey back to Carrickfinn last night - it would have been tough facing into a long bus journey home after a frustrating defeat to Cork at Pairc Ui Rinn.

It was the proverbial game of two halves as the All-Ireland Champions dominated the opening period but were uncharacteristically wasteful and inefficient in the second thus allowing a rejuvenated Cork side to take the spoils.

Captain Michael Murphy started at midfield at it looked a clever ploy from the management as the veteran Graham Canty couldn’t keep up with the Glenswilly man. He claimed a lot of possession around the middle early on and drove straight at the home defence and his team profited from some early frees as a direct result.

The strategy was soon abandoned though with Murphy restored to his natural habitat at the edge of the square and indeed it was strange to see it such was the good work he had produced from deep. Donegal continued to boss midfield however with the star of last year’s joust Neil Gallagher again impressing. Murphy was often double-teamed by the Cork defence after he moved inside, himself and Eoin Cadogan having an ongoing battle with the Douglas clubman performing well against the All Star.

Both these teams have numerous similarities as regards their footballing ability, their forward power and the conditioning. The key difference is that Donegal instinctively know what they are doing, what options are available to each player and they are so used to playing the system that its second nature to them. They illustrated this in the opening thirty-five minutes with an assured performance.

Cork on the other hand can run forward with endeavour but when confronted with a mass defence they appear short on ideas and move the ball around without a plan as to what they’re going to do with it. The groans from their own supporters in the stands convey the exasperation they feel when watching their team - they possess some classy footballers allied with big, strong athletes yet they wait for something to happen, wait for someone else to do something rather than knowing what they want to do collectively.

Indeed they were reminiscent of Donegal of a few years back - no one taking responsibility to shoot or to take their man on and instead engaging in laborious possession back and across the field.

Faced with a similar sight of a defensive blanket, Donegal are patient. Sure they move the ball around searching for an opening but the player in possession knows there will be man on his shoulder if and when he tries to take on an opponent. Such is the team’s upper body strength they can break a tackle and then dish the ball off to a runner and create two on one situations.

Donegal also showed their foot passing ability with Dermot Molloy and Rory Kavanagh unlocking the Cork defence playing clever passes in front of Colm McFadden and Ross Wherity and they were then able to offload to the obligatory runner coming through.

Cork lost their best forward Colm O’Neill to what looked like yet another serious knee injury. The current All Star was showing well early and produced a particularly impressive score off his right foot just before he suffered the sickening injury. As he went for the next ball that came his way his foot planted into the Pairc Ui Rinn turf and, in a similar way to what happened Tommy Bowe when playing for Ulster against Northampton last December, all his body weight went onto his knee and it buckled under the strain. The pace of the game dropped considerably following the stoppage in play; O’Neill’s history with knee injuries was on everyone’s mind and there was genuine sympathy amongst the crowd when he was stretchered off.

Onto the second half and it was as if the players swapped jerseys at the break. Suddenly it was the visitors who looked confused in possession and often took the wrong option. One of the great strength’s of this Donegal team, and it’s the same with the top teams in any sport, is that they do the basics very well. The quality of their passing, handling and soloing is taken as a given. Yet after the change of ends they made bad decisions and their passing into the forward line was poor. Instead of giving passes that gives the advantage to the attacker, on several occasions they gave at best 50-50 passes and it was often less than that, with the defender having the advantage.

Time and again long ball was played into Murphy but the technique of the kicks were awful. The optimum ball to play into a forward is a diagonal ball and with the majority of players being right-footed these usually come from the right wing, as we saw to devastating effect from Karl Lacey in last year’s All-Ireland Final. Substitute Ryan McHugh and midfielder Kavanagh were among those who tried to execute this type of pass in the last quarter last night and the result was a mis-kicked low, cross field ball straight to a red shirt. We have the country’s best footballer waiting for a decent ball to come inside and beside him we have last year’s top scorer and they were kept waiting.

You can be sure that this will be one the vital components that Jim and Rory will have the lads working on in training as it was a source of huge annoyance and greatly affected the team’s chances of claiming two points. Instead Cork used these stray passes to launch counter attacks and reeled off seven points without reply midway through the second half which ultimately left Donegal with too high a mountain to climb. Murphy's Dublin housemate Aidan Walsh and Nemo Rangers' Paul Kerrigan were especially impressive during this spell, despite the best efforts of Paddy McGrath to stifle with the latter.

Donegal managed to make a decent fist of a comeback and it looked as if the team would be awarded a third penalty in as many games when Murphy got inside the cover and was through on goal only to be hauled down by Michael Shields. The foul though was committed just outside the 13-metre line and with that Cork claimed the points, 0-12 to 0-10.

Donegal will likely need six points to stay in Division One so are one more win away from safety. With Dublin to come in the last game, the team will want to avoid a final day shoot out with Jim Gavin’s impressive side. That makes next week’s All Ireland rematch in Castlebar all the more important; Mayo will be relishing locking horns with their September conquerors, making a tough trip even more difficult. A performance of champions will be needed to secure the points.

Donegal Make Light Work of Unrecognisable Kingdom

Donegal recorded a vital win in Ballybofey today and such is the congestion at the bottom of the Division One table, they find themselves in the top half of the table and well placed to not only avoid the drop but also contest for a league semi-final place.

Perhaps the real story of the day though was the performance of the visitors; for those of us accustomed to Kerry being the standard bearers in the game its astonishing to see them at such a low ebb. Granted its early March and The Kingdom will be a different animal come the Summer but they're such a long way off their peak its hard to see them making up the difference. Watching their substitutes take their place on the sideline before the game, there were no familiar faces and they all looked liked fresh-faced minors.

The last team then that they want to face is the All-Ireland Champions. Donegal looked very efficient today,
exposing Kerry's frailties and the ten point winning margin could have been much bigger with a bit more composure in the final third.

The difference between the demeanour of both management teams on the sideline was noticeable; Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was quite reserved and barely said a word, with his selectors Diarmuid Murphy and Mikey Sheehy much the same. Indeed it was only the team’s trainer, Cian O’Neill, who looked in any way interested in the game and he was the one dishing out the instructions and encouragement.
On the other hand, regardless of the occasion, Jim and Rory are constantly urging their team on, annoyed when something is done incorrectly or when a call goes against them. Assistant manager Gallagher spends a lot of his Sunday afternoon racing on and off the pitch relaying messages to the players - every game is taken seriously and the management expect their players to reach certain levels of performance and do the right things, anything less is unacceptable.

It was evident from early on that Captain Michael Murphy wanted to atone for his disappointing afternoon in Omagh last Sunday. Inside five minutes he was given a chance at another penalty and he made no mistake this time, drilling the ball low and hard, giving Brendan Kealy in goal no chance.

Murphy was out in front of his marker Aidan O’Mahony on almost every occasion when the ball came his way, combining strength, pace and skill to get the better of the Rathmore man time after time.
In one attack he produced a moment of class that had to be seen to be believed. With the ball coming his way along the ground, instead of bending his back to pick it up, he dummied and allowed the ball to go through his and his marker's legs and ran around behind O’Mahony to retrieve possession. Pele famously did something similar against Uruguay in the World Cup Finals with his 'runaround' move and with the form Murphy is in at present he wouldn’t look out of place on that kind of stage.

He continued to torment his marker with his best score coming early in the second half when he held off O’Mahony with one hand, collected the ball with other and then spun and fired it over the black spot. His strength in holding off markers is incredible, and allows him to always have at least a yard of space to work with.

The forward line saw plenty of ball today and this was down to the work that went on behind them. Paddy McGrath, Rory Kavanagh and Ryan Bradley were hugely impressive in snuffing out attacks and then bursting out with pace and power; with every passing week the fitness and conditioning of the squad is getting better. A lot of the players, Bradley in particular, enjoy bringing the ball into contact knowing they have such upper body strength to break through tackles and knowing that when they do there is a man on the shoulder to carry it on further.

Patrick McBrearty had another good outing today, playing primarily as a centre forward with licence to dictate and link the play from deep. He could well be playing the ‘McHugh’ role come the Summer as McGuinness looks to develop new plans that will keep opposition bosses guessing. McBrearty has all the attributes to fulfil that deep lying task and allied to his finishing - he popped up for a fine first half score - he has become a much more rounded player.

Johnny Buckley was the standout of the newer Kerry players, following up a good showing against Kildare last week. Otherwise it was the old heads of Tomas O’Se and Kieran Donaghy who took the fight to the home side.

Donaghy played most of the game between midfield and half-forward and won quite a bit of ball around the middle third. Kerry’s problem is that he isn’t inside to receive the ball coming in; stationed on the edge of the square for the last fifteen minutes, he won every ball that came his way, including the possession that led to Kieran O‘Leary‘s missed penalty. Kerry have to somehow find a role for Star that allows him to have an effect on the game both inside and outside the 45. Donaghy made the long journey back home that bit easier for one young Kerry fan, giving him his match day gloves as a present as he took his place on in the dugout following a nasty looking foot injury. With the current turmoil in the camp they can ill-afford to lose the big Tralee man for an extended period.

O’Se is the veteran of the Kerry team and it was a joy to watch him in action today, flying up and down the wing like a rookie. He didnt help his team's cause though with one moment of indiscipline when he introduced himself to one of Donegal’s newest recruits early in the second half; the effervescent Ryan McHugh was on the receiving end of a box in the ribs right under the nose of linesman and O’Se was subsequently sent for an early shower.

Kerry’s other main forward star on show, Darran O’Sullivan, was given the full forward jersey and this provided Neil McGee with a different challenge to what he’s used to. McGee is an old-fashioned full back, physically dominating many of his opponents but today he had to use his intelligence as a marker to ensure O’Sullivan didn’t get a chance to burn him with pace. He did this fairly well and the Kerry sharp-shooter managed just one point, although McGee was relieved of his duties in the second half when the fabulous McGrath was given man-marking duties on O'Sullivan.

Despite a frustrating day for O’Sullivan he showed his class late on after an incident with his new marker McGrath. The former All-Ireland winning captain caught the Ardara man with a tackle around the neck but the corner back kept going and made nothing of it. As they returned to their positions, an apologetic hand was offered to McGrath and it was such a contrast to the nastiness on show in the card-ridden contest last weekend in Healy Park.

The snow falling throughout the game today suggested we were in the depths of Winter and it must feel like that for Kerry with the Summer and Croke Park seemingly a long way off. For Donegal on the other hand, they’re motoring along nicely and slowly but surely they’re getting to where they want to be. Their finest display of last year's odyssey came against Cork in the semi-final and its the Rebels who provide the opposition in Pairc Ui Rinn next weekend.

Battle Lost at Healy Park but War Still to Come

As dress rehearsals go this was pretty close to the real thing as regards Championship preparation; there is an intense rivalry between the neighbouring counties of Donegal and Tyrone and yesterday served to further highlight this. In 12 weeks they will do it all again but the prize will be much more than two league points.

Tyrone took the spoils this time and did the damage in a devastating third quarter when they pushed home their numerical advantage from the field to the scoreboard.

The size of the crowd at Healy Park conveyed the importance attached to this fixture and how both sets of supporters are eagerly awaiting the showdown in May. Unfortunately the organisation was somewhat lacking at the Omagh venue with hundreds of people still queuing up outside as the match threw in. Tyrone GAA in general is a shining example of how to do things right so it’s a shame that their premier ground is not setup to cater for a such a large crowd.

Much of the pre-match build up focused on how the managers would setup their sides and whether or not they would try to keep their cards close to their chests. Jim McGuinness opted to station Neil Gallagher on the edge of the square, only coming deep for kick-outs; he wouldn’t be unfamiliar with the role having fulfilled this with his club during their County title winning charge but you’d imagine there’ll be no repeat come May.

His influence and organisation was missing around the middle third with several instances of Tyrone men winning kick outs uncontested and it gave the home side a platform from which to launch their attacks. Even on limited primary possession Donegal looked incisive when they went forward and McGuinness will be happy with how they were able to open up the Tyrone rearguard. Primary possession of course isn’t hugely important to Donegal such is their ability to turn the ball over and win it back when opponents foray into the hungry tacklers lined up along Donegal’s 45 metre line but even still, the amount of pressure-free ball Tyrone players were allowed to win needs to be worked on.

Donegal didn’t yield too much from the Gallagher at full forward ploy but their running game was working and they also had a certain magician in the No 14 jersey. An outrageous point from Michael Murphy showed his glorious run of form shows no sign of stopping. Receiving possession on the right wing he took a hop, soloed with his right and came inside onto his left foot; then in feigning to shoot, he dummy soloed and in one movement turned 180 degrees and stroked it over from a tight angle without barely a glance at the posts. Not many players in Ireland could execute such a piece of skill but its just another magic trick from The Maestro’s ever-growing repertoire.

The great players, in any field sport, always have an ability to create time and space for themselves. Whether it’s a side step from Brian O’Driscoll or close control from Lionel Messi, these skills result in a player having more time than they had when they first received possession. Murphy’s marker Conor Clarke, who a super game in last year’s Championship clash, was within a half yard of his man but with the dummy and turn Murphy was in a few yards of space. It’s the art of forward play and artists like Murphy aren’t made, they’re born. He scored another from play soon after but just before half time the game was turned on its head.

A missed penalty from Murphy, a second booking for a sliding tackle on Joe McMahon and also a first yellow for Neil Gallagher which would be followed up by another in the second half . Michael normally throttles his penalty shots but he didn’t get that correct strike through the ball and Niall Morgan was off his line quickly to get his hands to the effort. As for the red card, it was a silly attempt to retrieve the ball by Donegal’s captain and could be deemed dangerous but he can feel hard done by for a challenge that was clumsy rather than malicious.

While that was undoubtedly a huge moment in the game, the real sucker punch came courtesy of Stephen O’Neill’s goal. A hesitant Neil McGee let a long ball drop in behind him and while he made a heroic effort to block the follow-up shot he couldn’t prevent it from finding the net. McGee and O’Neill had quite a battle on the edge of the square and they continued to exchange pleasantries after the final whistle - that’s certainly a confrontation brewing ahead of May.

Donegal had got a couple of scores on the bounce at this stage and were within a point of the home side so the goal couldn’t have come at a worse time. The hosts pushed on after that and even though Donegal stuck to their task and were helped by substitute Patrick McBrearty’s contribution they could never get to within striking distance of the Red Hand men.

There were encouraging signs from some of the players who’d been missing until now though with Paddy McGrath and Frank McGlynn both getting a valuable 70 minutes under their belts.

Leo McLoone ran well from deep, often sitting in front of centre-back McGlynn. Leo had one of his finest ever displays in a Donegal jersey in the same fixture two years ago when he produced a master class and gave the great Sean Cavanagh the run around.

Both McLoone and Cavanagh have endured injury nightmares since that fixture and Tyrone fans are delighted with the Moy clubman’s performances to date in 2013. He’s keen to make up for the amount games he’s missed through successive shoulder injuries and he was certainly fired up for yesterday’s encounter. A fine long range point in the second half and the salute to the crowd which followed it illustrated how pumped up he and his team-mates were in facing the All-Ireland Champions.

The atmosphere on the field of play spilled over on numerous occasions and losing a physical, heated battle such as this will generally give a team a sense that they’ve been bullied - this will give Donegal huge motivation for when the sides meet again.

Mickey Harte said in his autobiography a few years ago how annoyed he and his players were by what they saw as showboating on Donegal’s part in a league victory in 2007. He noted the lack of humility from those in green and gold but was well aware that “there’s always another day.” That day came a few months later when his Tyrone team blitzed Donegal in the Ulster semi-final at Clones.

While the home team enjoyed their victory and revelled in the nasty undercurrent on show, Donegal know that there will be another day - and, assuming the Ulster Council make the right call on the venue, you wont want to be anywhere other than Ballybofey on May 26th.