Jimmy's winning matches

Jimmy’s winning matches and big Neil’s making super catches!

The 26^th of August 2012 is a day that will live long in the memory of all Donegal supporters. An excellent performance by Donegal helped them reach the All-Ireland final for only the second time. The satisfaction when David Coldrick blew the full-time whistle was unbelievable and the team is now just one big game away from Gaelic football greatness.

My thoughts raced back to dark days for Donegal in recent years. Armagh defeating us in Ulster finals and Brendan Devenney missing a penalty in the last minute, as Donegal failed to defeat a terrible Cavan side. We couldn’t beat an average Monaghan team, even though our players were far more talented. Yesterday was a special day, and the sight of a sea of green and gold in a jubilant mood is something that I will cherish for the rest of my days.

Yeah, there was a lot of bandwagon supporters there, but who cares? They’re supporting their county and they’re entitled to do that. I’d rather see people come out and support Donegal, than cheering on Liverpool, or Man United, or some other foreign team that they have no connection to. This is our team. The players are born and raised in Donegal, and have been sculpted into fantastic GAA players by hard-working Donegal gaels. They are a credit to the county and deserve every plaudit they are given.

The game really couldn’t have gone any better for Donegal. They got huge performances from their big players and they now go into the final in a confident manner. Cork played well and really put it up to Donegal, but they were still able to repel them. Even the late concession of a goal is good for Donegal. It will ensure they don’t get complacent, and they will work hard to make sure the full-back line is not exposed so badly again.

Cork impressed in the first half, and Donegal did well to stay with them when they were having their good spell. Their movement and link up play was impressive, and they kicked some sublime points. But they were made to work very hard for their scores, and Donegal eventually wore them down. They forced them wide, and Cork hadn’t the composure to kick points when they were put under pressure.

Donegal only conceded one point from a free in the entire match. This is hugely impressive, and a key factor in their victory. Cork have some wonderful free takers, but Donegal’s disciplined defending ensured they didn’t get an opportunity to showcase their talents. Both Colm McFadden and Michael Murphy did well with their placed balls and they will have to continue this in the All-Ireland final, if we are to take the Sam Maguire back to the hills.

Neil Gallagher was immense at midfield. He gave an exhibition of high-fielding and dominated the renowned Cork midfield partnership. He made some superb catches, and his speed at releasing the ball was crucial. He let the ball go immediately and didn’t allow Cork to bottle him up and force him to over-carry the ball. His performance will be remembered as one of the greatest displays ever from a Donegal midfielder.

I also felt Karl Lacey was magnificent. He had a relatively quiet start to the season, by his high standards, but he was back to his best yesterday. His tackling was tenacious, his composure on the ball was fantastic, and he kicked two vital scores. Every time the ball came towards him, he seemed to come out with it again. Leo McLoone was awesome throughout the game, and charged through the Rebels at every opportunity.

I was browsing through the internet forums, and was shocked to see one poster claim that Michael Murphy was ‘anonymous’. I thought he had a great game and led by example throughout. Sure, full-forwards are meant to be the top scorers for most teams, but Donegal are not like most teams. They need a target man, someone to win the ball, and lay it off to the runners coming through. He had a good start to the game, but the quality of passes into him was poor for the rest of the first-half. In the second half, he won nearly every ball that came into him.

The team has improved significantly since last year’s defeat in the semi-final and they have added a new dimension to their game with their excellent counter attacks. They looked unstoppable when they ran at Cork with pace, and looked like scoring every time they went up the field. It’s worth remembering that this is only year two of  Jim McGuinness’ five year plan. It’s hard to contain the excitement at the thought of more improvements to McGuinness’ blueprint.

The next four weeks will be incredible, but we look forward to it safe in the knowledge that the management will have the panel focused and prepared meticulously. I wouldn’t have any preference about who we meet in the final. People are quick to dismiss Mayo, but as Donegal showed in Croke Park, a team with hunger will always be hard to beat. Regardless of who we meet, we will go into the game as favourites, and I think it is worth pointing out that we have a 100% record in All-Ireland finals!

Donegal to put a cork in the Rebels

It was a performance which would give Jim McGuinness nightmares. Donegal conceded 28 scores, as Cork strolled through their defence without being touched, heaping on more misery with every attack.

It’s hard to believe that it is only three years since Donegal’s infamous quarter-final defeat to Cork in 2009. That day, Donegal were crushed by Cork’s physicality and athleticism. Now, three seasons later, with the majority of players that played that day still involved, Donegal go in search of an All-Ireland final place with a great chance of upsetting the Leesiders.

McGuinness replaced John Joe Doherty at the helm the following year, and Donegal haven’t looked back since. He has changed everything, from mental preparation to their fitness levels, and no stone has been left unturned.

Cork won the All-Ireland in 2010, but to be considered a great team they have to win the Sam Maguire again. It’s not their fault of course, but people will always look upon their All—Ireland victory in 2010 against Down, as a ‘soft’ All-Ireland. To finally get the respect they feel they deserve from the media, they have to defeat Donegal and go on to win the All-Ireland again.

The match will be an enthralling contest. Two different styles clashing, in what will be the most physical semi-final since Armagh and Tyrone in 2005. Donegal’s tactics have been very effective this year, and the big question is will Cork change their playing style to beat Donegal.

Conor Counihan is a shrewd manager. We’ve heard the stories of Cork playing training games with 15 players against 17, with two extra defenders, to try and prepare for the physicality and intensity the Donegal defenders will bring to the game. He always lines Cork out in the traditional manner with six defenders and six forwards. However, this is exactly what Donegal want him to do.

Donegal will have identified the likes of Paudie Kissane and Noel O’Leary as two of their least talented players and Donegal will let them have the ball and allow them to carry the fight to Donegal’s defence. If I was the Cork manager, I’d drop O’Leary and play Ciarán Sheehan at wing-back. He is a strong runner and can kick the ball over the bar from distance. It’s a big call for Counihan to drop one of his most consistent players. But then, All-Ireland final semi-finals are often won by the manager who has the balls to make the big decision.

And that is perhaps where Donegal went wrong in last year’s semi-final against Dublin. When they started to go behind, they didn’t chase the game enough. They had an extra player, but still they kept thirteen players behind the ball. It will be interesting on Sunday if Donegal find themselves three points down with ten minutes remaining, if McGuinness will make the big decision, and toss his game plan aside and chase Cork’s lead.

A lot has been made of Cork’s strong runners and their ability to break Donegal’s tackles. But they haven’t met any team who hit as hard as Donegal yet. They beat Kerry who were a team on the way out, and then they beat a Clare team in the Munster final, who were just happy to get a day out. Kildare were meant to put it up to them but that never materialised either. Any team can look good if the opposition aren’t going to track your runs. Donegal’s victory over Down is a prime example of this.

The sight of Aidan Walsh and Pierce O’Neill marauding down the centre of the pitch is not something we will see on Sunday. Kildare had a soft centre but Donegal don’t. They won’t let you through the middle. They’ll push you out to the wings and try and make you take shots from ridiculous angles. Cork won’t fall for that you might say, but if you only have two points on the scoreboard after twenty minutes, and you start to get desperate for a score, it’s hard to resist the temptation to have a pop at goal. This is exactly what Donegal want to happen.

The battle I’m really looking forward tois Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden against Eoin Cadogan and Michael Shields. For the first time under McGuinness, McFadden is probably the most feared of the two Donegal full-forwards. He has hit an impressive 3-23 already this year, and he really is playing the best football of his life. Cadogan appears to mark the most dangerous forward and as a Donegal fan, I’ll be delighted if I see Michael Shields stroll over to Murphy at 3.29 on Sunday.

Back in 2009, when Cork annihilated Donegal, the only ray of sunshine for Donegal supporters, was Murphy’s performance against Shields. The Cork defender went into the game as the most revered full-back in the country, but Murphy destroyed him with his pace and power. Against Kildare in the quarter-final, Shields was well off the pace against Alan Smith and he kicked four points from play. Smith is a good player, but he is not in the same league as Murphy. We’ve waited a long time on a really big performance from Murphy, and I predict we will see one on Sunday. 

The one area where Cork have a clear advantage is with their bench. With players of the calibre of Daniel Goulding, O’Neill and Sheehan on the sidelines, they have plenty of options if things aren’t going their way. Kerry hadn’t the depth in their squad and the players they called upon in the final twenty minutes were not up to it. But Cork’s subs will not buckle under the pressure. They’ve been there on the big day before, and they will look forward to putting their own stamp on the match.

I’m sceptical about using the league game at the start of the season as a guide to how the match might go, but I think Donegal can take a lot of positives from that game. Donegal had a poor league campaign, but Cork did not. They won the league, however, Donegal still managed to turn over the Rebels in Ballybofey. Cork had ten likely starters playing that day, yet they only managed to score six points. Granted the pitch may have been heavy, and they had probably overused Aidan Walsh in the days preceding the match, but it is still an encouraging sign for Donegal fans.

I’ve read a lot of analysis in the lead up to the match, and the wise men who tip Cork seem to do so mainly because they have the more talented players. Which is a fair point, putting it simply, they have better players than Donegal. But will their more talented players be allowed to have an influence on the game? Kerry’s Colm Cooper was only able to score two points, whilst Declan O’Sullivan was taking off. How many Kerry fans could have predicted that before the match? Cork like to dominate games, but they will play Sunday’s game on Donegal’s terms.

I think Donegal will win in a low scoring game. Cork have great players, but I don’t think they are a great team. They crumbled to Mayo last year, and have often struggled mentally to get over the line against Kerry. Donegal have a lot of momentum behind them at the moment, and they have a desire to reach the All-Ireland final, and I can’t see Cork stopping them on Sunday.

Donegal hold on to beat Kerry

Donegal are through to the All-Ireland semi-final, following a fantastic victory over Kerry on Sunday. A strong second half performance from Donegal put them six points clear, but an inspired Kerry fight-back set up a tantalising finale.

Donegal teams in the past would have crumbled under the pressure, but this side has tremendous character, and they held on to secure the victory.

There has been a lot of talk about how this Kerry team are finished, but this was a crucial victory for Donegal. Despite the progress under Jim McGuiness, there would always be doubts about our ability, until we beat one of the big three. Psychologically, it’s a massive result to beat a team who has won four All-Ireland titles in the last decade.

McGuinness got his tactics right. He identified Donnacha Walsh as the weakest link of the Kerry forward line. Walsh is a hard worker, but he is not as gifted as the other Kerry forwards. They allowed him to roam out the field and pick up lots of possession, knowing that he wouldn’t score himself.

I pointed out in my preview last week, that I would be happy to see Kerry kick long balls into Kieran Donaghy. Eamon McGee monitored him well, and dealt with the long high balls superbly. And even when the Kerry full-forward did win the ball, he was isolated from his teammates. He doesn’t have the class or finesse to kick points, and Donegal would have anticipated this.

It’s worrying that we struggled with our kick-outs again. Kerry pushed up on Donegal and prevented them from taking short kick-outs. This forced Paul Durcan to kick it out long, and Donegal struggled to pick up the breaking ball. Neil Gallagher did make a big difference when introduced and Donegal will need him to be fit against Cork. The Rebels have a strong midfield, and Donegal will need to work hard on this sector in the coming weeks.

Colm McFadden had his best game in a Donegal shirt. In the past, Sunday’s game was the kind of occasion that McFadden would hide and not take responsibility. But he really stood up against Kerry. Despite being marshalled by Mark O’Se, he worked hard and kicked some super scores.  He doesn’t have a lot of pace, but he makes the most of the attributes that he does have.

The long ball tactic into Michael Murphy was not as effective as hoped, and we had more joy when we ran at them. Kerry couldn’t control the waves of attacks, and they repeatedly fouled the Donegal men. Murphy’s lack of form is worrying. He may not be receiving quality ball and he is often double marked, but Donegal really need him to start delivering. He struggled with the frees on Sunday, and he will need to improve this aspect of his game if Donegal are to have any chance in the semi-final.

It was disappointing that we let Kerry back into the game in the last five minutes. The goal we conceded was soft, and they struggled to contain Kerry towards the end. There was a naivety about us, and you can’t invite a team like Kerry on to you. However, Donegal showed brilliant battling qualities to respond and get the insurance point. Karl Lacey had a great game, and it was fitting that he would race clear and kick us into the semi-final.

This was a huge victory for Donegal, and we now go into the semi-final full of hope and belief. Donegal will need to improve significantly if they are to beat Cork, and they will need everyone to be at the top of their game.  The Club championship games are off until Donegal’s interest in the championship is over, so the next three weeks will be solely about devising a game plan to beat the Cork men.

Daunting Task for Donegal

It doesn’t get much more daunting than this. The GAA aristocrats, Kerry, in their favourite arena, looking to reach their twelfth All-Ireland semi-final since 2000. If things weren’t tough enough for Jim McGuinness and his Donegal team, throw in the fact, that the Kingdom have been wounded this season by claims that their great team are now yesterday’s men.

Kerry were hurt by these suggestions, and Paul Galvin’s emotion-filled interview after they beat Tyrone, showed that there is plenty of passion left in their ageing bodies. Kerry people are traditionalists, and think that Donegal’s tactics are ruining their sport. They have won the All-Ireland Championship 36 times, so they cannot comprehend Donegal’s need to plays so defensively. They have made their dislike for Ulster football well known in the past, and will take great pleasure in eliminating Donegal from the championship.

GAA folk are notoriously fickle, and it was only two weeks ago that this particular Kerry team were dead and buried. They were well off the pace against Cork in Munster, and then they came from behind to narrowly beat an average Westmeath team. The great Kerry team was finished at that stage, fading away for a while, until the next generation of stars came through. But then they beat their old nemesis Tyrone. A Lazarus-like recovery, the media would have you believe. But was it really that impressive? Tyrone are rebuilding, and in truth didn’t put up much of a fight.

Donegal have also played Tyrone, and were not convincing in beating Mickey Harte’s side. The Red Hands would have reached the Ulster final had it not been for Paul Durcan’s left foot. Tyrone put up a big fight against Donegal, but went out tamely to Kerry. Tyrone’s intensity dropped and they allowed Declan O’Sullivan to run riot. O’Sullivan is their playmaker, and when he plays well, Kerry play well. I’d expect Eamon McGee (if fit) to pick up O’Sullivan. He has the physique to compete with him, and he will also be able to wind him up.

It seems certain that McGuinness will have some plan devised to mark Colm Cooper out of the game. He is the greatest player of his generation, and he will need to be shut out if Donegal are to win. Karl Lacey is the perfect man to mark him, but he’ll probably get a lot of support from Mark McHugh, as Donegal will not want the Gooch to be isolated in one on one situations. A lot of people have claimed recently that Donegal are weak under the high ball, but I would be delighted to see Kerry kicking long high balls into Kieran Donaghy.

Neil McGee has not been at his best this year, but he tends to up his performances against better opposition. He’ll love the physical battle with Donaghy, and Donegal have been very effective at limiting the influence of renowned target men. Tomas O’Connor couldn’t get a ball in last year’s quarter-final, and Paddy Bradley and Benny Coulter were ineffective against Donegal this year also.

It’s worrying that Donegal got truly hammered down in Killarney in the league. Donegal might not have been at full fitness, and they may have not put much importance on the league, but there may be psychological scars from Kerry’s emphatic victory. They won by double scores, 2-16 to 1-8, and showed exactly what can happen when you give them too much respect. That was as much as any team has scored against Donegal under Jim McGuinness, and Donegal will be worried that if Kerry get in their flow, they will race clear.

Kerry have had the upper hand in most of their encounters against Cork in recent years, but despite their dominance they have always struggled when Cork ran at them. Pierce O’Neill, Graham Canty, and Aidan Walsh are all powerful runners, and on many occasions, their speed and fitness allowed them to get in behind Kerry’s rear-guard. Four of Kerry’s defenders are over 30 and they have played a huge amount of football over the last ten years. Sunday’s game may well be decided by how they compete with Donegal’s counter-attacking game.

Joe Brolly has received a lot of criticism since his appearance on the Sunday Game last week, but despite all the waffling, digging and sock scratching, he stumbled upon a very interesting point. When Kerry have really been up against it in recent years, they have crumbled under the pressure.

I’m not taking away from the four All-Ireland titles they have won in the last decade, but the closest margin in any of those finals they won, was four points against Cork in 2009. In those finals, the game was over with twenty minutes left. In contrast, against Armagh in 2002, against Tyrone three times, and Dublin last year, Kerry have been in the game with ten minutes remaining and lost. Doubts remain over whether they have the hunger and drive to close out games when the pressure is on.

The midfield battle will be crucial on Sunday. If Neil Gallagher is not fit, it is hard to see Kerry not dominating the midfield sector. If they do win midfield, this will put the Donegal defence under an incredible amount of pressure. This is the biggest task for Donegal’s defensive system, and they will have to be at the top of their game to stop Kerry’s forwards. If Donegal give the Kingdom too much of a lead, they will not catch them. They need to keep the game tight and low-scoring. If it is still close going into the last 10 minutes, I expect Donegal’s fitness and desire to see them through.