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.