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.