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!