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Donegal V Down

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "I told you before the championship I really like the look of this Donegal some serious players all over the team that was some hammering today only bad point was McGee let the team down badly 5 knees I counted in front of the linesman I accept he's as hard as nails but I don't know what he was thinking on this one. Still feel you're not getting the most out of Murphy out the field he's playing well don't get me wrong but inside he's scares the life out teams we all love to see him out the field."
Murphy played alot more inside yesterday than previous games especially in the first half. As for Neil Mcgee cop on will u with the dramatic 5 knees barely touched him. While in Croke park.....

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 11/06/2018 09:39:48    2109739

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "I told you before the championship I really like the look of this Donegal some serious players all over the team that was some hammering today only bad point was McGee let the team down badly 5 knees I counted in front of the linesman I accept he's as hard as nails but I don't know what he was thinking on this one. Still feel you're not getting the most out of Murphy out the field he's playing well don't get me wrong but inside he's scares the life out teams we all love to see him out the field."
I think all Donegal supporters will agree with me when I say the role Murphy is playing at the moment is a perfect fit for him and the team. He's arguably the best player in the country at the moment and we need him involved as much as possible when attacking. He switched between 11 and 14 yesterday and gave another top drawer performance. I hope and I'm sure we will continue to use him this way for the rest of the championship as he becomes more difficult to man mark when rotating positions like he does.

Mobot (Donegal) - Posts: 459 - 11/06/2018 09:45:26    2109744

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Replying To panamasam:  "Murphy played alot more inside yesterday than previous games especially in the first half. As for Neil Mcgee cop on will u with the dramatic 5 knees barely touched him. While in Croke park....."
He knee'd him 5 times , Jesus I was totally positive about donegal I say one thing that was blatantly obvious and I'm told to cop on.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 11/06/2018 10:18:06    2109768

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Replying To Mobot:  "I think all Donegal supporters will agree with me when I say the role Murphy is playing at the moment is a perfect fit for him and the team. He's arguably the best player in the country at the moment and we need him involved as much as possible when attacking. He switched between 11 and 14 yesterday and gave another top drawer performance. I hope and I'm sure we will continue to use him this way for the rest of the championship as he becomes more difficult to man mark when rotating positions like he does."
Murphy is class no doubt about it donegal's greatest ever I'd say but right now Brian Fenton is the best player in the country.

Good to see you's not playing with the blanket as much anymore you don't need to with the talented players you've got.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 11/06/2018 10:20:53    2109769

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "Murphy is class no doubt about it donegal's greatest ever I'd say but right now Brian Fenton is the best player in the country.

Good to see you's not playing with the blanket as much anymore you don't need to with the talented players you've got."
Howya clondalkin, hope your keeping well.
I was thinking of you yesterday reckoning you would be all in favour of the "new" Donegal which we are all enjoying.
It will however come as no surprise to you to learn that I would rather we were a bit tighter at the back. The opposition up to now hasn't been able to take advantage & Fermanagh won't either but I would hate to think what the blue clad urban warriors would do to us.
I think we need another year or two but I have to say I am enjoying life at the moment.
As for Neil McGee he fully deserved his red, for stupidity if for nothing else. Down were no threat, he was on a yellow, and then he does that in front of both referee & linesman. Baffling

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 11/06/2018 11:04:04    2109805

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Replying To clondalkindub:  "He knee'd him 5 times , Jesus I was totally positive about donegal I say one thing that was blatantly obvious and I'm told to cop on."
Ah now Neil just missed mass yesterday yesterday morning he was only saying his prayers and trying to retrieve the ball, the Down man made a meal of it, if Neil wanted to hit him he'd have known all about it.
It was a silly thing to do though with him on a yellow already, a second yellow was as much as it deserved, I wish the ref had been as strict on all the dangerous high tackles Ryan Mc Hugh shipped,
Roll on Sunday week, I just hope we can score enough against the dogged Fermanagh defence, to get to the super 8's pitted against the almighty Dubs would do this young team a power of good.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 2737 - 11/06/2018 11:16:10    2109825

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Serious shooting by Donegal in that game as reflected in the scoreline, hard to believe they were the team with 14 men for most of the match. Tougher tests to come I'm sure but some positive signs coming from the style and approach Donegal are going with this season.
From my understanding of the super 8s, Ulster and Leinster winners would be in the same group. No disrespect to Fermanagh and Laois but we're looking at Dublin and Donegal in the same group. Imagine a day out for Dublin in Ballybofey in the middle of summer with both teams playing some intense attacking play. That would be something else

keithlemon (Australia) - Posts: 920 - 11/06/2018 11:17:35    2109827

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Very good performance from Donegal but Down just didn't show up except for Connor Harrison and Caolan Mooney. We are a totally transformed team under Declan Bonner, from one of the most defensive team in the country to one of the most attacking teams. In fact most Donegal supporters would like to see the team a bit more defensive. Even Pat Spillane was praising us for playing great football lol. We pushed right up on the Down kickouts even when we were down to 14 men which I thought was impressive. Our new goalie Shaun Patton has been the find of the season, he could be as good as Cluxton and Beggan in a few years.

The Fermanagh game will be a test of our attacking play, doubt if we will meet a more defensive team. We just need to be patient and kick some long range scores. We have players to kick the long range scores - Murphy, McBrearty, Langan, Thompson and MaNiallis.

I am a huge fan of Neil McGee but think he deserved his red card, it might not have been the worst thing we have ever seen but its poor form kneeing someone in the back. Terrible lack of discipline for an experienced player. He is going to miss the Ulster final now and we need him badly. Mind you there were worse challenges put in on Ryan McHugh, head high ones.

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1873 - 11/06/2018 11:24:52    2109834

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Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "Ah now Neil just missed mass yesterday yesterday morning he was only saying his prayers and trying to retrieve the ball, the Down man made a meal of it, if Neil wanted to hit him he'd have known all about it.
It was a silly thing to do though with him on a yellow already, a second yellow was as much as it deserved, I wish the ref had been as strict on all the dangerous high tackles Ryan Mc Hugh shipped,
Roll on Sunday week, I just hope we can score enough against the dogged Fermanagh defence, to get to the super 8's pitted against the almighty Dubs would do this young team a power of good."
Sorry, but McGee got what he deserved , a straight red. Probably one of the most stupid acts I've seen from a player on a yellow right in front of the linesman. He might have got away with one or 2 cowardly knees, but 4 or 5?? Ye canny defend an act like that


Donegal in serious form at the minute, be very interesting to see how the forward unit will cope with the Fermanagh defence. McGlynn and R McHugh will be the key

Seamy_Hendrix (Derry) - Posts: 47 - 11/06/2018 11:31:14    2109842

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Replying To Tir Conaill Abu:  "If we win Ulster we're in with Dublin, we might also have Mayo but if Kerry win Munster they'll be in the other group."
Yeah / was trying to show extreme case - If Kerry lose to Cork and win their qualifier they would be in our group
Unlikely but in theory possible

ruanua (Donegal) - Posts: 4966 - 11/06/2018 11:51:04    2109861

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Replying To keithlemon:  "Serious shooting by Donegal in that game as reflected in the scoreline, hard to believe they were the team with 14 men for most of the match. Tougher tests to come I'm sure but some positive signs coming from the style and approach Donegal are going with this season.
From my understanding of the super 8s, Ulster and Leinster winners would be in the same group. No disrespect to Fermanagh and Laois but we're looking at Dublin and Donegal in the same group. Imagine a day out for Dublin in Ballybofey in the middle of summer with both teams playing some intense attacking play. That would be something else"
You may keep imagining because it won't happen. If Donegal and Dublin both win their provincial deciders they will meet on the first day of the Super 8s and it will be Croke Park, which will be classed as a 'neutral venue' for the game. It's a joke but typical really.

benjyyy (Donegal) - Posts: 1422 - 11/06/2018 11:56:24    2109868

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You made it sound like Neil McGee was using some octagon skills with the 5 knees which was not at all the case. It was not even worthy of a yellow nevermind a straight red. The damage inflicted on the Down player came from his own man in a dangerous enough collision. Neil was stupid in one respect but at the same time has every right to be annoyed to get a card nevermind a red for that quite literally hand bags. More of a talking point should be the treatment that Ryan McHugh gets and the lack of protection he gets from the official. Not just on the ball but especially off it. This is nothing new but Donegal lost Ryan for a few weeks as he was stood down as a precautionary due to the effects of concussion.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 11/06/2018 12:06:33    2109880

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I like Bonner, always have as a player and manager... he's changed the culture in the Donegal ranks which is no mean feat.... he has taken off the shackles. Ok they got relegated but id say in the end it will be worth it because he has changed the whole playing system, it was going to take a while to get going and now look at them, they're flying......Micky Harte - are you watching?

Nice to see Donegal's big players being allowed to play and show off they're talent.

cacsmckilly (Tyrone) - Posts: 1294 - 11/06/2018 13:13:08    2109921

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Replying To Seamy_Hendrix:  "Sorry, but McGee got what he deserved , a straight red. Probably one of the most stupid acts I've seen from a player on a yellow right in front of the linesman. He might have got away with one or 2 cowardly knees, but 4 or 5?? Ye canny defend an act like that


Donegal in serious form at the minute, be very interesting to see how the forward unit will cope with the Fermanagh defence. McGlynn and R McHugh will be the key"
Agree McGee was a coward for what he did - he's known for this and well known for his stupidity. With respect to Donegal they are one serious outfit and was massively impressed with them - I would consider leaving McGee at home as this could be their Achilles heal in a big game as he's likely to get sent off.

IrishGael3 (USA) - Posts: 1092 - 11/06/2018 14:12:25    2109953

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Replying To benjyyy:  "You may keep imagining because it won't happen. If Donegal and Dublin both win their provincial deciders they will meet on the first day of the Super 8s and it will be Croke Park, which will be classed as a 'neutral venue' for the game. It's a joke but typical really."
and anyway ballybofey is probably 'too small' for the dubs if it was their away game so likely in clones or something anyway - 2 home a one neutral for them it would be!

NaomhNaille (Donegal) - Posts: 124 - 11/06/2018 14:25:24    2109963

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Replying To cacsmckilly:  "I like Bonner, always have as a player and manager... he's changed the culture in the Donegal ranks which is no mean feat.... he has taken off the shackles. Ok they got relegated but id say in the end it will be worth it because he has changed the whole playing system, it was going to take a while to get going and now look at them, they're flying......Micky Harte - are you watching?

Nice to see Donegal's big players being allowed to play and show off they're talent."
Cool the jets here, we're playing good stuff and it's good to see but the opposition haven't exactly put up a test. Derry were probably the ones that stuck with us the most and they had some poor shooting, but we never got out of second gear that day. No more than yourselves in Ulster last year, it's hard it know where we're at. In saying that, it's a very young team so it's encouraging that they're putting these teams away pretty ruthlessly.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 11/06/2018 14:33:12    2109968

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Donegal looked on a par with Dublin in their performance yesterday. No doubt the pundits will expect them to hand out a similar hiding to Fermanagh in the Ulster final. They certainly are a joy to watch

neverright (Roscommon) - Posts: 1648 - 11/06/2018 17:54:22    2110140

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Away from the McGee incident it was a definite step up in intensity from Donegal yesterday especially in the first half. The hallmarks of the first 2 games was Donegal not really getting out of 2nd gear but finding a gear at the necessary moments in both games. The decision to give Michael Murphy and Frank McGlynn an extended break during the winter is paying off as both look in excellent condition. Plus we have a very strong squad with everybody buying into it meaning everybody is kept ticking over and kept reasonably fresh which will be crucial looking forward. However a note of caution in that Ulster is not that strong. We have had underage teams put up similar scorelines then get found out when the quality of opponent rises. While Fermanagh will be a stern test in how they will set up it won't be until a possible appearance in the super 8's when Donegal will truly know where they are at. From a supporters point of view most would have been happy to get to an Ulster final and especially the super 8's which should be attainable right now. It must be said that Down shot themselves in the foot yesterday with their kickout strategy which was a shambles. They regained some kind of parity when going short but reverted to type thereafter.

My main worry a couple of years ago was the inside forward line (certainly not the too old, too many miles in the legs line from a couple of years ago....which as was highlighted here was bull) but not now with the emergence of Jamie Brennan. I have being a critic of this lad, not his ability but his decision making at times. Physically he is unrecognizable from a year ago and is equally adept off of either foot. An early top contender for young player of the year I would suggest.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 11/06/2018 18:29:54    2110160

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Replying To realdub:  "Why apprehensive, just another person's opinion not matter what the county."
For the simple reason that it benefits both Kerry and Dublin to have other sides hyped up taking away some of the limelight from them which is ideal coming down to the business end. Donegal were relatively under the radar until last weekend. While we were impressive most of our good play came from Down's shambolic approach to their own kickouts. Saying that we are showing good variation in terms of our attacking play which is what most supporters have been crying out for since 2014 really.

panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2779 - 12/06/2018 15:26:59    2110576

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Replying To panamasam:  "Murphy played alot more inside yesterday than previous games especially in the first half. As for Neil Mcgee cop on will u with the dramatic 5 knees barely touched him. While in Croke park....."
Panamasam, I think you need to take off the blinkers in relation to McGee. Straight red card all day long and absolutely no need to do what he did. Totally uncalled for, let his teammates down and against better opposition could have cost us dearly.

Lifford Gael (Donegal) - Posts: 1925 - 12/06/2018 18:02:44    2110654

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