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Left Ballybofey more upbeat than I expected to. Performances of young players heartening, McColgan, Curran, McGroddy, myglynn when on and CODonnell very good. Tactically some changes too more kicking, even when few didn't work we stuck at it. Delighted for Daire OBaill he was good and his kicking to link play surprised me. Marty o Reilly a quiet addition to panel and he did well and bit of experience too helps.Brennan going to be key in linking defence and attack - with those out ball runs. Long range point taking good in poor conditions. Free taker right side may need to be ironed out during league.Midfield we have midfield that can win 50:50s is good so if we can press teams to kick long we can hem them in. Thought defence showed more pressure when Kerry entered our 45 and few more turnovers helped lift crowd. Short kick outs a worry, think we got used to pinging it to Eoin Ban and he had skill set to beat man and go up line in18-19 but teams may look to let us have short and press full back line on way out as we do fine it hard to get out of first wave of a press. McMenamin at 6 was good and he gave presence there. In first half we carried ball into contact and punished few times. Interesting to see how younger players go v Tyrone, how they take it to next game from high of Sunday. I do expect a bit of inconsistency at some point in league as great can be mixed with off days but think we can now get to six or seven points to ensure survival as we get more back. Next week different test but can go there and have a cut. Still early days but cautiously hopeful. I would like to see Jamie Grant gets some time as JBW and dunleavy and young Ryan McFadden. Is Aaron Doherty available or injured does anyone know? DonegalDanny92 (Donegal) - Posts: 39 - 31/01/2023 12:30:13 2455497 Link
Is it just me or does everyone else on here think Conor Ó Donnell is the real deal.. I think he's an absolute class footballer and actually think he's has as much talent as Michael did at the same age.. I ask any of yous is there a better half forward line and I include Dublin and kerry in this than Conor ó Donnell, Michael langán and Ciarán Thompson.. That is serious fire power.. RoryGall35 (Donegal) - Posts: 167 - 31/01/2023 12:32:10 2455499 Link
Replying To RoryGall35: "Is it just me or does everyone else on here think Conor Ó Donnell is the real deal.. I think he's an absolute class footballer and actually think he's has as much talent as Michael did at the same age.. I ask any of yous is there a better half forward line and I include Dublin and kerry in this than Conor ó Donnell, Michael langán and Ciarán Thompson.. That is serious fire power.." I don't think he has to be the next anybody.... he's a really good player and is playing very well at the moment totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 31/01/2023 13:11:34 2455516 Link
Replying To KerrymanStuckInDonegal: "No it didn't. Kerry didn't turn up, Donegal did. Fair play to them." Kerry were six points ahead in the first half were they not? greatpoint (USA) - Posts: 427 - 31/01/2023 13:30:20 2455526 Link
Personally, despite the brilliant debuts of Caolan McColgan and Johnny McGroddy as well as huge performance by Conor O'Donnell, I think the most important performance we saw as we get into latter stages of the league and the minefield of the Ulster championship was from young Mark Curran. I think that he is exactly the type of player Donegal have missed the most over the last few years since the retirement of Paddy McGrath and the more bit-part role Neil McGee took. He is a real tigerish and aggressive man-marker which we have severely missed in my opinion. I know he has been up in the training squad for a couple of years now and I saw him in the McKenna cup last year and to be honest I wasn't really sure if he was up to the standard, but he seems to have matured through Dungloe's run to the Intermediate and Ulster last year and he really put down a marker on Sunday, seemed to get an annoying wee hand onto every ball that was kicked in and didn't give an inch of space. Again, I know it's just one game but was really heartened by that performance and hopefully can last going forward. donegalforsam11 (Donegal) - Posts: 103 - 31/01/2023 15:02:53 2455575 Link
Great to get the result, it didn't look likely in the first half. We were far from perfect and had poor periods in both halves, especially the first half, but the big positive is that the team rode out those periods and didn't drop the heads. No reason we can't go and have a cut off Tyrone now. I'd imagine the team and management will be buzzing this week. One of the most satisfying thing from the weekend was the large crowd that turned up to support the team when most people were not expecting much. I was surprised at the size of the crowd. The atmosphere was great in the second half and I'm sure gave the team a good lift going down the stretch. himachechy (Donegal) - Posts: 293 - 31/01/2023 17:14:30 2455622 Link
Replying To RoryGall35: "Is it just me or does everyone else on here think Conor Ó Donnell is the real deal.. I think he's an absolute class footballer and actually think he's has as much talent as Michael did at the same age.. I ask any of yous is there a better half forward line and I include Dublin and kerry in this than Conor ó Donnell, Michael langán and Ciarán Thompson.. That is serious fire power.." Conor had a brilliant match on Sunday but its still early days for him as County player. He needs to perform at this level for a consistent amount of time to be a regular for a start but there is no doubt there is huge potential there. Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 275 - 31/01/2023 20:44:41 2455688 Link
Club Managers Has all the club managers been appointed? any surprises or interesting appointments? beidhmeanseo (Donegal) - Posts: 137 - 01/02/2023 09:06:17 2455709 Link
It would be fantastic if we can build on last weekend's result with another win in Omagh. It won't be easy though and I think we should be patient with this team. With young players there can be inconsistencies with performance and results can vary. But if they show the same attitude as last weekend then I think we can be cautiously optimistic of getting another two points on the board. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9136 - 01/02/2023 14:31:00 2455803 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "It would be fantastic if we can build on last weekend's result with another win in Omagh. It won't be easy though and I think we should be patient with this team. With young players there can be inconsistencies with performance and results can vary. But if they show the same attitude as last weekend then I think we can be cautiously optimistic of getting another two points on the board." Sensible post, you've hit the nail on the head, patience will be needed with this young team. It was a great start for the players and Paddy Carr. There will be bumps along the road for them but hopefully we can retain div 1 status and have a full deck available for championship. totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 01/02/2023 15:39:10 2455821 Link
Replying To totalrecall: "Sensible post, you've hit the nail on the head, patience will be needed with this young team. It was a great start for the players and Paddy Carr. There will be bumps along the road for them but hopefully we can retain div 1 status and have a full deck available for championship." The thing with young players is that they're not as well known throughout the country and you might find that over time their performances can plateau as teams learn how to cope with them. Just taking young McColgan as an example. We know he's been in and around the squad a wee while but he really put his hand up last Sunday as a player to be reckoned with. I doubt many in Kerry would have heard of him but you can be sure they know his name now. You can also be sure Logan and Dooher have taken note. How can I put this delicately? There possibly isn't a better team in the country than Tyrone to disrupt/upset opposition danger men. It will be interesting to see on Sunday. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9136 - 01/02/2023 15:57:05 2455824 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "It would be fantastic if we can build on last weekend's result with another win in Omagh. It won't be easy though and I think we should be patient with this team. With young players there can be inconsistencies with performance and results can vary. But if they show the same attitude as last weekend then I think we can be cautiously optimistic of getting another two points on the board." If the returning "stars" play with the same attitude and commitment as the young guns did on Sunday we could have a good enough year. gunman (Donegal) - Posts: 1057 - 01/02/2023 15:58:24 2455825 Link
The returning Stars you mention have to get back the Geansai Some of our players were out of form or played out of position Armagh defeat last year we had ony 4 defenders on the team as such I want a tight 6 at the back and the rest can fight for a spot Fantastic start, delighted for management who can take heart from a gutsy display in awful conditions Langan should be tried at Full Forward, kicks off both feet , solid in the air Was excellent at underage in this position McMenamin at 6 looks a solid move, Mc Gonagle could also play there i feel thereporter (Donegal) - Posts: 38 - 01/02/2023 16:32:34 2455834 Link
Replying To himachechy: "Great to get the result, it didn't look likely in the first half. We were far from perfect and had poor periods in both halves, especially the first half, but the big positive is that the team rode out those periods and didn't drop the heads. No reason we can't go and have a cut off Tyrone now. I'd imagine the team and management will be buzzing this week. One of the most satisfying thing from the weekend was the large crowd that turned up to support the team when most people were not expecting much. I was surprised at the size of the crowd. The atmosphere was great in the second half and I'm sure gave the team a good lift going down the stretch." I think in winter, when the weather's bad, you get 'supporters' at games and they will always back the team and try to support the lads as long as they are giving 100%, no matter what the result. In championship you tend to get the 'fans' ... greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 471 - 01/02/2023 16:42:02 2455838 Link
Replying To greenfan: "I think in winter, when the weather's bad, you get 'supporters' at games and they will always back the team and try to support the lads as long as they are giving 100%, no matter what the result. In championship you tend to get the 'fans' ..." You're 100% right there Greenfan, or should I say Greensupporter? ;-) SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 585 - 01/02/2023 20:33:17 2455875 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "The thing with young players is that they're not as well known throughout the country and you might find that over time their performances can plateau as teams learn how to cope with them. Just taking young McColgan as an example. We know he's been in and around the squad a wee while but he really put his hand up last Sunday as a player to be reckoned with. I doubt many in Kerry would have heard of him but you can be sure they know his name now. You can also be sure Logan and Dooher have taken note. How can I put this delicately? There possibly isn't a better team in the country than Tyrone to disrupt/upset opposition danger men. It will be interesting to see on Sunday." Agreed, but after all the negativity since the 2022 championship exit, it's hard not to get a bit giddy after a great result! totalrecall (Leitrim) - Posts: 916 - 01/02/2023 21:19:11 2455884 Link
Replying To greenfan: "I think in winter, when the weather's bad, you get 'supporters' at games and they will always back the team and try to support the lads as long as they are giving 100%, no matter what the result. In championship you tend to get the 'fans' ..." Truest words ever spoken on the hogan stand. You can't beat the real gaa fans for a Bit of athmosphere.. rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2404 - 02/02/2023 10:27:16 2455920 Link
Replying To rorysboys: "Truest words ever spoken on the hogan stand. You can't beat the real gaa fans for a Bit of athmosphere.." I wouldn't go too far down that road. Everybody is different and have different levels of involvement /interest in GAA. If the team are going well the crowds will come, that's just the nature of sport. Hopefully this team will be successful and can get a good bandwagon going for people to jump on :) himachechy (Donegal) - Posts: 293 - 02/02/2023 11:42:36 2455968 Link
Replying To himachechy: "I wouldn't go too far down that road. Everybody is different and have different levels of involvement /interest in GAA. If the team are going well the crowds will come, that's just the nature of sport. Hopefully this team will be successful and can get a good bandwagon going for people to jump on :)" Very true, if the team are successful the crowds will come. I think a lot of people stopped going in recent years because we were a hard watch, it's not even about the results. I try to get to a club game every weekend during the club championship and its also a hard watch, every team with 13 players behind the ball and two full forwards isolated up top. It's also got really expensive for a family to go. I really hope this young Donegal team can be successful, we could do with some cheer. I am really looking forward to go to Omagh this weekend. Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1874 - 02/02/2023 13:20:29 2456006 Link
Replying To himachechy: "I wouldn't go too far down that road. Everybody is different and have different levels of involvement /interest in GAA. If the team are going well the crowds will come, that's just the nature of sport. Hopefully this team will be successful and can get a good bandwagon going for people to jump on :)" The Supporters that go to matches on cold wet days to support the team regardless of how the team is doing, like now when the Management are trying out new players and new systems are true Supporters. The Supporters that only go to matches when the team is going well are not true Supporters. The true Supporters show be rewarded by getting the best Tickets depending on the amount of matches attended. Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 275 - 02/02/2023 13:34:48 2456009 Link