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Replying To Commodore: " Replying To SouthOfTheGap: "[quote=Commodore: "I stand over it, Jim played his brother in-law Colm McFadden in every game, despite him no longer being able to score points from play unless he fisted them. Yet left Patrick McBrearty on the bench, despite him being able to score from play despite being predictable on his left foot.
I agree about Mayo and Cavan to a certain extent, but would add that our predictable style had a number of weaknesses due lacking experienced physical players in key positions of midfield and half back line,
<b>Mayo 1-14 v 1-10 Donegal:</b> Mayo sat deep to prevent Patton's long kick-outs, bullied our midfield if we kicked there and when we went short kick-out, they tracked our key runners like Ryan McHugh, Eoin McHugh, Odhran McFadden Ferry, Daire O'Baoill and turned us over repeatedly. They also managed to put the squeeze on our inside forwards, so even when they rarely got the ball, they struggled to get scores.
<b>Cavan 1-13 v 0-12 Donegal:</b> Cavan followed the Mayo template from the year earlier, and it paid dividends, as Donegal management still hadn't identified the flaw or maybe felt they had too much firepower for Cavan. Donegal played at low intensity, got our match ups badly wrong, seemingly with one eye already on Dublin, but Cavan had two black cards, so they played 20 minutes of the match with a man down and deserved to win it. Caolan McGonigle was picking up Gearoid McKernan, usually Stephen McMenamin or Ban Gallagher role, and he had more of a free reign. But ultimately Cavan conceded short kick-outs and knew they had physicality to force turnovers and forwards to do well against our weakened full back line.
Shockingly against Derry in 2021 we seemed to be going down the same road, however some players were finally starting to stand up and we got the win by the skin of our teeth, before things went in Tyrone's favour in the Semi Final.
There are signs that Declan & Co have stumbled upon a more solid back six, but I fear there are still a number of gaps that need to be plugged, if our forwards and midfielders can all return and can stay fit, I think we can have a proper go this year."</div>Yes, we don't look too bad defensively, and using our big men as the shield, theoretically anyway we should be strong enough.
In Castlebar, in shocking conditions, I felt the contrast was that Mayo brought wild aggression, while Donegal brought a dry day performance.
In 2020, conditions were also poor. I agree, we had one eye on Dublin, both players and management. A completely flat performance. Cavan came out to meet us, and didn't let us settle into a pattern of play. Because they engaged us further out than we had planned for, our support runners were often in the wrong place. We should've been able to exploit the space this left inside, but we didn't.
Short of sitting down to watch the 14 Final again (havent the stomach for it), I can't agree that Paddy was then a better option than Colm Anthony. CA always brought a goal threat, even on his poor days, that Paddy just doesn't bring. The stats will back this up.
With Tyrone after beating Mayo, I'd say this means we will need to pull a point out of somewhere in our last two games. Fingers crossed." I agree the 2014 AI Final is a hard watch, but I just felt Colm McFadden for some reason lost his edge that year, I don't recall him kicking too many points from play that full season, definitely not in Championship, he hit a lot of wides and I didn't think his goal-match ratio was strong enough to justify his starting place. I agree Jim McGuinness was trying Jigger O'Connor and was trying to get more out of Paddy McBrearty, but I still feel this was serious mistake for the All Ireland final, Paddy may be predictable on the left, but he is still hard to stop. Colm was marked completely out of that game, and I think this is one of the things that cost us, along with those two kick-outs. Congratulations to Donegal Ladies yesterday, brilliant win over Dublin and hopefully now they can beat Meath in the final, and hopefully the men can beat Dublin today at HQ."]The 2014 final is worth watching again, there was a couple of turning points and Kerry got them all, the early goal when Paddy McGrath got isolated, Jigger's miss, Paul Murphy's wonderful point from the Cusack stand side just as we found our feet, the Kickout to Donaghy and finally for as bad as we played Colm Anthony could have drawn it when he hit the post in injury time, we would have been better in a replay and I believe we won have won it. We also missed Ryan Bradley and never replaced him from the 2012 team.
Ulsterchamps72 (Donegal) - Posts: 171 - 20/03/2022 13:04:33
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This has an air of a challenge game about it, why did it take Bonner so long to take Jamie Brennan off? good to see Jamie back but he is clearly lacking match sharpness, pity Oisin Gallen isn't available today, this game would have suited him so well, good run out in Croker anyway but at the 54 min mark looks to me like Dublin are just going through the gears, big game against Armagh now next Sunday, we'll need at least a draw in that game? not sure till we see all the round 6 results.
Great goal from Murph, what a man he is, he should stay in at FF for the rest of his intercounty career, a full backs nightmare.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3456 - 20/03/2022 17:02:24
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Just back from HQ.
Definitely an improved showing from last week but we fell a bit short. The squad is definitely stretched from no 7 onwards with our injury list.
Positives
- McCole was excellent once again, kept Killkenny on a tight lease and saved a certain goal in the second half.
- Conor O'Donnell got through a huge amount of work and kicked some lovely scores - took a couple of bad options but has played his way into the championship team in my opinion.
-Ryan McHugh stood up today and showed his class - the ball in for Murphy's goal was perfect abd the big man did the rest.
- We kicked more ball into our forwards early and were looking for this option much more often.
Negatives
- Dublin could have easily had another 3 goals - Fenton's goal chance was so easily worked by a Dublin man making a dummy run to the left to open things up.
- We handed Dublin at least 1-3 from bad ball skills or our forwards not winning ball kicked into their chests. Their first goal when it hopped over Jamie Brennan's head to start that move was a very poor goal to concede at a critical point in the match.
- When Dublin had everyone back we really didn't look like breaking them down that often or we took a very low % pot shot (Paddy who kicked some lovely scores was especially guilty of this)
- I don't have any confidence in Parton hitting long range frees and his body language would indicate he feels the same way. Surely MM or Jason McGee could relieve him of that duty?
All in all I think this match will stand to a lot of players in terms of match sharpness or even their first outting at Croke Park.
Our championship season is going to be decided by how many of our walking wounded we can bring back into the fold and how fit they'll be.
Is there any word on Michael Langan at all? Would be a sickener to have him out for the Armagh games seeing as he was flying.
Donegal2022 (Donegal) - Posts: 13 - 20/03/2022 19:03:18
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Funny aul game. It had a look of a game that Donegal thought they couldn't win and Dublin that they wouldn't lose. Funnily enough if they did have a little more belief it could have been much closer. Too many of Dublin's points and goals came from unforced errors. The first goal being a prime example. Donegal were trying to kick it a bit more and even though it didn't always work they have to persist with mixing it up.
The players who have been injured looked the most rusty. McFadden, mcmenamin and j Brennan need to be a.good bit sharper than they were today and hopefully that will come with game time.
Mcbrearty was very good today and having Murphy back helps with that. Dublin also had too many runners in on goal with a simple hand pass. There surely has to be some guarding the middle at all times against that. The runners also needed to be tracked better. Mccole had a fine game again and he's probably been Donegals most consistently good player in the league.
I don't know whether Shane O'Donnell is not fully match. If not I'd have him starting today. Peadar Mogan covers some pile of ground and is very quick. They have him designated quite often to carry the ball and his not perfect solo and being reliant on his left side impedes him a bit as he gets turned over. I'd love to see ban in the ball a bit more doing that. I know he can't go every time but he causes real problems when he runs at teams. The lack of Thompson, langan and mcgonagle is really felt in gamed like today. Dublin were much more physical around the middle and we struggled with Fenton and Howard. Then you don't have nod or Farrah who should be worth a few points too.
Murphy was a handful at FF when they got the right ball into him. It's hard not to agree with leaving in there but he and the team have to buy into that fully.
Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 943 - 20/03/2022 19:18:00
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Replying To Donegal2022: "Just back from HQ.
Definitely an improved showing from last week but we fell a bit short. The squad is definitely stretched from no 7 onwards with our injury list.
Positives
- McCole was excellent once again, kept Killkenny on a tight lease and saved a certain goal in the second half.
- Conor O'Donnell got through a huge amount of work and kicked some lovely scores - took a couple of bad options but has played his way into the championship team in my opinion.
-Ryan McHugh stood up today and showed his class - the ball in for Murphy's goal was perfect abd the big man did the rest.
- We kicked more ball into our forwards early and were looking for this option much more often.
Negatives
- Dublin could have easily had another 3 goals - Fenton's goal chance was so easily worked by a Dublin man making a dummy run to the left to open things up.
- We handed Dublin at least 1-3 from bad ball skills or our forwards not winning ball kicked into their chests. Their first goal when it hopped over Jamie Brennan's head to start that move was a very poor goal to concede at a critical point in the match.
- When Dublin had everyone back we really didn't look like breaking them down that often or we took a very low % pot shot (Paddy who kicked some lovely scores was especially guilty of this)
- I don't have any confidence in Parton hitting long range frees and his body language would indicate he feels the same way. Surely MM or Jason McGee could relieve him of that duty?
All in all I think this match will stand to a lot of players in terms of match sharpness or even their first outting at Croke Park.
Our championship season is going to be decided by how many of our walking wounded we can bring back into the fold and how fit they'll be.
Is there any word on Michael Langan at all? Would be a sickener to have him out for the Armagh games seeing as he was flying." That's a good post. On Conor o'donnell I agree though he does have to eliminate the careless/unforced errors. It's been there in a few games. A reason I'd be a bit disappointed in shane o'donnell not playing is the the way he creates scores for the likes of conor o'donnell. Ryan mchugh was overall better today though to me he looks to be lacking energy.
In relation to when dublin have everyone back donegal did struggle with that and do against a lot of teams. Not having langan is a big loss as he kick points accurately from far out. Thompson will as well though he tends to need a little more space to get his shot away, mcbrearty was maybe a bit illdisciplined at times with wild kicks but I'd rather that than getting turned over without getting a kick off.
Patton has not proven himself not to be an accurate place kicker from distance and it was not good today. In order maybe to protect murphy from injury they probably don't want him hitting them anymore. If they want to stick with patton then he's to either practice more to get better or hand it to someone else.
Langan is I believe in training regime to get him back for championship.
Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 943 - 20/03/2022 19:59:42
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Today was a mixed bag from Donegal, however this is understandable considering the players we have out injured or not at full fitness yet.
Those not playing at full fitness yet (Jamie Brennan, Michael , Stephen McMenamin, Hugh McFadden) and the injured list of Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Niall O'Donnell, Oisin Gallen, Caolan McGonigle etc, its definitely impacted our scoring rates, which is why we are seeing more lateral play, as we don't have the same spread of players who can make incisions and score from different angles.
Conor O'Donnell did well in parts, but he needs more time to develop, I think he will need another year or so to come into his own at the top level. Aaron Doherty likewise did well early on, but it will take a lot more time to see what he can do.
Ryan McHugh did better in the attacking half of the field than defensively, he kicked a point and a few good balls into McBrearty and Murphy. i'm still not convinced he deserves a starting place, as he got a free reign today by Dublin, that the likes of Kerry, Mayo, Tyrone etc will not give him. But he still has something to offer.
Brendan McCole is outstanding, he really has stepped up after criticism in recent seasons, he is showing more grit and athleticism at full back, and Odhran McFadden Ferry was everywhere, he was excellent as well. Paddy McBrearty was really good and Michael Murphy is getting fitter.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 20/03/2022 20:15:39
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We played Dublin today without our normal half forward line of Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson and Niall O'Donnell, and our best midfielder last year Caolan McGonigle, also Michael Murphy and Jamie Brennan are only back from injury and need more time. Not having Oisin Gallen at the minute and losing Odhran MacNiallais again this year also impacts our depth. Hugh McFadden is only back too, but he still did well.
Its good for the new and less experienced players like Conor O'Donnell, Aaron Doherty, Shane O'Donnell, Ethan O'Donnell and Jack McKelvey, but it shows that little bit more experence makes a big difference.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 20/03/2022 20:25:22
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I thought we did OK today without ever looking like we'd win it. McCole had another solid outing and Paddy kicked a few nice scores.
Murphy did what everyone knows he can do - cause mayhem in opposition full back lines when any sort of half decent ball is put into him. For me, it is inexplicable why we didn't target the Dubs more with this tactic. Inexperienced keeper, a full back line that Armagh tortured with early direct ball and I could count on one hand how many times we tried it. Granted, it's not on every time but surely trying it more often is better than playing it cautiously around the margins, going nowhere & being eventually turned over.
We seem to be lacking conviction. I know we're missing players but all of the attacking spontaneity from Bonner's early years seems to be gone. We need a big performance in our last game to stay up, and hopefully we'll see a few of our bigger name players returning soon. I watched Armagh today and one thing they are not lacking is conviction. They're aggressive and will have a damn good go at whatever opposition they face.
We need to buck up & soon.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10027 - 20/03/2022 21:30:39
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I'll be like a broken record on the scoring rates but yesterday another example. A great start and a lucky goal gets us in a good position, 1-4 to 0-2 up, and we only score one more point for the rest of the first half.
The main difference I saw yesterday though was a willingness to kick it into the forwards and also a willingness to take the shot on - we had some bad wides and some bad decisions in the attacking part of the pitch but I think we learn more from those types of losses than we ever would in the performances against Kerry or Monaghan (first half).
Brendan McCole was brilliant and kept Kilkenny very quiet in terms of scoring, he was targeted a couple times with Dubs trying to take him on one-on-one and he did excellently. We struggled mightily in midfield as expected with our injuries vs. Fenton and especially Howard. I would say this was the first game this year I worried for our defence in general as the Dubs cut us open quite a few times. Jason McGee battled hard. It was great to see Ryan McHugh finally show some form as well as Paddy McBrearty, he loves Croke Park anyway. And of course Murphy getting a full match in his legs, McMenamin and McFadden as well, they needed the minutes without a doubt.
Patton seems low on confidence in general to be honest, the way he struck both of those long frees in the 2nd half he just never looked like scoring. And I think as another poster mentioned I'm not really a fan of him coming out the field like Beggan or Morgan, I don't think he has the same presence as those two out the field.
And I know it's simplistic in some ways and we can't play like this for every passage of play but for Murphy's goal... can we all stop pretending like we don't have the capability to kick the ball now? I've seen it said a million times that Murphy is the only one that can kickpass, well there were three kick passes in that move and he was the only man that fisted the ball. Even if it hadn't resulted in a goal, the speed with which we got up the pitch with those kickpasses should be the template. We got another score from the same tactic not long after where Caolan Ward kicked it up to Shane O'Donnell and he kicked it into I think it was Paddy McB.
I think we played well in spurts yesterday and I didn't expect a result but we do have to keep in mind it played out a little like a challenge match. There was very little atmosphere and once the Dubs hauled back that early lead we had built up, both teams looked like they had no doubt how the game was going to end up. We still haven't put together a full 70-80 minute performance this year.
JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 21/03/2022 09:29:34
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I can't see us beating Armagh next week tbh with that team that started yesterday, so relegation may well be on the horizon now at this point. Too many new or inexperienced faces combined with players who are not 100% fit yet means we regularly not scoring enough to win games.
However if we avoid further injuries and can get Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen, caolan McGonigle and Niall O'Donnell back playing and fit, I think we could shock a lot of people and win Ulster and give the All Ireland a serious rattle.
Remember that Kerry and Mayo have played this National League with almost full strength squads, albeit the one or two injuries here or there, but generally very strong squads and have performed well. Dublin were depleted in the first few games and are only starting to fire now, Tyrone have lost a lot of quality players from their squad too and Donegal have been missing 7 or 8 key attacking players for most of the league. I think if we get those players back and fit, we have the potential to beat any of the others and could still have a good year.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 21/03/2022 10:28:04
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Replying To Commodore: "I can't see us beating Armagh next week tbh with that team that started yesterday, so relegation may well be on the horizon now at this point. Too many new or inexperienced faces combined with players who are not 100% fit yet means we regularly not scoring enough to win games.
However if we avoid further injuries and can get Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen, caolan McGonigle and Niall O'Donnell back playing and fit, I think we could shock a lot of people and win Ulster and give the All Ireland a serious rattle.
Remember that Kerry and Mayo have played this National League with almost full strength squads, albeit the one or two injuries here or there, but generally very strong squads and have performed well. Dublin were depleted in the first few games and are only starting to fire now, Tyrone have lost a lot of quality players from their squad too and Donegal have been missing 7 or 8 key attacking players for most of the league. I think if we get those players back and fit, we have the potential to beat any of the others and could still have a good year." Totally agree commodore we haven't the rub of the green so far. Management seem to be taking no chances with players and rightly so. Championship 4 week s out from next Sunday hopefully the injured players will be back. Can't pass without mentioning the measly support we had yesterday. An absolute joke for a so called gaa county. Armagh had 12000 there yesterday . Too many bandwagon supporters in our county I'm afraid no excuses even Monaghan nearly outnumbered us last a small county with half our population..
rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2667 - 21/03/2022 10:43:25
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Replying To Commodore: "I can't see us beating Armagh next week tbh with that team that started yesterday, so relegation may well be on the horizon now at this point. Too many new or inexperienced faces combined with players who are not 100% fit yet means we regularly not scoring enough to win games.
However if we avoid further injuries and can get Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Oisin Gallen, caolan McGonigle and Niall O'Donnell back playing and fit, I think we could shock a lot of people and win Ulster and give the All Ireland a serious rattle.
Remember that Kerry and Mayo have played this National League with almost full strength squads, albeit the one or two injuries here or there, but generally very strong squads and have performed well. Dublin were depleted in the first few games and are only starting to fire now, Tyrone have lost a lot of quality players from their squad too and Donegal have been missing 7 or 8 key attacking players for most of the league. I think if we get those players back and fit, we have the potential to beat any of the others and could still have a good year." Hard to know what way Armagh will approach the game, they are safe now and they might take the view that beating us would set them up well for a repeat performance 3 weeks later or they may keep their powder dry and no be too bothered about the result next Sunday, winning is a habit though and momentum will be a factor. Suppose it depends on McGeeney, at full strength I think we have the beating of Armagh, at the minute though we are too patchy and inconsistent so I'd agree if Armagh really go for it next Sunday it could be a real battle for survival, why they had to play it in the bogey ground of O'Donnell Park is beyond me. Armagh have our old bogey man Donaghy on board too.
Good to see us kicking the ball in quicker yesterday and I hope we keep it up and leave Murphy in at FF more especially when we get our bigger men back for the middle third.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3456 - 21/03/2022 11:03:38
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Hard to know what way Armagh will approach the game, they are safe now and they might take the view that beating us would set them up well for a repeat performance 3 weeks later or they may keep their powder dry and no be too bothered about the result next Sunday, winning is a habit though and momentum will be a factor. Suppose it depends on McGeeney, at full strength I think we have the beating of Armagh, at the minute though we are too patchy and inconsistent so I'd agree if Armagh really go for it next Sunday it could be a real battle for survival, why they had to play it in the bogey ground of O'Donnell Park is beyond me. Armagh have our old bogey man Donaghy on board too.
Good to see us kicking the ball in quicker yesterday and I hope we keep it up and leave Murphy in at FF more especially when we get our bigger men back for the middle third." Hi Tirchonaill1: They wouldn't want to give Armagh a run out in Mac Cumhaill Park a few weeks before Championship. Going to be very interesting to see how Armagh approach the game this weekend.
AudiMan (Donegal) - Posts: 690 - 21/03/2022 11:31:16
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Replying To rorysboys: "Totally agree commodore we haven't the rub of the green so far. Management seem to be taking no chances with players and rightly so. Championship 4 week s out from next Sunday hopefully the injured players will be back. Can't pass without mentioning the measly support we had yesterday. An absolute joke for a so called gaa county. Armagh had 12000 there yesterday . Too many bandwagon supporters in our county I'm afraid no excuses even Monaghan nearly outnumbered us last a small county with half our population.." Armagh are showing real promise for the first time in probably 15 years, naturally that will see a massive surge in support.
I think Donegal fans have been left uncertain after these National League performances so far, and our Championship performances in recent years hasn't done anything to convince them that things will improve come summer.
In the last 15 years I only placed 3 bets, and have won them all and won a lot of money on the latter two.
1. Donegal to beat Kildare in 2011
2. Donegal to win the All Ireland in 2012
3. Donegal minors & seniors to beat Dublin in 2014.
I'm looking beyond the league results and patchy play, and instead looking at the fact we have inproved defensively and have a lot of quality midfield and attacking players to return, and a lot of players improving game on game.
I genuinely believe we can win Ulster and the All Ireland title this year, 20-1 isn't bad odds (Paddy Power).
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 21/03/2022 12:13:43
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Hard to know what way Armagh will approach the game, they are safe now and they might take the view that beating us would set them up well for a repeat performance 3 weeks later or they may keep their powder dry and no be too bothered about the result next Sunday, winning is a habit though and momentum will be a factor. Suppose it depends on McGeeney, at full strength I think we have the beating of Armagh, at the minute though we are too patchy and inconsistent so I'd agree if Armagh really go for it next Sunday it could be a real battle for survival, why they had to play it in the bogey ground of O'Donnell Park is beyond me. Armagh have our old bogey man Donaghy on board too.
Good to see us kicking the ball in quicker yesterday and I hope we keep it up and leave Murphy in at FF more especially when we get our bigger men back for the middle third." McGeeney will want them to win, he doesn't have a history of shadow boxing in management, and Armagh have shown their hand already anyway, so we know what they have and what challenge they bring.
Donegal could win it, we will definitely be trying to win it, but we are missing a lot of firepower at the moment and we will also be testing our match ups ahead of the Championship game, particularly on Rian O'Neill and other Armagh danger men.
We could narrowly lose this match, but I think we will win the Championship match.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 21/03/2022 12:21:16
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Hard to know what way Armagh will approach the game, they are safe now and they might take the view that beating us would set them up well for a repeat performance 3 weeks later or they may keep their powder dry and no be too bothered about the result next Sunday, winning is a habit though and momentum will be a factor. Suppose it depends on McGeeney, at full strength I think we have the beating of Armagh, at the minute though we are too patchy and inconsistent so I'd agree if Armagh really go for it next Sunday it could be a real battle for survival, why they had to play it in the bogey ground of O'Donnell Park is beyond me. Armagh have our old bogey man Donaghy on board too.
Good to see us kicking the ball in quicker yesterday and I hope we keep it up and leave Murphy in at FF more especially when we get our bigger men back for the middle third." I could be wrong but I think Armagh are out to prove they mean business against every team they face in 2022. They will see us as beatable and if they can relegate us ahead of the big one a few weeks later all the better. Then again, McGeeney might err on the side of caution. Do they really need to be in a league final?
Even if we do end up relegated the league will be deemed as inconsequential if we can get ourselves on a good Championship run. If we can just get our big hitters back injury free we'd be a different proposition. The only worry I'd have is the sharpness they'd be lacking. Injury free and match fit are two different things.
I think the ideal scenario would be if we can get the likes of Langan, Murphy, Thompson, Gallen. Brennan, McMenamin, N O'Donnell etc some game time at the weekend, beat Armagh but avoid giving too much away. Obviously avoid injury and stupid suspensions as well.
Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 10027 - 21/03/2022 12:45:44
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Replying To Tirchonaill1: "Hard to know what way Armagh will approach the game, they are safe now and they might take the view that beating us would set them up well for a repeat performance 3 weeks later or they may keep their powder dry and no be too bothered about the result next Sunday, winning is a habit though and momentum will be a factor. Suppose it depends on McGeeney, at full strength I think we have the beating of Armagh, at the minute though we are too patchy and inconsistent so I'd agree if Armagh really go for it next Sunday it could be a real battle for survival, why they had to play it in the bogey ground of O'Donnell Park is beyond me. Armagh have our old bogey man Donaghy on board too.
Good to see us kicking the ball in quicker yesterday and I hope we keep it up and leave Murphy in at FF more especially when we get our bigger men back for the middle third." McGeeney will want them to win, he doesn't have a history of shadow boxing in management, and Armagh have shown their hand already anyway, so we know what they have and what challenge they bring.
Donegal could win it, we will definitely be trying to win it, but we are missing a lot of firepower at the moment and we will also be testing our match ups ahead of the Championship game, particularly on Rian O'Neill and other Armagh danger men.
We could narrowly lose this match, but I think we will win the Championship match.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1471 - 21/03/2022 13:16:05
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There was a good overview and insight from Anthony moyles on otb about the match yesterday for anyone interested. It was much better than some of the commentary from chaps who are just going through the motions.
I watched the match back in tg4 player (much better than the rte player by the way). The Murphy goal didn't come across as well as it should. They didn't pick up the excellent Patton kick out to sod. Donegal clearly kicked the ball more yesterday and most of the scores seem to come from it.
Long term forecast is surprisingly good weather for Sunday. It the medium to high teens with high pressure sitting over Ireland. That would mean the prevailing wind of going across the pitch should not be a factor.
Somewhat strangely it's mathematically possible for Donegal to make the league final. You'd get some odds for it to happen mind. Relegation though is much more on the cards.
It will be interesting to see if they go with the same more higher risk kicking game from yesterday and be a little more positive. That will I suppose depend as well on how Armagh set up. They are not really a team to all out defence.
Donegal though can't be as open at the back as yesterday. With that amount of goal chances they could be looking at 3/4 goals and they won't win if they do that.
Armagh are probably very happy about Sunday. If they beat a team that has to win it will help their confidence and also damage Donegal particularly if they get relegated to. If Donegal win Armagh may learn more on Donegal than the other way round. There's basically nothing for them to really lose out on.
Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 943 - 21/03/2022 16:40:59
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Replying To rorysboys: "Totally agree commodore we haven't the rub of the green so far. Management seem to be taking no chances with players and rightly so. Championship 4 week s out from next Sunday hopefully the injured players will be back. Can't pass without mentioning the measly support we had yesterday. An absolute joke for a so called gaa county. Armagh had 12000 there yesterday . Too many bandwagon supporters in our county I'm afraid no excuses even Monaghan nearly outnumbered us last a small county with half our population.." I disagree with the bandwagon supporters jibe. Its a reflection on how supporters feel where we are going under Bonner.
I know plenty of die hard supporters who never missed a game, it was there religion. Sadly they feel we are going backwards under bonner, and have become disillusioned with our style of play.
I am sure they will return, as its there religion.
Believe it or not we all want Donegal to do well, its just we have no faith in bonner to bring us Sam.
But if we get our better players back from injury, i Believe we will get a decent run. Maybe semi final.
Hopefully he proves me wrong
The keeper (Donegal) - Posts: 722 - 21/03/2022 21:32:53
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Although a win would be nice at the weekend, but i wouldn't be rushing men back that aren't 100% fit, because it's all about Championship. All told, I'd say we would probably even stay up with a narrow defeat as I can't see Tyrone getting a result in Kerry. Kildare could overturn Mayo.
Sundays showing against Dublin was improved, but coming from a very low base. We did let them in for a good few handy scores. I believe that if we can get out big men back, especially in our half forward line, we can cut out these concessions.
In general, most of our men had improved outings. I thought Caolán Ward struggled a little, OMcFF didn't have his usual influence, and Jason struggled a little, but I wouldn't be overly critical of any of these lads. Some days go with you, others against. But I do have to single out one man. Brendan McCole was immense again. He has man marked all the danger men so far this year, and on Sunday he was pushing forward at every opportunity. He went toe to toe with Kilkenny, and won his duel. I have no doubt he'll be a match for Rian O'Neill this weekend.
SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 878 - 21/03/2022 21:59:14
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