National Forum

Donegal GAA thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To fielder:  "Great to win by only a point. Will let Donegal know that Armagh are a serious outfit come championship.

In regards to Armagh, still a horrible shower of wannabe bullies. Every ulster game they are involved in there's always a ruckus. Not to mention the stamp on Murphy after his over head point. Will be a spicy affair when they meet in a few weeks."
Does someone need a hug?

sean og (Armagh) - Posts: 1072 - 28/03/2022 08:18:54    2407613

Link

Firstly a huge well done to management and players on staying in division 1. Our first half performance bar the goal was excellent I felt it was the best we played all year. The penalty miss seemed to set us back but in fairness to the lads they dug in and never put the head down. Pluses of league would be Brendan mc Cole. Mc fadden ferry . Mc gee. Getting Murphy back playing and the form of paddy. Probably be a few suspensions handed out we'll just have to wait and see what happens. It's not ideal. Finally must say the support was excellent really got behind the team . Neill mc gee got a huge reception goin on but he got a bigger one coming off. Legend.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2609 - 28/03/2022 09:54:39    2407637

Link

Replying To letterkennyGuy:  "Armagh no.3"
No surprise there, he got Conor Mc Manus sent off as well.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2288 - 28/03/2022 10:10:25    2407642

Link

The main thing is we got the win, made hard work of it but its a relief to stay in Division One. I think it was important we won yesterday, there is enough negativity around the team without relegation adding to it. Armagh didn't start their best 15 and that was a big help. We played really well in the first half, were really positive in our play but came out second half with a more negative mindset. We don't seem to be capable of playing well for an entire match, that is now the pattern. Our defence are holding up really well, I would be really positive about that side of our game coming into the championship. Brendan McCole has been our best and most consistent player.

Only 4 weeks to the championship now and its really difficult to predict how the game against Armagh will go. Armagh will definitely fancy their chances with their best 15 on the pitch and we are really inconsistent. I find myself going to Donegal matches and not knowing what to expect. Paddy and Michael were great yesterday but they are terrible at penalties, would Michael Langan be the best option? We can't keep missing penalties in big matches. Caolan McGonagle probably won't be match fit to start but most other injuries appear to be clearing up.

Green_Gold (Donegal) - Posts: 1906 - 28/03/2022 10:13:34    2407644

Link

It is great to stay in Div 1, and the scuffles at the end will probably do Donegal more favours than armagh. With championship only weeks away, whoever will be giving the job of refereeing the game will be under strict instructions to keep a tight hold of it. Players will be warned to keep there discipline. With that i think our more skillful footballers will be able to shine.
My only concern from yesterday is the same issue we have always, and thats when we get a lead, we tend to switch off, or try hold that lead. Whereas the really good teams when they have a lead, they go for the throat and kill the game. Its something we need to improve on big time. And better teams will not lets us off the hook in them situations.
Can not wait for championship, lets hope its the same kind of result and weather. As a dry day will suit Donegal more that a wet windy day.

The keeper (Donegal) - Posts: 711 - 28/03/2022 10:21:40    2407647

Link

Replying To ulsterrules:  "What kicked off the fight at the end ?"
Will Smith!!!

fionmaccumhaill (Donegal) - Posts: 45 - 28/03/2022 10:23:00    2407650

Link

Replying To The keeper:  "It is great to stay in Div 1, and the scuffles at the end will probably do Donegal more favours than armagh. With championship only weeks away, whoever will be giving the job of refereeing the game will be under strict instructions to keep a tight hold of it. Players will be warned to keep there discipline. With that i think our more skillful footballers will be able to shine.
My only concern from yesterday is the same issue we have always, and thats when we get a lead, we tend to switch off, or try hold that lead. Whereas the really good teams when they have a lead, they go for the throat and kill the game. Its something we need to improve on big time. And better teams will not lets us off the hook in them situations.
Can not wait for championship, lets hope its the same kind of result and weather. As a dry day will suit Donegal more that a wet windy day."
I think it was very important for us to stay in div 1, confidence around this Donegal team is as patchy as the teams form has been so dropping to div 2 would have knocked the confidence even further,
I didn't really see much of what happened in the schmozzle hopefully there will be no suspensions for either team,
it really sets up the Championship match I think Mac Cumhaill Park will be jam packed for this one, can't wait.
We'll need to play for the full 70 mins plus and no trying sit on a lead, just go for the jugular,
if that penalty goes in yesterday we'd have coasted to the win, as it played out maybe that tight finish will have done us a lot more good than running out with a big winning margin,
discipline will be key the next day, Armagh will be looking to make it a dogfight but if we keep our focus we have the talent to beat them I have no doubt.

Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3175 - 28/03/2022 11:10:58    2407675

Link

Would not surprise me one bit to hear that Forker was heavily involved. He is never not "at it". One of the most satisfying things I ever saw at the end of a game was Murphy throwing the ball to him after we battered them in the Ulster semi final in 2020. As if to say, here you go son, you go off and play now with that now that the serious stuff is dealt with.

It will be a lot closer in a few weeks time. Just hope suspensions don't derail us too badly beacuse we've had enough absentees through injuries over the course of the league.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9738 - 28/03/2022 11:21:31    2407684

Link

Replying To Tirchonaill1:  "I think it was very important for us to stay in div 1, confidence around this Donegal team is as patchy as the teams form has been so dropping to div 2 would have knocked the confidence even further,
I didn't really see much of what happened in the schmozzle hopefully there will be no suspensions for either team,
it really sets up the Championship match I think Mac Cumhaill Park will be jam packed for this one, can't wait.
We'll need to play for the full 70 mins plus and no trying sit on a lead, just go for the jugular,
if that penalty goes in yesterday we'd have coasted to the win, as it played out maybe that tight finish will have done us a lot more good than running out with a big winning margin,
discipline will be key the next day, Armagh will be looking to make it a dogfight but if we keep our focus we have the talent to beat them I have no doubt."
Just on penalties, it is a bit worrying that we don't have a great record lately with them. I think I'm right in saying that the upcoming championship games all have to be finished on the day. We know how tight Ulster is going to be so I'd hope that there is a bit of practice being done in training to prepare for that scenario.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9738 - 28/03/2022 11:29:43    2407687

Link

Replying To sean og:  "Does someone need a hug?"
I knew there would be at least one thick Armagh fan to reply to this on the Donegal thread. Well done Sean Og!

fielder (Donegal) - Posts: 137 - 28/03/2022 11:43:04    2407691

Link

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in the championship game will be McCole on Rian O'Neill, I think it'll be a great battle and with McCole's form I'm looking forward to it. Just think back to a few months ago and how many people would have been confidently saying that from Donegal - it's a credit to McCole himself for how well he is playing and a credit to management from sticking with him.

Delighted to get the win and to retain Div1 status for another year. I think though the performance was more of the same from the league campaign, patches of really good stuff (and when we played well I think it was the best all year), and then long periods of no scores or allowing opposition to take control. But overall I thought we played more kicking against Armagh and Dublin the past two weeks and I would like to see this continue even if it doesn't always stick. It's a good variation and at the end of the day it's the fastest way of getting the ball to the forwards in space.

I thought Jason played well again in midfield, he tends to drift in and out, sort of like the team as a whole, but he took his goal excellently. I still think playing both Mogan and McHugh is a mistake although they are both coming into form so becoming harder to drop one of them. McBrearty and Murphy starting to click and look more fit as well. Great to see Langan back on the pitch too. Overall a very mixed bag from the league, I have plenty of worries/concerns but I'm excited for the championship now. As one poster said above it's hard to know what you're going to get with Donegal at the minute. However all things being equal I have a feeling we will lay down a bit of a statement in 4 weeks time against Armagh.

The wildcard element may be suspensions. The stuff at the end was bad to see, some lads getting pulled into things they shouldn't have and I definitely saw a few digs being thrown so I would expect suspensions in all honesty. I think the way the game played out maybe caused tensions towards the end, Armagh would be happy with having reeled us back in and considering they didn't start their main men as well, whereas we would be happy with elements of the performances and then managing to get the win even though we had allowed them back into the game too. So I would say there were some words at full time and a bit of nonsense with view to championship, but it definitely spilled over so unfortunately I don't think either side will be at full strength in 4 weeks time.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 28/03/2022 11:55:11    2407700

Link

Replying To Lockjaw:  "Would not surprise me one bit to hear that Forker was heavily involved. He is never not "at it". One of the most satisfying things I ever saw at the end of a game was Murphy throwing the ball to him after we battered them in the Ulster semi final in 2020. As if to say, here you go son, you go off and play now with that now that the serious stuff is dealt with.

It will be a lot closer in a few weeks time. Just hope suspensions don't derail us too badly beacuse we've had enough absentees through injuries over the course of the league."
Well, one player that will be suspended will be No.15 Rian O'Neill. You can clearly see him striking No. 10 Shane O'Donnell in the Sunday Game footage. Jemar Hall (I think) hit Shane O'Donnell as well. I can't really make out anyone from the Donegal team barring possibly Michael Lynch. Rian O'Neill takes a sly dig at O'Donnell and quickly moves away from the scuffle.

MurphBalls (Donegal) - Posts: 178 - 28/03/2022 11:56:13    2407702

Link

Replying To Lockjaw:  "Would not surprise me one bit to hear that Forker was heavily involved. He is never not "at it". One of the most satisfying things I ever saw at the end of a game was Murphy throwing the ball to him after we battered them in the Ulster semi final in 2020. As if to say, here you go son, you go off and play now with that now that the serious stuff is dealt with.

It will be a lot closer in a few weeks time. Just hope suspensions don't derail us too badly beacuse we've had enough absentees through injuries over the course of the league."
Coming out of Athletic Grounds after Tyrone match Armagh fans talking about All Irelands. They had a job for Sam picking apples in September. Took down a peg or 2 since.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2288 - 28/03/2022 11:59:59    2407703

Link

Its really good to see Michael Langan and Niall O'Donnell make appearances, also good that Michael Murphy, Jamie Brennan, Hugh McFadden and Stephen McMenamin seem to be on the road to full fitness, they're getting there.
Just hope Caolan McGonigle and Ciaran Thompson make it back for Championship and we don't pick up further injuries.

I'm glad we got the result in the end, disappointed that we let them back into the game after the penalty miss, we really should have ran out comfortable winners in the end, but we closed it out and considering our next meeting, it was probably the best way to end it.

Aside from the obvious need to work on Penalty taking and scoring in general, I think Shaun Patton and the team need to work on killing opposition momentum at key parts of matches. When Murphy missed that penalty, it gave Armagh an injection of belief within the next 3-5 minutes we made a lot of mistakes because Armagh upped their intensity. We should have knew what to expect and Patton should have delayed kick-outs and killed momentum. Something to note for Championship.

In saying that, had Murphy buried that penalty and had Patton not punched that ball out, this could well have been a 10 point win.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1332 - 28/03/2022 12:10:05    2407711

Link

Replying To Lockjaw:  "Just on penalties, it is a bit worrying that we don't have a great record lately with them. I think I'm right in saying that the upcoming championship games all have to be finished on the day. We know how tight Ulster is going to be so I'd hope that there is a bit of practice being done in training to prepare for that scenario."
Yeah it's a worry, funnily enough as reliable as I have always felt Murphy is, I always think back to the U-21s final against Dublin where he hit the bar from a penalty in stoppage time. I have seen him slot away plenty of penalties since then for both club and county but it still always plays in my mind whenever he steps up!

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 28/03/2022 12:14:07    2407713

Link

Replying To MurphBalls:  "Well, one player that will be suspended will be No.15 Rian O'Neill. You can clearly see him striking No. 10 Shane O'Donnell in the Sunday Game footage. Jemar Hall (I think) hit Shane O'Donnell as well. I can't really make out anyone from the Donegal team barring possibly Michael Lynch. Rian O'Neill takes a sly dig at O'Donnell and quickly moves away from the scuffle."
I haven't seen the footage back and didn't see O'Neill on SOD, but I definitely saw the 2nd strike you mention

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 28/03/2022 12:15:56    2407715

Link

Replying To Saynothing:  "Coming out of Athletic Grounds after Tyrone match Armagh fans talking about All Irelands. They had a job for Sam picking apples in September. Took down a peg or 2 since."
It's easy to get carried away when you beat Dublin at Croke Park in January in the opening round, but league can be deceiving, as we seen this year in the early rounds of the league, Mayo, Armagh and Kildare were the teams playing with more or less full squads in comparison to other teams, and they were in good shape early on.

However as the League progressed, we could see Tyrone and Dublin getting better, and Monaghan and Donegal seemed to shakey looking due to losing shape due to Injuries/fitness of core players. There isn't much between top teams at the minute.

Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1332 - 28/03/2022 12:22:23    2407717

Link

Replying To Commodore:  "It's easy to get carried away when you beat Dublin at Croke Park in January in the opening round, but league can be deceiving, as we seen this year in the early rounds of the league, Mayo, Armagh and Kildare were the teams playing with more or less full squads in comparison to other teams, and they were in good shape early on.

However as the League progressed, we could see Tyrone and Dublin getting better, and Monaghan and Donegal seemed to shakey looking due to losing shape due to Injuries/fitness of core players. There isn't much between top teams at the minute."
Exactly. It makes for a fascinating championship this year. I'd still be wary of writing Dublin off. If they can get Con back and get the heads down for some serious training over the next few weeks they'll still be formidable. Plus they have the advantage of being able to play in a weak Leinster Championship to hit their groove.

Tyrone, Kerry and Mayo will obviously have their backers.
Then you'll have teams like ourselves, Galway, Armagh (through the qualifiers ;) ) and Monaghan who could go very well.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9738 - 28/03/2022 12:44:54    2407731

Link

Replying To MurphBalls:  "Well, one player that will be suspended will be No.15 Rian O'Neill. You can clearly see him striking No. 10 Shane O'Donnell in the Sunday Game footage. Jemar Hall (I think) hit Shane O'Donnell as well. I can't really make out anyone from the Donegal team barring possibly Michael Lynch. Rian O'Neill takes a sly dig at O'Donnell and quickly moves away from the scuffle."
I noticed that too. Rian O'Neill definitely landed a punch on Shane O'Donnell's head.

fielder (Donegal) - Posts: 137 - 28/03/2022 13:11:15    2407742

Link

Replying To Commodore:  "Its really good to see Michael Langan and Niall O'Donnell make appearances, also good that Michael Murphy, Jamie Brennan, Hugh McFadden and Stephen McMenamin seem to be on the road to full fitness, they're getting there.
Just hope Caolan McGonigle and Ciaran Thompson make it back for Championship and we don't pick up further injuries.

I'm glad we got the result in the end, disappointed that we let them back into the game after the penalty miss, we really should have ran out comfortable winners in the end, but we closed it out and considering our next meeting, it was probably the best way to end it.

Aside from the obvious need to work on Penalty taking and scoring in general, I think Shaun Patton and the team need to work on killing opposition momentum at key parts of matches. When Murphy missed that penalty, it gave Armagh an injection of belief within the next 3-5 minutes we made a lot of mistakes because Armagh upped their intensity. We should have knew what to expect and Patton should have delayed kick-outs and killed momentum. Something to note for Championship.

In saying that, had Murphy buried that penalty and had Patton not punched that ball out, this could well have been a 10 point win."
I agree the first half display was very encouraging, and to post 1-10 was a great sign. Much improved displays from Paddy Mc, and Jamie Brennnan, although not back to his best, offers that cutting edge that was missing.

The negatives in the first half was that we conceeded 1-05. Including the goal, they had a lot of success down our right hand side, picking up relatively handy scores. The goal was a howler, and Patton seems to be carrying the scars of previous mistakes. Don't get me wrong, he's a fantastic keeper, but seems at times to make the wrong decision under high balls. He just doesn't have the physical presence that other keepers have.

We would also have to look at our kick out strategy for the next day. Armagh are a big physical team, and they done a job on us yesterday. They were able to win ball out in the middle, and also go after our shorter kick outs. I hope the addition of Langan, McGonagle and Thompson around the middle will rectify this in four weeks time.

We also can't ignore the fact that we scored only 4 points in the second half, with two of those coming in the opening five minutes of the half. We scored one point from the 40th minute to the 74th. That also won't be good enough in four weeks time.

That's the last three penalties we have missed, two from Michael, one from Paddy. Who do we fancy next? Does Michael Langan take them for St Michael's? A bit left field, but would McFadden Ferry be an option?

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 763 - 28/03/2022 13:21:58    2407749

Link