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First game of the year after a couple of months away. Great to get to a game. The game felt like a glorified challenge match with Monaghan not offering much resistance but the goals woke them up and in Stephen O'Hanlon they had a player whom we couldn't handle in the first half. Only for Jamie's goal we were looking at a HT deficit which was head scratching to say the least as Donegal generally controlled the game. The Monaghan goals while good finishes seemed to stem from defensive mix ups with poor tracking or players not being where they were supposed to be. This was rectified at HT and the 2 subs made a huge difference. It did take an uncharacteristic slip up from Beggan to reverse the tide but once we did we seem out the game comfortably enough. As already pointed out similar defending next week and it'll be a blow out. Jason was again MOTM and was excellent throughout. Some great scores from Langan too and Shea had a great game. He'd remind you of Brolly in his pomp and it'll be interesting to see how he copes in the heat of championship battle. Interesting to see the approach next week. Will Kerry want to put down a marker? How will Jim approach it? Keep cards close to his chest for down the line or road test a little. It makes for an intriguing game.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2915 - 23/03/2026 15:03:28
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Replying To WeGoAgain: "The Langan incident was just Gough being Gough as far as I'm concerned. Langan was walking away from the monaghan player taking the sideline and he kicked the ball directly at him and then looked to the officials. Not dissimilar to when players charge directly into opposition players after winning a free looking for the ref to bring it forward.
On a side note, does anyone know if the season ticket gets you entry into the division 3 and 4 finals too or will I have to shell out a few more euros for that?" I watched it back on YouTube and really can't understand how that was instructed to be moved up by the linesman.
Also the fact it leads to concession of two points is not very well conceived as a rule. In a higher profile closer game it would be a huge talking point.
Overall the ref I found decent. He was letting a bit of contact and not blowing things up unnecessarily.
Ulsterchamps_32 (Donegal) - Posts: 985 - 23/03/2026 17:58:59
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Well done to your hurlers.
Long trip ahead of ye on Saturday.....
sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2982 - 23/03/2026 18:21:22
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Replying To panamasam: "First game of the year after a couple of months away. Great to get to a game. The game felt like a glorified challenge match with Monaghan not offering much resistance but the goals woke them up and in Stephen O'Hanlon they had a player whom we couldn't handle in the first half. Only for Jamie's goal we were looking at a HT deficit which was head scratching to say the least as Donegal generally controlled the game. The Monaghan goals while good finishes seemed to stem from defensive mix ups with poor tracking or players not being where they were supposed to be. This was rectified at HT and the 2 subs made a huge difference. It did take an uncharacteristic slip up from Beggan to reverse the tide but once we did we seem out the game comfortably enough. As already pointed out similar defending next week and it'll be a blow out. Jason was again MOTM and was excellent throughout. Some great scores from Langan too and Shea had a great game. He'd remind you of Brolly in his pomp and it'll be interesting to see how he copes in the heat of championship battle. Interesting to see the approach next week. Will Kerry want to put down a marker? How will Jim approach it? Keep cards close to his chest for down the line or road test a little. It makes for an intriguing game." To be realistic, I can't see us beating Kerry in this league final, we have too many niggles and injuries at the moment and to beat this Kerry team, you really need a full strength fit squad with a strong bench. There is a chance Gavin Mulreany and Brendan McCole won't feature next week after yesterday, added to Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Daire O'Baoill, Ciaran Moore and Oisin Gallen.
However it is still an opportunity to learn for later in the year, because we know Kerry will likely field a full strength team and go full tilt at it, so its an opportunity to maybe test other players and really see how they fare against the All Ireland Champions.
Commodore (Donegal) - Posts: 1669 - 23/03/2026 21:08:58
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Replying To Commodore: "To be realistic, I can't see us beating Kerry in this league final, we have too many niggles and injuries at the moment and to beat this Kerry team, you really need a full strength fit squad with a strong bench. There is a chance Gavin Mulreany and Brendan McCole won't feature next week after yesterday, added to Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Daire O'Baoill, Ciaran Moore and Oisin Gallen.
However it is still an opportunity to learn for later in the year, because we know Kerry will likely field a full strength team and go full tilt at it, so its an opportunity to maybe test other players and really see how they fare against the All Ireland Champions." That's more or less how I see this game going too, Kerry are nailed on at 4/6, worth a punt but I wouldn't personally bet against Donegal.
Tirchonaill1 (Donegal) - Posts: 3782 - 23/03/2026 22:08:25
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Very impressed with Shea Malone against Monaghan. For his first goal he got the ball out in the corner , it was in no way a goal chance till he cut in and beat his marker and put it in the back of the net. He seems to have gained a notch or two of speed but maybe it's just that the ground is that bit harder. He can step off both feet and is very fast over the first five metres at least. He took his other scores very well too. Strong contender to get a championship start I'd say.
Looking at the goals we coughed up in the first half it shows that with the new rules defenders need to be fast runners. There's so much more space in behind and you get a lot of one-on-one foot races which can end up in goals. Stephen O'Hanlon was too fast for a lot of our defenders and caused us trouble. Caolan McColgan is one of our fastest defenders and although he can make mistakes on the ball sometimes his speed could be a major asset in certain games.
We are in a good enough place if we can get our injured lads back. The only question I'd have is can you win an all Ireland with the new rules without kick passing. It's like we are allergic to kicking the ball forward. I know the running game is in our DNA but with the new rules it's crying out for lads to have the head up and get some early long ball into the forward line. Anyway it doesn't look like it's going to be a part of our gameplan and we are doing allright without it but will this running game get us all the way to sam? don't know.
High_and_wide (Donegal) - Posts: 106 - 24/03/2026 13:16:12
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Replying To Ulsterchamps_32: "I watched it back on YouTube and really can't understand how that was instructed to be moved up by the linesman.
Also the fact it leads to concession of two points is not very well conceived as a rule. In a higher profile closer game it would be a huge talking point.
Overall the ref I found decent. He was letting a bit of contact and not blowing things up unnecessarily." I was sat quite close to where it happened. To be honest it was absolute nonsense they got 2 points from it. Langan was unlucky to not win the kickout and it came off his fingers. The ball goes out of play and he turns his back walking back to get on position and the Monaghan player just kicks the ball off his back. Immediately him and a teammate get in the ear of the linesman waving their arms and it paid off getting a thoroughly undeserved 2 points...... nonsense.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2915 - 24/03/2026 17:38:06
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Replying To Commodore: "To be realistic, I can't see us beating Kerry in this league final, we have too many niggles and injuries at the moment and to beat this Kerry team, you really need a full strength fit squad with a strong bench. There is a chance Gavin Mulreany and Brendan McCole won't feature next week after yesterday, added to Shaun Patton, Ciaran Thompson, Daire O'Baoill, Ciaran Moore and Oisin Gallen.
However it is still an opportunity to learn for later in the year, because we know Kerry will likely field a full strength team and go full tilt at it, so its an opportunity to maybe test other players and really see how they fare against the All Ireland Champions." Yeah it'll be a good opportunity to test a couple of things out but you're probably right given Kerry have an edge in terms of availabilities though I think Paidi and maybe Paul Murphy are out. I'm curious to see how we do around the middle starting Langan, Hughie and Jason.
panamasam (Australia) - Posts: 2915 - 24/03/2026 17:40:53
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Replying To High_and_wide: "Very impressed with Shea Malone against Monaghan. For his first goal he got the ball out in the corner , it was in no way a goal chance till he cut in and beat his marker and put it in the back of the net. He seems to have gained a notch or two of speed but maybe it's just that the ground is that bit harder. He can step off both feet and is very fast over the first five metres at least. He took his other scores very well too. Strong contender to get a championship start I'd say.
Looking at the goals we coughed up in the first half it shows that with the new rules defenders need to be fast runners. There's so much more space in behind and you get a lot of one-on-one foot races which can end up in goals. Stephen O'Hanlon was too fast for a lot of our defenders and caused us trouble. Caolan McColgan is one of our fastest defenders and although he can make mistakes on the ball sometimes his speed could be a major asset in certain games.
We are in a good enough place if we can get our injured lads back. The only question I'd have is can you win an all Ireland with the new rules without kick passing. It's like we are allergic to kicking the ball forward. I know the running game is in our DNA but with the new rules it's crying out for lads to have the head up and get some early long ball into the forward line. Anyway it doesn't look like it's going to be a part of our gameplan and we are doing allright without it but will this running game get us all the way to sam? don't know." I don't think the goals we conceded were due to Monaghan being too fast for our defenders. The three fastest men in our panel were the ones caught out for the goals.
SurelyToGod (Donegal) - Posts: 519 - 24/03/2026 18:14:21
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