Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120620236#Comment_120620236

Shows what I know 😂

Decent second half. Jason appeared to make a big difference and Patton's kick outs were a weapon.

henke

Just followed it online. First half looked bleak and a summary of this year. At least in the second half we seem to show some fight. Probably enough to get Preliminary QF. We know we aren't winning nothing but if they could take something from that second half and put in a few creditable performances it might be something to build on next year.

charlie14

First half we were our now usual, so wherever they pulled that 2nd half from I have no idea. As down the middle said Jason made a big difference and Thompson punished them. Patton`s kick outs were spot on bullets. Now if we could only stop using him as a spare man and tell him to lash the damn thing anywhere when it ends up in his hands, rather than scare the life out defenders and supporters and build on today we just might have something to build on next year.

Good to see players taking on their man and breaking the line today. Something we have been sadly lacking this past while. Gallen was looking in the last few as if his confidence was gone, but hopefully today will go a ways to changing that. Fair play to the lads for stepping up in the second half. It`s been a bad season for supporters so heading to Ennis the could not have been in a good headspace either.

windy shepard henderson

really good second half , i questioned Gallen a few weeks ago , he answered me back today , ciaran thompson along with him kicked some excellent scores

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyu7kQiSTW8

crazyfool

It really was a game of two completely different halfs yesterday. I thought at the end of the first half we hadn’t a chance of beating Clare. Our heads were down , looked tired, slow build up, couldn’t see what the game plan was and was the worst half of football I’d seen in a long time. To be honest was annoyed at having travelled to down to endure it.

Then I seen Jason Mc Gee going through a fitness test at half time and was hoping if he started the second half it might inject some energy into the team and to be fair he made a massive impact. Heads were up, pushed up, more energy and started tapping the points over the bar. Seen glimpses of how Donegal used to play and have the ability to play. I felt Oisin did well in the second half, it wasn’t Conor o donnells day, Daire o baoill, eoghan ban, Ciaran Thompson did well and so did Luke Mc Glynn. Shaun Patton is a terrific keeper. I feel though that some of the lads aren’t backing themselves when they get up the pitch so far , eoghan ban should have buried the ball in the net in the first half but laid it off.

Great to get the win and I think it’ll do lots for the confidence of the team.

Poor turnout though, only over 2,200 at the game, I hope the supporters get behind them for the home match against Derry next.

LilNiall

Derry at home is actually winable I reckon.

They will not fancy Ballybofey anyway and surely Donegal now have a little confidence from Saturday.

2 weeks ago I gave us no chance v Derry.

crazyfool

Derry game set for 4pm on Sunday 4th

Redsoxfan

Lads, we had the chance to beat Derry last year and blew it. That was with Michael Murphy and several others.

If McGuigan was suspended, we might have a 3/10 chance. Right now, no better than 1/10.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120626296#Comment_120626296

That would most likely see us through automatically, worst case 2nd place and home for the next stage. Being honest, I cannot see it happening. As Redsoxfan says we had the chance last year and blew it, farting around before full time rather than going for it.

Not to take away from Sunday or to disrespect Clare, but Derry are back-to-back Ulster champions and if we put in Sunday`s 2nd half performance for the full game I doubt we would beat them. Sunday more or less means we will get to the next qualifiers stage, so for me the Monaghan result will determine if that is as 2nd or 3rd from our group..

windy shepard henderson

Full Match from last week , the wind dosnt be long changing in donegal , finn harps hammered last week in ballybofey , hammered treaty in limerick tonight

as treaty man i wasnt surprised given how sean patton and hugh mcfaddan rolled back the years last week with the season in the balance hope donegal people go to the county board meetings like we have done recreantly and sort out the behind the scenes stuff quickly

https://youtu.be/wOUKP08WMoM

comantary starts about 20 minutes in due to clare fm commentating on a minor hurling game beforehand

downthemiddle

Any sign of the famous CP report?

Redsoxfan

Being 'finalised this week'

Will it see the light of day before we play Monaghan?

Redsoxfan

Better than expected today.

Gallen obviously class. Hopefully this is the beginning of his true ascent, too much time missed.

Why was Thompson kicking frees from the ground?

Patten was good. Not challenged at where he is weak but kick outs and shot stopping were excellent.

Still felt Derry had us at arms length. Goals were easily scored, when they upped the ante we weren't able for them.

Our S&C is still an issue, was last year too. Hopefully McFadden can make the difference for next year.

We need to see same effort against Monaghan. Maybe we can get a result, but it would be a big surprise to me if we did.

babybuilder

Agree with our conditioning. The legs went from the mid second half on. Derry cut through us more than the three goals. I think we need a bit more pace in around the middle third. Derry's backs attacking was really impressive but again our legs were gone. I like the more aggressive nature of our game and also playing one or two inside their 20m line is something I'd like to have seen a lot sooner. It's so obvious that more space an options become available. Still short of three or four quality players. An improvement.

charlie14

At the end of the day Derry`s superior strength and conditioning won it. Our lacking in both was exposed in Castlebar 4 years ago and in the remainder of Declan`s time I didn`t see any great improvement. Strange as it may sound 2nd half against Clare and yesterday I thought it had improved noticably which might go some way to explaining the very lethargic displays we saw during the league.

Of the positives yesterday Gallen was outstanding, and leaving a bit of space in front of him to work with had Mc Kaigue in knots. Mc Cluskey (?) didn`t do any better when moved on to him. Downside was possibly that by leaving that space we may have late on drawn their half back line on to us, but there is no way I would change it. Creating a bit of space in that area with Langan back would also cause opposition problems. Mc Gonagle and Mc Gee were excellent up against a very strong Derry midfield, but for whatever reason we still cannot win a breaking ball around the middle to save our lives. Mc Colgan put in a good shift with some very hard running and Mc Cole holding Mc Guigan to a point from play is a good day in anyones books. Patton may have his weaknesses, but he is a great shot-stopper and his kick-outs are a real weapon. Tip of the hat to management on that. The team was very well coached for those kick-outs and they caused real problems for Derry. First quarter our attempt at scores were a bit erratic, and as already mentioned Thompson kicking that free from the 45 of a surface that was like concrete was not a good idea. Only options were from the hand or bring up Patton.

Not to take away from any of the team other tham maybe Brennan who really never got into it. But then he hasn`t been for some time now. They put in a ood honest shift. Ran themselves into the ground and were still doing so towards the end when the game was gone, and you cannot ask for more than that from any team. Good to see Paddy back, and there was one little glimpse of how dangerous him and Gallen can be together.

I would give us a good chance against Monaghan, but either way a lot of positives for next year from a season that was a disaster up until the last few weeks. That is unless the county board can find yet another way to fcuk it up.

Alvin Holler

Was pleased enough with the performance on Sunday. There's a decent team in donegal if we were to get mchugh, mogan, langan, mcff and shane o'd back next year. Not to mention 3 or 4 others. We should certainly be looking towards promotion back to div 1 rather than tailtean cup.

I wouldn't have rated O'Rourke but to give him credit we looked to have a clear game plan with the forward marks and long kick outs. I thought we might go ultra defensive after the down game but we look to be giving it a lash.

Redsoxfan

Thing is, none of those missing are defenders, really. Still think we lack a bit of steel. OMcFF might help. Curran will have another year. Despite what it looked like on Sunday, not sure McCole is the next Neil McGee or even Raymond Sweeney. McColgan....is he better going forward than defending?

Kieran Gillespie played Junior Gaeltacht on Monday. Pity, doesn't seem like there is a way back at County level.

Defending is based a lot on systems but I do think we need proper defenders as well.

Shane O'Donnell was playing for Donegal Boston at the weekend.

downthemiddle

I’m hearing the county board don’t come out of the review well. It seems the academy does. Certain questions raised about finances too. Interesting times.

The Moist Buddha

Donegal GAA - Review on Talent Academy Governance and Finance - 7.6.23.pdf

there it is

ghostfacekilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120690392#Comment_120690392

A borefest of a read, but thanks for sharing it. A bit of a whitewash. Apart from a gentle elbowing of ‘a conflict of interest’, in typical headquarters fashion seemed hypercentric on finance, gave no support to a return for Lacey, but did for the coaches and their pointing out strongly our poor level of participation in the McCrory cup might be a positive kick up the behind we need at that level.

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120691219#Comment_120691219

I would fundamentally disagree. I think it is a damning indictment of the dysfunctional nature that affairs have been managed in the county.

The academy, under Lacey, is the one bright spot in the report.

“represented a very good structure, was well-organised, had a sound player-focused philosophy with good planning principles in place. While engagement with parents and schools was excellent at this point, there was less engagement with club and club coaches as part of this early process. However, there were plans to develop and improve this engagement in year three."

“Parental engagement was very strong with ongoing communication. Parents were very complimentary and supportive of the academy programme. They really valued their child's experience. They firmly endorsed the programme."

“Coaches were committed and enthused to be involved in the academy programme. Coach education and development opportunities were provided through a number of leading coaches from a variety of sports. Club coaches were invited to observe sessions with further progress planned for 2023. More cooperation is required to ensure greater coherence.”

I note, however, the lack of safeguarding with some coaches, a basic requirement in the current era.

The manner in which finances have been overseen in the county is shocking, lacking in the most basic of checks and balances. Poor accounting practice and auditing, lack of receipts and a carte blanche approach to the use of a credit card are alarming. It is also highly critical of fundraising structures in the county. The position of those involved in finance in the county would appear to be untenable.

"Some members of County Committee are employed or consultants of County Committee, which affects the integrity of decision-making" is an unbelievable conflict of interest and smacks of jobs for the boys. No credible organisation would allow such a conflict to develop without accountability.

The appointment procedure, as we all knew, to appoint a county manager was not fit for purpose. It lacked transparency, there was no independent oversight and there were clear conflicts of interest. Confidentiality appeared to be optional in the process.

There were 14 high risk findings in total. It is difficult to have any confidence in the individuals who were meant to be overseeing some of the most basic practice. They failed in their duties.

Redsoxfan

County Board etc sorry they didn't just let Lacey get on with it. This has shed a lot of light on stuff that would have remained under the radar if they didn't invite him in for that chat.

Hopefully change comes and is for the better.

harpsman

Listening on highland. Sounds like it’s coming from a bookie shop with the racing on in the background. Can hear about 4 different commentarys and zero crowd noise. And Devenney on commentary

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120727637#Comment_120727637

RTE giving great radio coverage with Peter Canavan

Redsoxfan

A mighty result. Plenty still not right, but still. The fight is there which is good to see.

crazyfool

Any day we beat Monaghan is a good day, great result.

Definitely improving, good first half, direct attacking football. Monaghan were always going to try and come for us in the second half. Did well enough to contain that although I’m not sure if our fitness is fully there yet. I also feel that Patton struggles when the pressure is on. He is a fantastic keeper but I see a sort of nervousness when he’s being pushed hard.

Brilliant to have home advantage for next weekend, it’ll be interesting to see who’s coming to Ballybofey next weekend.

Odhran Doherty did really well, Oisin, Jamie, Conor o D, Ciaran T, all had a great game. Daire O Baoill is a wonderful carrier of the ball and can chip a score in too.

Definitely things to work on but a satisfying evening in Omagh and we haven’t had too many of them recently. Excellent win.

crazyfool

So Mayo, Roscommon or Tyrone. Not sure who I’d prefer .

babybuilder

So we can't play Monaghan again? I think Roscommon or possibly Tyrone would be preferable. Mayo have our number these last few years. At home in a packed Ballybofey. Hopefully the weather stays relatively dry as we don't seem to perform when the conditions are wet.

crazyfool

No repeat group stage/provincial pairings is what they are saying.

After seeing Roscommon annihilate us in The Hyde already this year I wouldn’t be that confident playing them , granted we have improved since then though.

Tyrone nearly lost to Westmeath but it’s hard to know how they’ll play after that.

Seen Mayo in Limerick and they completely fell apart after the goal, didn’t score for the last 18 minutes, could they be as bad the next day out?

It won’t be easy whoever it is.

Redsoxfan

I was/am hopeful we can get one more win this year. Then, if we lose in a QF, at least we can go out having won 3 and lost 3, which, unless we get hammered (possible), would allow us to go into 2024 with a bit of confidence.

If we can't get Monaghan, any of the other 3 will rightfully be favourites no matter if the game is in Ballybofey.

Hard to know what to make of our neighbours. Could easily have lost earlier and gone out. Roscommon beat us well in the league when we were at our lowest. You would think Mayo have some kind of performance in them, whether they can deliver it outside of Croke Park remains to be seen.

Gallen going off is a concern.