Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

Any manager would want to keep a winning sequence going, especially with championship just around the corner, and we are not so high and mighty to turn our noses up a Div 2 trophy. On the other hand we have Derry 3 weeks afterwards, still a fair number out from injury and two more picking up injuries in what was a dead rubber yesterday. Armagh are in a much better position in that going into next weeks final, even if the pick up a few knocks, it would still be difficult not to see them making the Ulster Final from their from their group.

Personally I would be happy to see league trophies just given to the top team where nowadays there are so many championship games coming thick and fast on top of each other. Whatever Jim decides to do next week I`m not going to knock it one way or the other. He has certainly brought on lads, and we now have a much greater number of scorers that need watching. I still have doubts about our defense, but I look on it as a work in practice and no better man to fine tune it than Jim.

The extra game would help by having some of those younger lads playing in Croke Park in a winner takes all game as well as maybe getting game time into some of the walking wounded. Good to see O`Donnell and McColgan back and both looking sharp and hopefully the two injuries yesterday were not too serious. I have knocked Ryan in the past, more for where he was being played rather than for his abilities, but he has been very good this year and the bit of a break looks to have re-energised him.

Superb resilience today. Thought that they had thrown it away. Have to say that the defence put in a great shift. The softness of old gone I hope. Great scores in the end. Some poor shot selection at times shooting with right on right side and visa versa.

Watching the Derry-Dublin game I'd say were one or two years away from that level. If we can keep it tight until the last 15 you never know.

I would also take 3 tickets, if anyone has the ear of someone important.

Nothing to stop any Seed 3 and 4 being drawn with Derry. If Derry finish up as a Seed 1 or 2. Like last year it could be a group with 3 from Ulster. Derry, Clare, Monaghan and Donegal. Derry had already beaten Monaghan at the Semi Final stage in Ulster.

I have a feeling we may see some changes between now and throw-in.

Looking forward to the game, also looking forward to the Derry v Tyrone semi final next sunday in Armagh I assume. It actually takes me longer to get to Celtic Park than it does to the Athletic grounds.

Been a long time since I enjoyed a game as much as that one. Derry might yet go further than we will, but no 3 in a row for them anyway.

Mighty Donegal support. Great to see it.

The Kinnegar tasting extra good tonight. Not the perfect performance but so much to be happy with.

Up Donegal

Donegal Tyrone confirmed for Celtic Park in Derry again on Sunday at 2pm. Would Clones not have made more sense? A lot of us couldn't get tickets for last Saturday and will probably be in the same boat next weekend.

he was on a stag in either Budapest or Prague

Can't see Jim being impressed with that level of dedication

There are a few available here: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/ulster-senior-football-championship-semi-final-donegal-v-tyrone-derry-28-04-2024/event/3800609692FD0B49

Hugely improved second half. Thought O'Donnell played really well and McGee with the two points. Energy levels are incredible. Roll on Ulster final.

I got a good laugh from Michael Murphy`s 10 years versus 10 months but I doubt Kieran McGeeney did.

As I said earlier in the week little or noyhing should have been talen from the Derry game as regards this one. I thought we were gone a few times. Epecially 2nd half when we brought it back from 3 down to go level for them then to go three up again. At that stage I could only see a goal saving us, but luckly Jim McGuinness is the manager and not me, and the team really showed great calm, skill, awareness and no shotage of guts not to panic and reel them in.

Some good scores and a good spread of scores, but some terrible wides. We need to sharpen up in that area. 3 dropped short by my count which were cardinal sins in McGuinness`s last reign. Especially with their keeper, and like Patton, what he can do in situations like that. Like last week we had free moved foeward to scoreable areas due to mouthing at the ref. Not only are they stupid they can be disheartening to the rest of the team. I don`t like criticising a player, especially after the shift they all put in today, but in extra time Paddy McBrearty kicked a scoreable wide from a free that to me was a kick for a right footed player. In fairness he later made up for it big time, so perhaps as captain he believed with the pressure at the time he should take the responsibility.

The real joy for me with this game, (and I could not give a rat`s arse if neutrals didn`t find it entertaining), is that we are not a one trick pony team and management that some were suggesting we were after the Derry game. We were in a totally different game today under serious pressure at times and both thought and fought our way to win. Especially after half time by the players themselves on the pitch. It`s a long time since we have done that.

Aye, just seeing now Oisin went off. I wasn't there and BBC weren't great at showing the subs but there was a lot of it going on. Maybe I remember him coming off but the tension was too much for me!

That was a vital win in the evolution of this team. The Derry game was vindication of Jim’s decision to return. This vindicates the players asking Jim back.
Too often this group of players have been brittle when the heat came on. Yesterday they showed the resilience you associate with a McGuinness team.
It was far from perfect. We were ill disciplined in our shot selection and with greater composure and patience we could have won the game earlier. For the first fifty minutes our transition was laboured. Once we injected pace into the game we created opportunities.
This should quell some of the nonsense spoken last week. We are far from the finished article but we are on an upward trajectory.
You can see the individual improvements in players. Defensively we have shape and structure. Players know their roles and are displaying a trust in those around them.
McGonagle is now a key player for us. His strength and athleticism are being utilised in his new role. Jason is becoming the player we believed he could be. Ryan is rejuvenated.
The attack still has room for improvement. Individually they are very talented but their decision making was poor at times yesterday.
They will learn more from this than they did from the Derry game.
A word of credit for Cawley too. I haven’t always been impressed by him but I thought he had a very good game yesterday.

I wasn`t impressed with him yesterday. I thought he gave some very easy frees to Tyrone that caused a lot of frustration for our lads, But that is no excuse for us making them more scoreable by back chatting to the ref and them being moved forward. For the foul on Gallen in the last few minutes before we equalised he must have been the only person watching that game that missed it, and it`s not as if he was in a poor position to not see it. He also played the advantage rule on a Tyrone free which went on for a lot longer than 5 seconds before calling it back after Tyrone had played on and kicked wide.

If he was holding his arm up for the legth of time that Tyrone played on to kick that wide before he called it back for the free the lack of blood going up to his hand must have affected his decision making because it was well past 5 seconds.😎 For the foul on Gallen even the Tyrone players looked as if they Couldn`t understand why it wasn`t given.

I don`t think our decision making was that bad. It was more to do with our shooting in the first half where we didn`t want to get caught in posession by Tyrone`s packed defense. That left us with no options other that take on their defense after that. With Tyrone getting in a few interceptions inside the 21 that were as much to do with good luck as good guidance and the ball ending up with a player that wasn`t a shooter for points rather than goals we looked much more likely to score a goal or two than they did.

I do appreciate it is a tough job. I did a bit of it myself in days gone bye at club level and I don`t believe I was being over harsh on him. Every ref has his/her own style as to what they let go and what they don`t. County seniors should know what that is, but the long 5 seconds on the Tryone free and the foul on Gallen was very clear cut and could very easily have cost us the game.

I felt in the first half that a lot of the shots from distance were to from instuctions to draw the Tyrone defense out from sitting deep, as well as a bit of a fear of losing possesion and Tyrone countering. Either way some of those misses at that level were poor, but for me dropping 3 by my count short in the first half was much worse. Espcially with Morgan in goal. At least with a wide you have a chance to reset. Agree that when we went with movement and pace that is what won it for use. Hopefully against Armagh our conversion rate improves, and from looking at them against Down they did not look comfortable when Down ran at them. If Down had of kept doing it rather than trying to defend a lead and run down the clock, it could easily be them rather than Armagh we are meeting.

anyone mention where EBG is, was he the fella on the stag someone said, or is he injured?

Anyone else to come back in?