Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

I thought we did ok this year so far by forcing the opposition to kick long. Especially around midfield when we fielded cleanly, but we still seem very poor when a ball is broken there. We are still lacking in physicallity, so conceding the kick-out and letting big physical teams run at us from deep is a problem. (A bit surprised we didn`t throw in McColgan after the first goal. I thought he did well against Armagh where we were being bullied physically). Our half back line gets sucked in and we often get punished with the resulting breaks from there. We were very slow to learn on the Cork kick-outs to their midfield on the wing. It was only when Caolan Mc Gonagle moved across for those late in the second half that we got any joy.

At the end of the day we lost because we were sloopy rather than anything Cork brought. There are a few lads that will not be comfortable when the video is being reviewed. But then this is a young learning team and these things happen. Just learn from it and move on. A good performance and the worst we will have is a home game as second in the group.

I doubt Jim is overly worried about the Cork result. % down, we fought back and could as easily have win as lost. Taking away some of the over hype from some of the supporters that would seep into the team if it continued I imagine he will not be heart broken over.

Any word on Jason McGee ?

When will the date and venue for the final round be confirmed?

Cork looked well up for it from early on while Donegal looked a bit off the pace. They were very effective at kickouts and forced some uncharacteristic turnovers from McHugh and Mogan, players you’d want on the ball. Even though Donegal led at half time I felt they were vulnerable if Cork went for more goals in the second half. Still, there were chances late on and then you had the overcarrying call on McGonagle which ended up with Cork scoring at the other end.

Considering the season so far, perspective needs to be kept but it would be a shame to miss out on a straight QF spot all the same. No harm in tempering the expectations of both supporters and some in the media though.

Does anyone know what the attendance was? I heard 7,500 mentioned but it seemed like far more than that inside Páirc Uí Rinn. In fairness the Cork support was fantastic and they deservedly enjoyed the win.

In relation to McGee, McGuinness mentioned that he was carrying something from earlier in the week and it tightened up during the match. Hopefully he’s back for the Clare game.

Excellent analysis from John Gildea.

Disappointing with the result on Saturday to be honest. After the fantastic victory over Tyrone the previous week, I couldn't see us losing this one.

I think losing Magee was a real killer blow to us. Without his physical presence in the middle third we'll always struggle. He was playing decent until then and made a text book tackle when the Cork lad was bearing down on goal. I think the Charlie McGuinness experiment should cease now. I see him down in the match day 25 for the past few games, without making an appearance. He doesn't have the speed of some of the other players, but is a big lad. If he was ever to make an appearance it was to replace Magee on Saturday. We lost out on the physical battle once he left and if McGuinness was any good, that was his time to come in. So based on that, he's only a distraction to the other squad members. Subbed off early in the league final as well.

Couple of points on the game…

Forget about poor handling, I think there was an over emphasis on McHugh and Mogan in the first half. The two lads ran their socks of and in fairness Mogan drifted out of the game in the second half. McHugh dropped two shots into the keepers hands but I can't really blame him for that per se. Given the amount of energy he expended, those were the shots of a tired man. We play a running game but should share the burden of hard running with EBG and CM. Over emphasis on Ryan and Peadar results in what we saw on Saturday.

I thought the team is very devoid of leaders. When the game was in the melting pot (last few mins), nobody stood up and had a crack. Langan was clear through - about 25 out - and rather then take the shot, passed off. Think Gallen had a decent chance too and shied away from the kick. Ciaran Thompson - a long range shooter - should have worked a position to shoot, but didn't. Against better teams, we need these lads to step up and lead rather than be led. To his credit, Paddy was trying to rally the troops, but we need more from the on field players.

An honest opinion on Gallen - for me he's not living up to all the hype. I know he'd a good game v Armagh, is capable of pulling out a top drawer score now and again, but I'm thinking there's a certain viewing of the lad with green and gold coloured spectacles. He's going to be scorer in chief to replace Paddy but I don't think he's up to it. Look at the counties expected to challenge for Sam and the talent they have in the forward line. Compare Oisin to the great forwards about now - Clifford, Con O'Callaghan, McGuigan, Cillian O'Connor, O’Donoghue,McManus (to a lesser extent), Canavans etc would you put him in that caliber?

Possibly Moore to centre back and McGonagle to midfield but more likely Thompson I imagine. Agree on McGee and especially McFadden. Difficult to see where he can fit into the present set up.

Roscommon and Louth have left more option for the QF, but with our luck we will probably get Galway with Comer to start.