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Donegal defeated but unrepentant
01.09.11
DONEGAL'S remarkable
football season ended on Sunday when they fell by
just two points to Dublin in front of more than
81,000 people in Croke Park.
It was a sad end to a truly wonderful season, but
Donegal certainly returned to football’s top table
after this remarkable year that included a Division
2 league title and a first Ulster Championship title
win since 1992.
Here is how the Inishowen Independent and other
papers summed it up. |
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In a nutshell
Man-of-the-match
Colm McFadden was the best forward on the pitch on
Sunday. Donegal played with only McFadden up front,
and although he had three and sometimes as many as
five defenders for company, he was able to win the
ball kicked into him and hit two excellent points
from play as well as converting two frees.
He also created the best goal chance of the game,
sidestepping Michael Fitzsimmons after taking a pass
from Michael Murphy, but with keeper Cluxton coming
quickly off his line McFadden rushed the shot a
little and it flew over the bar.
For Dublin, only Kevin McManamon enhanced his
reputation.
Key moment
Karl Lacey hobbling off just after half time put
paid to Donegal’s chances. He sustained a leg injury
early on, and was poleaxed by a cynical late
challenge just before half time, and although given
five minutes after half time to see if he could run
it off, he just couldn’t and the team lost its most
important player. Lacey has been simply outstanding
this year and will certainly win a third All-Star
award. He will also be short listed for player of
the year, although whether he wins that depends on
how well Colm Cooper and Darren O’Sullivan play in
the All-Ireland final.
Ref watch
For the second successive match, Donegal weren’t
awarded many scoreable frees. While Bernard Brogan
and Dublin got several soft looking frees from
Maurice Deegan, Colm McFadden couldn’t buy one at
the other end despite being similarly fouled. Sent
off Diarmuid Connolly – harshly, but technically
correctly – on the advice of his linesman. Deegan
also missed a Dublin player touching the ball on the
ground 20m from goal late on when Donegal trailed by
0-7 to 0-6 – in such a low scoring game the failure
to award that free proved crucial. The three minutes
of injury time he allocated at the end of the second
half was pretty miserly too. |
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What other papers
said
Irish News (Paddy Heaney)
This All-Ireland semi final might still go down in
the annals as the most defensive contest ever
witnessed at Croke Park. In the end, Dublin’s
greater attacking thrust proved to be the difference
and they progressed to a first All-Ireland final in
16 years.
This was negativity brought to new and hitherto
unexplored heights. The sweeper is now a fairly
standard feature in football. Two sweepers are
unheard of – that was until Sunday.
The Star (Paul Bealin)
If Donegal had reach the All-Ireland final I
wouldn’t have watched it. I would rather have gone
on holidays because the way they play football is a
brutal advertisement for the GAA. It certainly won’t
win over any new fans to the game. The Donegal-Mayo
All-Ireland semi final in 1992 is often remembers as
the worst in living memory, but it was beaten on
Sunday.
Irish Times (John O’Keeffe)
It goes without saying that this was not a game to
be enjoyed. We’ve seen Tyrone go defensive in the
past and we’ve even seen the Dubs themselves do it
but I’ve never seen a more defensive display than
the one Donegal put in yesterday.
They came to Croke Park with a fear of losing and
set out their stall to keep the score down. But it’s
very hard to win a game playing like that and when
the possibility came their way after they went three
points up in the second half, they just didn’t have
the mindset to go and get the victory.
They were sadly lacking in attacking options and
when Dublin drew level they had no answer. |
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Irish Examiner (Tony
Leen)
Jimmy McGuinness makes it all palatable because he’s
sincere, genial and articulate but for an hour of a
game as primal as anything I can remember,
football’s fate hung in the balance.
The future is here? Then the future is sour.
Donegal’s footballers unquestionably lifted the
spirit of a county this year with progress above and
beyond the best of Ulster. Good luck to them, but if
the means and methodology of their success catches
on, football is doomed. Truly, this is the last
outpost, the outer realm of tactical absurdity.
Irish Independent (Eugene McGee)
We all knew how Donegal were going to play, and they
were perfectly entitled to do as they did.
Their sole aim was to win the game and they made a
very brave effort to do so. Despite the over-the-top
abuse of everything related to Donegal, they were
entitled to set their stall out as their manager Jim
McGuinness decided. There is no rule in the GAA book
that outlaws the ghastly style of play used by
Donegal, so let them at it.
What will concern the Dublin management most of all
is the complete capitulation, mentally and
physically, of nearly all their players in the face
of a style of Donegal play that had been clearly
signposted in advance.
Hardly any Dublin player had the presence of mind to
think through what Donegal were expertly
implementing.
The comparison that struck me, as half time
approached and Dublin trailed by 0-4 to 0-2, was of
a rabbit frozen in the glare of a car headlight.
The teams
Donegal: Paul Durcan; Paddy McGrath, Neil McGee,
Frank McGlynn; Anthony Thompson, Karl Lacey, Kevin
Cassidy (0-1); Rory Kavanagh, Eamon McGee; Mark
McHugh, Christy Toye, Ryan Bradley (0-1); David
Walsh, Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden (0-4, 2f).
Subs: Michael Hegarty for C. Toye (half time); Marty
Boyle for Lacey (42 mins); Martin McElhinney for
Hegarty (63 mins); Paddy McBrearty for M. Boyle (65
mins).
Dublin: Stephen Cluxton (0-2, 1f, 1’45) ; Cian
O’Sullivan, Rory O’Carroll, Michael Fitzsimons;
James McCarthy, Ger Brennan, Kevin Nolan; Denis
Bastick, Michael Darragh MacAuley; Paul Flynn, Barry
Cahill, Bryan Cullen (0-1); Alan Brogan, Diarmuid
Connolly, Bernard Brogan (0-4, 4f). Sub: Phillip
McMahon for R. O’Carroll (26 mins); Kevin McManamon
(0-1) for Cahill (half time); Eoghan O’Gara for
McCarthy (61 mins); Eamon Fennel for Bastick (65
mins); Ross McConnell for Flynn (67 mins).
Referee: M. Deegan (Laois) |
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