by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
DONEGAL have a shot at qualifying for their first
All-Ireland semi-final since 2003 when they play
Kildare at Croke Park on Saturday (throw-in 6pm),
and, with one exception, Jim McGuinness will a full
squad to choose from.
Injury concerns over Rory Kavanagh, Kevin Rafferty
and Dermot Molloy have receded, with all three
players taking part in training this week. A scan on
Molloy’s knee injury, picked up during a club U21
match last Tuesday week, showed the injury wasn’t as
bad as first feared.
As has become the norm, McGuinness won’t announce
his team until after training tonight, Thursday.
“Because of the injuries, we’ll leave selection
until Thursday,” McGuinness said. “We’ll take a
closer look at Dermot Molloy again. He was going
very well in training before the Ulster final and
we’re delighted to have him back available.”
Kavanagh and Rafferty both received treatment in a
Dublin hospital last week, and returned to training
on Sunday and Tuesday.
Martin McElhinney came in after Kavanagh was
withdrawn half an hour into the Ulster final, while
Kevin Rafferty was replaced in the starting line up
by Neil Gallagher who put in an impressive shift in
his first championship start of the season.
Leo McLoone has also returned to training after an
operation on an eye injury sustained in a club
championship match against Glenswilly a month ago,
but he is unlikely to come into the reckoning for
Saturday’s crunch game.
All this leaves Jim McGuinness with a welcome
selection headache, but indications are they he will
stick with the 15 that started against Derry.
McGuinness is full of respect for Kildare and
appreciates the challenge they’ll pose on Saturday.
“Saturday’s opposition are a very good team, and
while it will be difficult to win we go into the
game confident in our ability.
“We’re looking for another strong performance, for
the players to again give everything for the county.
And if we can get the right performance, even if
that comes up short, we’ll be happy.”
Kieran McGeeney’s Kildare qualified for a fourth
successive All-Ireland quarter final via the back
door following last weekend’s 0-19 to 0-13 victory
over Derry.
And they have done so while plagued by injuries –
Dermot Earley has missed the whole season while
midfield partner Hugh Lynch sustained a knee injury
after their defeat of Laois three weeks ago.
They come into Sunday’s crunch tie on the back of
three wins over the past three weeks, against Laois,
Meath and Derry.
McGeeney won’t announce his team until later this
week, but he did reveal that he operates on a
‘horses for courses’ basis depending on the
opposition.
“Your best 15 changes depending on the game and
opposition, and I change it quite a bit,” he said.
“It’s unfair to say your starting 15 are your ‘best
15’.
“If you’ve a big strong full-back, the likes of Tom
O’Connor and him are going to have a real battle and
the referee is hardly going to blow a free-kick
between them because they’re well fit for it.
“But put someone small in on that full-back, the
likes of Alan Smith and he’s knocked around the same
way, you might get more free-kicks and his pace
might create more havoc.”
Saturday’s referee will be David Coldrick (Meath),
who took charge of the 2007 and 2010 All-Ireland
finals.
* Clubs are no longer taking ticket orders for
Saturday’s game, but can be purchased from selected
SuperValu and Centra outlets or in the vicinity of
Croke Park on the day itself. |
