In many respects, all Ulster clashes today are all about Donegal. We know exactly what Armagh brings to the party. They don’t want to play fearlessly, kick the ball, keep moving forward, and play sideways as much as possible. In other words, a mirror image of Donegal.
And at the end of April, when Donegal gave Armagh the right rampage at the Ulster Championship, it can be argued that this was all true. Armagh set out to lick their wounds, but their qualifying draw was, in a sense, the best possible home game against Tyrone.
If players and management feel sorry for themselves, this local spats will focus on you. With a little personal pride at stake, Armagh crushed Tyrone pretty well. All Irish crowns weighed heavily on their heads.
So while Armor was preparing to die or die, Donegal scrambled on the cavan and then ran head-on to an ambush who knew they were coming to Delhi. Ulster’s finals may have gone in either direction, but the winner writes history.
Donegal’s compulsive desire for risk aversion has infuriated many of themselves. I know many Donegal people all over the country, and with the exception of Dublin and Kelly, it doesn’t unduly disturb them, except that we’re all used to it. But not actually trying to win was very frustrating for them.
I had a lot of opportunities to chase Delhi, but every time a head-on attack was made, it was always split by the backpass. Fortune supports brave people.
So Donegal can change — are they willing to take a radically different approach today with the players?
There are some certainty about Donegal. They have a lot of tall players who are good in the air, but they don’t kick the ball to take advantage of this advantage over other teams. When they kick, they have an accurate foot passer and a good long range point taker.
Nothing is better than Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrati, Shane O’Donnell, Jason Maggie, Michael Langan, and Kiaran Thompson in this regard, but they are tightly guarding their greatest wealth. They rely on the speed of Peadar Mogan, Ryan McHugh and Eoghan Bán Gallagher, with little overlap in fielding, kicking and running styles.
Donegal’s method can be an exercise for some young people to earn a master’s or doctoral degree. Did that style help or hinder progress?
Of course, there is no definitive answer, but the clear conclusion now is that Donegal is not making the most of themselves. They have receded in the last few years and may not change. The young player launches an attack and as a result moves forward. Now that Donegal is deeply rooted in their methods, it will require a lot of re-learning to be more expressive in an aggressive sense.
Indeed, Declan Bonner plays Michael Murphy in full forward, and McBrennan and Jamie Brennan eat bread crumbs and do most of the damage.
Armagh is fine in that regard. Two long kicks and great catches by Stephen Campbell and Andrew Manin in the second half of last week led to great points. These types of scores are now rare and exciting.
Overhead catch, one of the best skills, is almost gone. The hand pass killed the catch. Changing the rules to facilitate the kick will also help with high fielding, reduce hand passes and reduce referee malls, making the referee’s life easier.
The referee seems to have decided to make a decision against anyone in possession, unless serious physical harm is done. Therefore, the message is to move the ball quickly with your hands or feet.
This hasn’t unhooked the referee, even if it’s been a quiet year so far. That said, Monaghan was denied a clear penalty last weekend for Mayo, who may have brought the match into overtime. It doesn’t matter if Monahan deserves another 20 minutes, but the penalty is a penalty. Mayo was a better team, and with the exception of Jack McCarron, Monaghan had little positive threat, but the best teams don’t always win the watch.
I’m always a little amused when people say that such a team isn’t worth it. A clear decision has nothing to do with worthy of it.
The decision to reject Leitrim’s goal in the Taean Cup match against Sligo was even worse. It was clearly a good goal before the player went out of the small square, moved to the net and put it in the palm of his hand. It had a decisive influence on the extra time match, and Slygo won the penalty shootout.
All goals in these situations should be allowed, unless clearly wrong.
Anyway, I hope the dangerous referee’s decision doesn’t have a big impact today. When they met in the quarterfinals of the Ulster Championship, Donegal became smarter from the previous league encounter that ended in Mele, and while Donegal was being punished by them, the armor players got off.
In that game, Donegal enjoyed Ethan Raphaty’s kickout and Ryan O’Neal also took it out of the game. Rafferty stood out last Sunday, scoring two points from play while O’Neill controlled the outfield’s play. His long and accurate kick shows that such a man is more valuable than ever.
Is there a kick left in Donegal? Do they abandon their bondage, play with some joy and give up, as if they were boys again? Otherwise, you will lose the respect of the county. After a rotten show like Delhi, good players play with anger. Maybe it could drive Donegal to great performance.
When Cork and Limerick meet, the crowd at Páirc Uà Chaoimh is much smaller. I watched a Cork vs. Laus match last weekend. Although the attendance was small, I was surprised at how much the Cork supporters made a fuss about the team. Perhaps they saw something in a 50-minute rebellion against Kelly. Cork beat Raus with a 4, but he could have done more.
However, Louth made Cork’s life easier by not challenging the kickout. Also, all Louth players retreated completely within their 45s when they lost ownership.
What should surprise Louth players and supporters is that when the containment policy was abandoned in the last 10 minutes, they scored more than the previous 60 and played better football. If another approach may have resulted in greater satisfaction.
Limerick got real tanking from Kelly in the Munster final. After being promoted to Division 2, after a penalty, after securing a victory over Claire, and beyond the tipperary, this was a real check. And it’s also difficult to take. This only shows the differences between the divisions of the league, especially the gap with the top side.
Cork relies on Scene Pouter, Stephen Sherlock and Brian Harley, and Corm O’Callahan is a promising player. In contrast, this year’s Cork has had a really difficult life due to injuries, but they will feel their trajectory is now up after some really disastrous league performances.
Limerick scored only eight points against Kelly, five of which came from halfbacks Ian Corbett and Kian Sheehan. Many teams have scored, but Limerick forwards don’t do much damage to the form. This may look like a fixture far away from Broadway, but it’s still a big prize. Cork is likely to be the winner in the home soil.
