Donegal GAA Discussion Thread

Hi Folks, I'm a Season Ticket holder. I bought the ticket for the Monaghan match (forgot it was on Easter Sunday) & can't make it. It's for the Gerry Arthur Stand, if anyone want's to buy it I can transfer via Ticketmaster.

Yep, Roarty was brilliant. All round a very good team performance. We have the knack of not panicing when teams come back at us. Monaghan are a good outfit but the depth of our squad was the telling factor.

Roarty is a very special talent.

I didn`t expect anything less from Monaghan. They have always given us problems and they were the top scoring team in the league. Overall we were solid enough at the back. Mogan and Roarty in particular, Mc Menamin had a solid game and seems to have cut out the silly fouls he was giving away. Ryan was buzzing around making a nuisance of himself until he got that hard knock from Beggan. Patten`s kick-outs were good and he was much more assertive under the high ball than he was at times in the past.

Around the middle Thompson and Langan were excellent and Hughie put in a good shift, but for me the front six seemed a bit disjointed. Paddy was well held, Murphy worked hard and O`Baoill looked dangerous at times, but for me I`m afraid that was as good as it got. We got nothing much out of the two O`Donnells, and Ciaran Moore did not have one of his better days with their centre back scoring six points. Other than Jamie Brennan I didn`t thing the substitutions added much either. I know Gallen got a point, but he just seems to be very lacking in either confidence or is trying to take too much out of the ball. I know the pitch was a bit greasy but he was slipping and sliding like he was playing on ice. It was good to get game time into Jason Mc Gee, but the game seemed to pass him by.

Overall I still felt we were the better team and we held our nerve to win which was good to see when we were not at our best where we again let a few goal chances go a begging. If we are not scoring goals, then we really need to start working those two pointers. Not to disrespect Down, but I would not see them as being at the same level as Monaghan, but I would not see yesterday`s performance good enough to beat whoever comes through from the other semi.

I wasn`t criticising the work rate or the commitment, and where Shane O`Donnell is concerned I probably came across as overly harsh in that he works like a dog in an unglamorous role that is often not appreciated.

I`m probably a bit old style in that I like to see half forward lines keeping the scoreboard ticking over and keeping their markers worried what their man will do should they decide to ramble forward looking for scores. But then I suppose it works both ways as we get a lot of change from our back six doing the same. That said, there is something with an opposition centre back scoring six points in a tight game that just doesn`t sit right for me.

Overall as a unit I thought our front six were very disjointed on Sunday, where other than Jamie Brennan our substitution did little to change that and overall there was a hesitancy to break their last line of defence where we often recycled the ball back out when that break looked on. Especially on a number of occasions, when with Beggan forward we won possession and moved the ball forward quickly.

I do realise that now possession is very much more the name of the game, and to lose it you can be hit very hard on the counter and with how Monaghan defended space was very limited. But if we are going to recycle the ball back out then we should perhaps be making more use of the likes of Thompson, Langan and O`Baoill going for two pointers. Even if they miss a few it will draw defenders out seeing that we are going for those scores, and leave a bit more space for our forwards inside.

Roarty came on with twenty minutes left when the game was already won. They are playing Tyrone in the final who they have already beaten. The other thing to note is that this is a young team with quite a few underage again next year.

Unimpressive performance today. Just did enough to get over the line. Poor second half. Noticeable fatigue and a lack of freshness. Two games in a week showed. Down had goal chances but failed to convert them. Puzzled by use of Murphy in around the centre. The man cannot tackle and it's only a matter of time before he's going to get sent off.

His kickpassing reminds me of Neil Gallagher's. We need that in our team. All our opposition expect us to handpass it. Worrying enough the last two matches. Neither of those performances will come close to beating Armagh, even if they do seem punch drunk this year. A lot of lads just coming back from injuries, and Eoghan Ban especially missed. Gallen is a worry. Hesistating on shots he would have swung over without a second thought in the past. That may have been Jim's thinking in taking off Gallen, McBrearty and Murphy early today. That, and they looked fairly gassed. Hopefully Dara O Baoill is more consistent than last season. When he's in the zone, he seems unstoppable. The one huge positive from the last two matches, is Patton seems to have come on in leaps and bounds under a high ball.

load a sh**e

The reluctance to try a 2 pointer from the right at the end was hard to watch. Never mind the 3 back violation. I only saw the last few minutes of ET so can't comment on more than that.

Always hate when we beat them and Derry in the league and then group stages etc. and then lose finals.

was a post on the Donegal fb yesterday that would just be clubs. Probably should join one now I’ve moved back home