The Alternative View: Perfect Tyrone record washed away in the Ballybofey rain

Perfect records are always on the line and another one bit the dust in a wet MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey on Saturday evening. The dark clouds hung over the Twin Towns in the hours before throw-in and fingers were crossed that it would remain dry.

Jim McGuinness’s Donegal had a 100 per cent record against Tyrone in championship football, both in Ulster and in the All-Ireland series. And there was also the small matter of McGuinness’s 100 per cent championship record in MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey on the line.

The anticipated full house saw the terraces being filled out early while the stand looked empty. As it turned out all the seats in the stand were sold too, even those reserved for the press overflow and the hacks were sent scurrying across to a now overcrowded press box.

Even the Reserved Stand Seats - those painted white - were sold by Croke Park which left stewards in a bit of a quandary. And as the rain started and then descended into a downpour, getting the punters who had seats in the uncovered sections at the front became an even bigger headache for the poor stewards.

The delay of the throw-in by 15 minutes (due to an accident outside Omagh) just added to the tension in the build-up - if any additional tension was needed.

The pre-match talk for Saturday’s game was all centred around the fitness of goalkeeper Shaun Patton and when he came out for the warm-up along with Gavin Mulreany and took his place in the target practice we thought he was okay.

But then we got the team news - and not alone was Patton not starting, but Peadar Mogan and captain Patrick McBrearty were also on the bench with Gavin Mulreany, Eoghan Bán Gallagher and Conor O’Donnell in from the start.

The Tyrone line-out had even more changes with four alterations to their published starting 15.

It all started so well but it was obvious that the playing conditions were going to have a major part in the game. From an early stage players were finding the change from summer-like conditions over the past six or seven weeks had turned to more Autumn or Winter weather. The combination of the slippery ball and hard underfoot surface was going to be a big factor in the outcome.

And then it happened, a long ball into the Donegal square was dropped and Seanie O’Donnell reacted quickest to nudge past Gavin Mulreany. Before we had time to draw breath, Tyrone burst through the middle again with Conn Kilpatrick finding O’Donnell on the run and he fired home a second goal. It was a baptism of fire for Mulreany but the problem lay further out the field. Donegal have had some difficulty with a soft centre for some time; that was shown in the first three games in the Ulster championship in particular.

When Caolan McGonagle was replaced before half-time with what looked like a recurrence of his ankle injury, it seemed as if things were going from bad to worse.

Still we were back in the game thanks mainly to the individual brilliance of Michael Murphy and Michael Langan and to a lesser extent Ryan McHugh. At the same time so many other players were just misfiring; the amount of what looked like silly mistakes was alarming, but then you just have to take the elements into account.

Gavin Mulreany’s kick-outs were on a par, if not better, than his counterpart Niall Morgan. What a difficult situation for the St Naul’s man to step into. When two of his big targets, Hugh McFadden and Caolan McGonagle had left the action in the second half, his options for kick-outs were limited.

Just as in the first half Donegal found themselves in a hole and once again Murphy and Langan pulled them out of it. When Patrick McBrearty sent them two clear it was looking good but in the end the reliance on a small number of players proved a step too far.

It was just one of those games where the performance didn’t match the usual  standards. Four tough games in the Ulster championship has to be a factor. How many players had niggles that impacted the team? Of the 26 that were named in the panel Shaun Patton, Peadar Mogan, Caolan McGonagle and Niall O’Donnell were affected. Hugh McFadden was involved in two very heavy collisions during the game.

Mogan was introduced but hadn’t his usual impact; Niall O’Donnell, after making such an impact when introduced in the Ulster final, wasn’t introduced this time around.

Which begs the question: How fit and prepared were the Donegal squad for the huge task they faced on Saturday against a Tyrone side that had four weeks without a game, the perfect preparation time for their trip to Ballybofey?

There are other big takeaways from Saturday’s game in relation to Donegal’s ambitions going forward. Most experts (and there are plenty of them about after Saturday) would agree that Donegal would have great difficulty winning an All-Ireland title without a fit Michael Murphy.

We saw the delight in the Glenswilly man’s face after winning a sixth Ulster championship medal just a few short weeks ago. But the big question is: Can we expect Michael Murphy to play 10 or 11 games at that level as he is approaching his 36th birthday? 

The perfect plan would be to be able to rest Murphy for parts of these games in the All-Ireland Series, but as we saw on Saturday, without him we might not make it to the final stages.

That is a real dilemma. Donegal have won two Ulster titles in-a-row but is that enough for the most ambitious in the squad? Winning Ulster results in a  huge physical burden and the subsequent potential for injuries.

For now Donegal have to go all-out to beat Cavan on Sunday next in Breffni Park. Otherwise they could find their season hanging by a thread. Win on Sunday and they will have a modicum of control on their future.

But the defeat against Tyrone leaves them with a much tougher road ahead and that’s a daunting prospect with so many players carrying niggles. Logic is probably not the best friend when predicting results in the last few weeks, but you would expect Tyrone to top the group which means that Donegal will have an even tougher path through the preliminary quarter-final route. That would require Jim McGuinness’s side to play Cavan next week, have one week off; then play Mayo followed by a preliminary quarter-final and quarter-final. Four more games in five weeks - not ideal for a squad that is showing some wear and tear from the competitive Ulster championship.

Nobody likes to lose in Ulster and that is the dilemma. But if you have All-Ireland ambitions, trying to win Ulster from the preliminary round and then get involved in a tough All-Ireland group is hardly a level playing field with what the likes of Kerry have to face.

Have we an obsession with winning Ulster that is harming us in the long run?

The hype around Donegal will have dimmed a little in the aftermath of the Ballybofey downpour. And maybe that’s a good thing. But let’s be fair, nobody was taking Tyrone for granted.

And the same is the case on Sunday next. Cavan’s tails are up after going to Castlebar and comprehensively beating Mayo. And when Cavan tails are up, their support comes out in big numbers. They also have the perfect preparation, a week off before welcoming Donegal.

There will be a tough review for Donegal this week. They don’t have much time to dwell on what was a poor day at the office. A repeat of just five scorers and 12 wides will not be enough to defeat Cavan. 

Donegal will also remember the 2020 Covid final in the Athletic Grounds when the Breffni men showed what hunger can do. Donegal were big favourites then and probably will be again on Sunday.

It will be the perfect opportunity for redemption for 2020 and for Saturday last.

READ NEXT: Donegal will be well represented at All-Ireland Gaeltacht finals in Meath

MATCH STATS

Scorers for Donegal: Michael Murphy (3 tpf, 1f, 1’45’) 0-8, Michael Langan 0-7,1tp, Ciaran Thompson (1f) 0-2, Patrick McBrearty 0-2,tp, Ryan McHugh 0-1.

Scorers for Tyrone: Darren McCurry (1 tpf, 2f) 0-7, Seanie O’Donnell 2-0, Darragh Canavan (2f), Peter Harte (tp) 0-2 each, Michael McKernan, Kieran McGeary, Mark Bradley, Ben McDonnell, Ciaran Daly, Cormac Quinn 0-1 each.

Donegal: Gavin Mulreany; Finnbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Eoghan Bán Gallagher; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Ciarán Moore; Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan; Dáire Ó Baoill, Ciarán Thompson, Shane O’Donnell; Conor O’Donnell, Michael Murphy, Oisín Gallen. Subs: Odhran McFadden Ferry for McGonagle (31), Eoin McHugh for Ó Baoill (half-time), Patrick McBrearty for McFadden (42), Peadar Mogan for Conor O’Donnell (50), Odhran Doherty for E Ban Gallagher (60).

Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Cormac Quinn, Padraig Hampsey, Niall Devlin; Michael McKernan, Rory Brennan, Kieran McGeary; Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Seanie O’Donnell, Mattie Donnelly, Ciarán Daly; Darren McCurry, Mark Bradley, Darragh Canavan. Subs: Ben McDonnell for Kennedy (half-time), Peter Harte for Donnelly (53), Eoin McElholm for Bradley (55), Frank Burns for Brennan (57).

Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)