McShea’s Say: Donegal must now immediately zone in on Kerry and David Clifford

I never believed that I would watch Donegal win an All-Ireland semi-final by twenty points, but that was their margin of victory in a wonderful display of clinical football against Meath in Croke Park last Sunday.

Before this game I was confident that Donegal would prevail, but I did not anticipate the quality of the football displayed by the winners in what simply was an outstanding display of total football.

Pace, directness and a ravenous desire were words used to describe this Donegal masterclass, but I don’t ever remember a team scoring 3-26 in a championship semi-final.

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This was in fact the highest ever football semi-final score and it was the biggest winning margin in a semi-final since Cork hammered Mayo 5-15 to 0-10 back in 1993. 

For every team, every season has a defining game, and for me that game was a few short weeks ago when Donegal headed for the half-time break seven points behind a Monaghan outfit that played excellent football for the first 35 minutes of a gripping first half.

To say it looked dodgy for Donegal at the interval against Monaghan would be a serious understatement, but to their credit Donegal’s display in the second half was almost on a par with the creativity of the football displayed against Meath last Sunday.

I am not sure if the Donegal team realised how big a moment it was, but it was great to be in that tight scrape against the Farney men, and there is much value in winning a nip and tuck encounter.

I am quite sure that in the tight situation that Donegal found themselves that they learned from that close call and it was a reason why they were so good against Meath.

But we all know that under Jim McGuinness Donegal analyse and learn, and one of the great joys of watching this side in action is the incredible confidence and never-say-die attitude that seems to be an integral quality in every player’s psyche.

McGuinness has played a very big part in the revolution of Donegal in recent years.

Not only did he bring a lot of young players in and give them a shot at the big time, with outstanding success, but he also brought a lot of charisma, a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of belief into that Donegal dressing room.

And now all the ingredients are there as we look forward so much to Sunday week’s All-Ireland joust with Kerry.

After Donegal’s excellence against Meath and Kerry’s comprehensive victory over Tyrone, there is an argument to be made that the Kerry/Donegal final represents the zenith of Gaelic football, two of the best teams conjuring a spiralling, thumping game gushing with everything that could happen when thirty exceptionally honed footballers convene in a battle for the most coveted prize in Irish sport.

Donegal’s incredible pace and unique ability to transfer from defence to attack is well documented, and one incident in the Meath game when young Finnbarr Roarty displayed his full array of tackling skills to win a ball which was at least 30/70 in the Meath forward’s favour was a moment of footballing excellence which brought the large Donegal support to their feet to acclaim the young Glenties man.

But Kerry are also well served when it comes to rapid attacking, and for this reason the defensive structures on show from both teams will be more than a little interesting.

David Clifford, like Michael Murphy, is a generational talent and it’s going to be fascinating to see how McGuinness and Jack O’Connor go about zoning on on the other’s talisman. 

With the management structures that Kerry and Donegal have in place, there is also much in common.

Some managers are achievers who want to progress all the time. They simply want to win all the time. Some others are sometimes happy to settle for what they have.

That attitude was never accepted on a Kerry or Donegal bench where both counties are renowned for their players’ courage and fighting spirit. It just isn’t about ability; it can’t be just about that alone.

As we look forward so much to Sunday week, there is a wonderful buzz throughout our beautiful county.

It is inspiring to see folk of all ages proudly sporting our famous county jersey, and I believe there were many requests for the special Magee jersey that the boys wore with such wonderful success back in 1992 when Anthony Molloy took Sam to the hills.

Every man, woman and child are waiting with bated breath to see that history repeated. Next week we will have an in-depth look at where this final may be won or lost.