Mac's View: Nerves a factor and we will take a while to get over disappointment

Like all the others in the huge Donegal support in Croke Park on Sunday, it will take me a while to get over the disappointment of the result and the way the game panned out.

It was a huge fall from the great buzz that had taken hold in the county for the last couple of weeks and fair play to the Donegal supporters for the way they got behind their team.

But in the end it has to be said Kerry were the better team on the day but at the same time we just didn't get off the ground. There was a nervousness about everything that went on inside the four white lines.

The parade was slow to get going and then we pulled away from it in front of the hill while Kerry continued to march around to the Hogan Stand. We should have stayed with the parade as the Hogan Stand was dominated by Donegal jerseys.

Even during the part of the preliminaries when the President Michael D Higgins was being introduced to the teams, our players again looked nervous and were  jumping around. At that stage we already had done a very good warm up. We should have shown more respect but I know that was not intentional, it was just nerves.

Then we were hit from the start. Kerry came at us in waves and our zonal defence didn't work at all. They began to run straight down the middle and before we knew it we were down eight or nine points.

It was so disappointing and even at that stage there was a need to go toe to toe with Kerry. Their No 14 Paudie Clifford had the freedom of the park. I know later on the RTE panel gave the man of the match award to the Kerry captain Gavin White, but my man of the match was Paudie Clifford. He was the conductor of the Kerry orchestra.

To be fair to Brendan McCole, he did very well on David Clifford. He did as well as anybody in the country could do on him, such is the ability of the Kerry marksman. He is a super footballer.

But then there are always good footballers in Kerry. You don't win 39 All-Irelands without having super footballers and they seem to have them every year.

But you also have to take your hat off to the Donegal spirit. They found themselves nine points down but then got it back to four in the second half. The period before half-time when Donegal coughed up possession and Kerry held the ball to fire over a two pointer and go in seven points ahead was a real sucker punch.

Injuries  didn't help the Donegal cause either, losing Ciaran Thompson after  20 minutes and Ryan McHugh early in the second half. Thompson could have kicked a two pointer while McHugh is always a big loss.

The disappointment will fade a little when we get back to the club championship in the next few weeks. I feel there should be more footballers out there playing in the club senior championship who could fit the bill. We have been able to unearth a few in recent years and we will need to do the same this year.

In particular we need to find defenders and I mean out and out defenders. They look to be vital with the changing of the rules. At the moment I suppose Brendan McCole is the only defender in that respect.

The club championship will be a great opportunity for Jim and his management team to get to look at what is available and who would be most suited to the new rules.

I also have this chip on my shoulder about players being brought into games without having played much football. Our own Jamie Brennan came in during the second half on Sunday and he had very little competitive football played. I always harp back to what happened in Kilkenny in the past after drawing an All-Ireland hurling final. Brian Cody sent them all back to their clubs to play a club game before the replay. It would benefit the likes of panel members like Jamie Brennan to get a game with their clubs when not involved with the county. There is a risk but players need football to be sharp when called upon.

I'm curious what they do in Kerry in this regard. They  always arrive at a final with a bit of a swagger and they  backed it up on Sunday. And the fact that they have a kicking game and are not afraid to take shots is a plus under the new rules.

Apart from the result, there was a fantastic atmosphere before and during the game in Croke Park on Sunday. There was hardly a puff of wind and everything was perfect apart from the performance

Playing 11 games has to be a factor as they are amateur sportsmen. What happened with the 20 point win over Meath didn't help. The final itself was flat with no cards issued by the referee and he was lenient on steps for two Kerry points.

But those were not factors in the final result. Kerry were worthy winners, making full use of the new rules.

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Jim McGuinness is half-way through his four year term and has produced two Ulster championships and an All-Ireland final appearance. It has been a great summer with a lot of buzz and we have to remember the good times.  

There was a great turnout on Monday night in Donegal Town to welcome home the Donegal team and management. We have to remember it was only our fourth All-Ireland final. Hopefully, all the players, including Michael Murphy, will stay on board for another year. You would be happy to see Michael play on and maybe be used as an impact sub. It will be important to unearth new talent and the club championship is the perfect opportunity in that regard.

But for now congrats to Jim and his backroom staff for giving us such a great summer. The final game may not have gone as planned but there is a thing called nerves. I feel that was the reason.

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Peter Campbell