The Alternative View: No Cliffords; breaches and sunshine in Ballyshannon

The quote of the week came from the terraces in Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon and can be attributed to a sometimes Dubs supporter but also a very loyal Donegal fan, Mary O’Reilly.

“The last time I heard of so many breaches was in the Rotunda in Dublin!”

You cannot beat the Dub for the quick wit. Round 2 of the National League will be remembered for the controversy surrounding this new breach rule with Armagh manager, Kieran McGeeney, in particular somewhat flummoxed by its application. And he was not alone.

The rule, which penalises a team who don’t keep three outfield defenders or three attackers in the relevant half of the field, sees the ball being brought forward 50m and mostly all of the time now, the option of taking a two point free is being exercised, which is a fairly hefty penalty.

What annoyed Kieran McGeeney and Armagh, also annoyed Jim McGuinness and Donegal at the weekend when Finnbarr Roarty may have momentarily put his foot on the wrong side of the half-way line. In Armagh Joe McElroy crossed the line while moving to the sideline to tell his manager that he was unable to continue.

On both occasions the eagle-eyed linesman or fourth official notified the referee and the ball was brought forward. The officials involved must not be aware that there has been a change to the rule which states: ‘Penalties may not apply if the breach is accidental, unintentional, or if the player is within 4 meters of the halfway line and not interfering with play.’

In Armagh on Saturday evening and in the case of Finnbarr Roarty in Ballyshannon on Sunday, the breach was covered by all of the above and should not have been penalised. In Ballyshannon the call did not affect the result but in Armagh it was a very big turning point as the subsequent free to Galway ended in the Armagh net.

These breaches may not be as serious as the ones referred to by Mary O’Reilly in the Rotunda but they will have to be included in any review being done with referees and tidied up before Round 3 of the league takes place after a weekend off.

Back to Fr Tierney Park and if ever there was a happier manager in defeat than Jack O’Connor then I have not met them. After collecting a cup of tea and sandwich from the Aodh Ruadh kitchen in the press box, O’Connor was a walking advertisement for a tourism promotion in the North West.

“Great venue, 9000 people, nice day, good surface, good battle, I enjoyed the game. I didn’t enjoy the result but I enjoyed the game,” was how O’Connor summed it up.

One thing’s for sure, the Aodh Ruadh number crunchers are very specific. 9,000, not one more or one less.

To be honest taking all the young supporters into account, the numbers inside Fr Tierney Park may well have been closer to 10,000. A large number of them came to get a glimpse of the huge talent that is David Clifford. They watched as the Kerry players descended from the bus, but alas their hero didn’t make the journey.

“He had a bit of a ‘flu during the week” was the explanation from Jack O’Connor. It was like having Christmas without Santa Claus.

Donegal had four points to spare at the end but judging by his demeanour in front of the press afterwards, Jack O’Connor wasn’t too downhearted after he watched his side minus 10 of the starting All-Ireland team push Donegal to the end.

LEARNINGS

Did Donegal learn from the win? Being bombarded with high ball in the final minutes was a good test and it showed up some frailties. But it was a good time to experience the tactic. It also showed that the tactic has merit and could be used more frequently during games especially if you can get the right personnel in place.

The contest was pretty hostile at times and it was clear that Donegal were not for taking a step back. My notes had an 18-5 free count in favour of Kerry which was one of the talking points of the game.

There was some mild surprise prior to the game when Michael Murphy was included in the substitutes list and then on match day, Oisin Gallen, was also drafted onto the bench.

It meant that as the game reached its final quarter on Sunday in Ballyshannon, Donegal had almost their full strength 15 on the pitch - and this is only the first Sunday in February. With Ciarán Thompson unlikely to be available until well into the championship season, goalkeeper Shaun Patton is now the only player yet to return.

Given the strength of the teams Donegal have fielded against Dublin and Kerry, it would have been a setback if positive results had not resulted. Four points from the opening two games is a very strong position and if they can follow that up with a win (or even a draw) against Mayo in Letterkenny on Sunday week, they should really be thinking about giving the league a real shot, and not just trying to get enough points to stay in the top flight.

With the opening round of the Ulster championship four weeks after the league final, there will never be a better opportunity. Last year was different with the championship coming just the week after the league final and few, if any, of the Division 1 teams were that interested in making the final.

Jim McGuinness has again reiterated the intention of using the league to introduce the new talent and that is happening. However, there is no reason why this can’t be achieved while also targeting a title that Donegal has only ever achieved once before.

The learnings from last year would say that we need to nurse Michael Murphy for the final push in May, June and July. Granted Donegal will not have to play 11 championship games like they did in 2025. The Glenswilly man will have to be saved for the important moments. It would be great to see him getting 15 or 20 minutes per game from now to April.

Having Jason McGee back gives the middle order a great lift; Kieran Gallagher has also added that bit of height and physique that was missing last year.

The younger forwards - Shea Malone, Turlough Carr, Kevin Muldoon and Conor McCahill along with Eoin McGeehin - are all likely to see game time in the remaining five league games. It would be great to see them push the players in possession and I have a feeling they will do that.

However, the greater need may be in defence where cover may be more crucial. At the moment we have a need for a few more Neil McGee types. Brendan McCole is an out-and-out defender; Finnbarr Roarty is our strongest tackler; if only we could clone either of them. Peadar Mogan is being used as a corner-back and some would say is wasted there, him being so good at scoring with either foot.

It might be a good exercise to give other players a chance to be that ‘dog’ alongside McCole. Of course, Roarty could be re-located to an out-and-out man marking role, but that would rob the team of the one player that has the energy to lead the high press. And it seems that going forward, the high press on the opposition is going to be one of the main planks for outright success.

The Donegal roadshow will be back in Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon for the first Sunday in March when Galway will be the opposition. By then we will  have a clearer picture of where Jim McGuinness’s charges are. Before that we have the visit of Mayo to O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny and Donegal’s trip to the Athletic Grounds to play Armagh.

No doubt there will still be plenty to shout about - most notably not handing the ball back or these damn breaches.

READ MORE: Good to get two more league points on the board - Jason McGee

MATCH STATS

Scorers for Donegal: Dáire Ó Baoill 1-2, Michael Langan (2tp) 0-4, Conor O’Donnell (1f) Finnbarr Roarty 0-3 each, Hugh McFadden (tp), Peadar Mogan, Michael Murphy (1f) 0-2 each, Gavin Mulreany (’45), Oisin Gallen, Shea Malone 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kerry: Sean O’Shea (4tpf, 1m, 1’45) 0-11, Tony Brosnan (2tp,1f) 0-6, Donagh O’Sullivan 1-0, Armin Heinrich 0-1.

Donegal: Gavin Mulreany; Caolan McColgan, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ciaran Moore, Caolan McGonagle, Finnbarr Roarty; Hugh McFadden, Michael Langan; Dáire Ó Baoill, Shane O’Donnell, Kieran Gallagher; Conor O’Donnell, Jason McGee, Shea Malone. Subs: Ryan McHugh for Gallagher (44), Michael Murphy for Malone (52), Turlough Carr for Ó Baoill (62), Oisin Gallen for S.O’Donnell (62), Kevin Muldoon for C.O’Donnell (68).

Kerry: Shane Murphy; Evan Looney, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Armin Heinrich, Mike Breen, Tadhg Morley; Seán O’Brien, Cillian Trant; Joe O’Connor, Seán O’Shea, Micheál Burns; Killian Spillane, Tomás Kennedy, Tony Brosnan. Subs: Liam Smith for O’Brien (19), Charlie Keating for Breen (h-t), Darragh Lyne for Spillane (41), Donagh O’Sullivan for Burns (52), Ruairi Murphy for Trant (55).

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)