Oisin Gallen unleashes unpredictability off either foot for Donegal

Part of the reason Oisin Gallen seems to have so much time when weighing up his shots is to do with being able to go off his left or right. 

Last Sunday against Mayo in Letterkenny, the Donegal forward kicked six points inside three-quarters of an hour, split evenly off both feet. 

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Defenders are aware of it but much like rabbits in the headlights, they are momentarily dazed. And it’s that hesitancy which allows Gallen that extra split second. 

In the middle of it all, like his third point at O’Donnell Park, he’ll often shape off one side, drop a shoulder and segway over to the other, having bought what is now looks like so much extra time and space. 

He’ll often drop deep as well to link play. And, again, it just means every pass is a possibility, every shot a surprise. 

It brings a real element of unpredictability. Several journalists were asking at the weekend, in the press area during that 1-19 to 0-14 win over Mayo, which foot was actually his weaker one? 

Speaking after Gallen, who underwent ankle surgery in the close season, says he owes so much to his club coaches back at MacCumhaills, who encouraged him to do the extra work on his weaker left foot. 

“I was pushed at underage at the club to work at it, we all were,” he said. “We were always encouraged to push that as hard as we could. 

“You’re harder to mark if you can kick off both feet, that’s what we were always told. It’s obvious, I suppose, but you’re much less predictable if you can go off your left and right. 

“It stuck with me up through the grades and even now, I make sure to get that practice in. Really, it’s just down to practising and repetition. 

“And again, it’s about having the confidence then to take that practice you do on your own into training and then into matches. 

“It’s never perfect, it never will be. But the more reps you build, slowly but surely you see progress and improvement. 

“It’s nice to be able to go both ways but there definitely is a difference between the right and the left. Distance-wise, you’re never going to quite get there on your weaker one, my left. 

“But I’ll keep practising as it’s a habit now, part of the routine. And when anyone asks about advice for younger players,  I’ll always say take the time to work on that weaker foot”. 

Donegal sit top of the pile in Division 1 of the NFL and, headed into Round 4, are the only team left with a one hundred percent record. 

Next up, Jim McGuinness takes his side to the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds where arch rivals Armagh lie in wait. 

Kieran McGeeney’s side have picked up just one victory so far and their weekend loss to Roscommon leaves them joint second from bottom in the standings. 

But the sight of Donegal coming to town can act like a red rag to a bull. Sparks inevitably fly when these two meet. 

And a win over Donegal would have the potential to really get the Orchard men’s league campaign back on track. 

“Three wins out of three, we’re really happy with that,” Gallen explained. “It just takes a wee bit of the pressure off now. We can look forward to Armagh next, away, then Galway at home. 

“We’ll have another break then, I think, and that’ll be an important window on the training field, a little like the one we just came out of. 

“We are just targeting every game and looking to win it. It’s a tough league and you’ll see now, there is still so much scope for movement in the last four rounds”. 

Gallen, an All-Star back in 2024, damaged his ankle while on club duty during the Donegal SFC. 

After going under the knife, he says he got the head down and worked towards the targets laid out by the Donegal medical team. 

He was introduced off the bench against Kerry but was in from the off, last time out, against Andy Moran’s charges. 

And notching a half dozen points, five from play, inside the 45 minutes he was on the field, was a huge positive for Donegal and McGuinness as the Ulster champions continue to look the part early on in 2026. 

Gallen says he didn’t feel sorry for himself when the initial injury happened in that club encounter with Gaoth Dobhair last September. 

And as soon as he had his surgery, he was back in the gym, rehabbing with the rest of the group’s ‘walking wounded’. 

“When it happens, what can you do? You just have to get the recovery in and work to getting back to it. 

“You have a plan to get back, a timeframe, and you get the head down. That’s what I did. But it did feel like a long winter. 

“But that’s part of football. You can’t afford to sulk or feel sorry for yourself. But once you get stuck into that work, and the progress is there, that gathers momentum quickly. 

“And it’s been great, the last few weeks, getting back to it”. 

He added: “It’s about building up the minutes now. I got game time in Ballyshannon against Kerry and starting against Mayo was another box ticked. 

“I was enjoying it and we were playing with the breeze in the second-half so I was hoping to stay on longer! 

“But I get it, I understand I just have to ease back into it - build the body back up. But I felt good and that’s the most important thing. 

“We got a great workout in that first-half. I felt we managed the elements, which were against us, really well. 

“We didn’t get caught in our own half that often, which takes a serious level of work and concentration. And the lads are really tuned into that, which again, is really encouraging.

“We still felt there was a drop off in that third quarter, especially so that’s something we’ll look at now in the lead-in to Armagh”.