Jim McGuinness happy to see the game out in a controlled second half

Jim McGuinness was happy to control the game in the second half as Donegal came away with a 1-20 to 0-19 win over Armagh at the Athletic Grounds.

Leading by 0-13 to 0-9 at the break after a bit of a wind advantage, Donegal were patient in possession in the second half, summed up by their goal, which saw a lengthy spell of Donegal ball end with Conor O’Donnell finding the net.

And despite a penalty save from Gavin Mulreany with 68 minutes gone, Donegal rarely looked out of control of the game in the second half as they won by 1-20 to 0-19.

“Yeah, we're happy, it was a tough game. Tough battle today, we expect that with Armagh.

“It’s the most distance between us in my memory, I think. It's always a one-point game with Armagh, so we’re delighted to come away from home and get the points.

“I suppose the elements had a big part to play in it. I think Armagh were up around 25 shots there in the second half. If some of them went over, it would have been in a different ball game.

“We were snatching shots in the first half because you feel you need to with the wind, and you're forcing things. So there's an element of luck, to be honest with you. There's an element of luck for the ones that go over, the ones that don't go over.

“Armagh are in the same boat in the second half. We had the cushion so we could control the game in the second half, and that put more pressure on them then to find a way to eat into the score. The goal was a classic example of that, we didn't need the attack. 

“We were in a good position, we controlled the ball well, and then we got the goal on the back of that when the gap opened, you know. So it's fine margins, you know, 25 shots, but four or five of them could have went over the bar.

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“But yeah, as I say, we're delighted to come up the road and get the result.

“The application was very good, the energy levels were very good. You know, a couple of maybe sloppy fouls there at stages, but there were a lot of fouls that were blown as well.

“We'll move on now. We have a couple of injuries there, so we'll have to look at them and move on to next week.”