‘No complaints’ from Donegal boss Jim McGuinness after Roscommon loss 

Jim McGuinness says Donegal only have themselves to blame after his side shipped its first NFL loss away to Roscommon King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park on Sunday. 

Against a gale-force breeze,  the visitors trailed by 11 points at the midpoint but really set about reeling all that in in the second period as the likes of Shea Malone, Jason McGee and Michael Langan all boomed two-pointers. 

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With ten to go, Donegal had shaved the deficit down to the bare minimum at 1-18 to 0-20. 

However, Roscommon would break, after a Conor O’Donnell effort dropped short, and a second goal through Conor Hand finally decided it. 

“We have no complaints - we didn’t do enough to win the game,” McGuinness said after. “That’s the bottom line. We got it back to two with 20 minutes to go, one point in the last ten. 

“We’d the wind in our backs and if you’re not winning the game in that situation, you only have yourself to blame really. 

“The scores they got in the second-half, every one of them, they came as a direct result of a turnover or a kick-out we didn’t get away.  We’re disappointed, of course. 

“We have had a good campaign up to this point. There are a lot of learnings to take from today. So we move on now”. 

McGuinness felt his side was denied a certain penalty when O’Donnell was upended inside the area on 22 minutes. Play was waved on and the hosts went right down the other side and bagged a two-pointer. 

“There was a five-point swing in the first-half. The boys felt we should have had a penalty. They’ve watched it back and they still feel the same way. 

“That would haver really tightened the game, playing against the breeze. They went straight down the field and kicked a two-pointer so it was a real blow. It was quite significant. 

“We did chase the game down well in the second-half. We got into a good position. Roscommon though grounded it. They won it fair and square.”