McShea’s Say: Donegal must take real learnings from Roscommon defeat at the Hyde

IN a most difficult day to play football, Donegal, after bringing a half-time deficit of eleven points back to a one-point margin with ten minutes to play left, must consider it a disappointing outcome.

Playing with the gale-force wind on our backs, I was very confident that our undefeated run would be maintained and a six-point defeat was a let-down.

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Even allowing for the dreadful weather, the number of turnovers that Donegal conceded was a major factor in this result, while the number of kick-outs that Roscommon won from Donegal restarts was also a reason why Donegal trailed by that 11-point margin at half-time.

Once again, the failure to take a few clear-cut goal opportunities came back to bite Donegal, and Roscommon’s two goals were the defining scores in determining this result.

Enda Smith at centre forward had a superb game for the winners, apart from his 6-point tally he was the game’s most influential character, and in that vital final quarter he took the game by the scruff of the neck. Smith’s excellence was key to his side’s success.

Donegal are in exceptional physical condition, but are they more hardened and ready for the dark arts that some other sides are prepared to dish out?

I am not remotely suggesting that our team should in any way indulge in foul play, but especially in the first half of Sunday’s defeat, Roscommon’s attack got through for several scores without a Donegal defender getting a glove on them.

For Donegal, Finnbarr Roarty had yet another excellent outing. I have often heard sportspeople speak about second-season syndrome, which suggests that some players can become one-season wonders.

For those who might persist with such drivel, they only need to look at the quality of Finbarr’s football this year, where he has already exceeded the consistent excellence which saw him gain his coveted All-Star award last year.

The hunger which drove this extraordinary young man from nowhere to superstardom is a major reason for the optimism that prevails among Donegal followers despite last Sunday’s setback.

Jason McGee had another exceptional game against Roscommon. Jason covered every blade of grass in Roscommon, and his four points brought his team to the cusp of a great comeback. His form now that he is injury-free is a major plus for his team.

Shea Malone, when introduced, also had a very positive second half. I recently read an article in Packie Bonner’s excellent autobiography, which Packie had read in the newspaper “USA Today” entitled “Soul of a Champion”.

 The article looked at the reasons why the very top sportsmen and women dominate their discipline. Each of them had talent and ability, but there were also four common denominators among this collection of champions.

The first was competitiveness. The inbuilt capacity, whether through nurture or nature, that would make you go the extra mile when the road was long or find that extra inch in your climb just to compete.

The second key ingredient is confidence. There is a fine line between that and arrogance, and confidence can be a fragile item, but if the inner belief is there no limit to what can be achieved.

Next is composure, an emotional intelligence that is unaffected by the hullabaloo that is often generated around you. Champions have a way of staying cool in the white heat of a moment, which leads to the fourth staple for a winner - focus. In football terms, focus on the final action, the save, the strike, or the penalty shoot-out.

But if you can stay focused on your goal, that linear path with a dispassionate eye and a steely gaze, then once again your limits are whatever you want them to be.

Those ingredients will be vital in Clones next Sunday when I am confident that Donegal will qualify for the National League final.