McShea’s Say: Donegal need to be on red alert ahead of visit of Down  

Down GAA has a storied history, most famously winning five All-Irelands in 1960, 1961, 1968, 1991 and 1994. 

Known as the first team from Northern Ireland to bring the Sam Maguire across the border in 1960, they changed the face of Gaelic football with their wonderful attacking play and celebrated a famous resurgence in the 1990s, winning Sam again in 1991 and 1994.

READ NEXT: 'Dangerous' Down preparing to throw kitchen sink at Donegal 

Their breakthrough came in 1960, with legends like Sean O’Neill and James McCartan defining a golden era in the county’s history. 

Donegal qualified for their first-ever Ulster final in 1963 against a Down team and, unfortunately, were hammered in Breffni Park by the Mourne men. 

Then again in 1966, Down were our Ulster final opponents in Casement Park, in a game which Down won by two points.

The Donegal brain trust on the sideline back then played a major role in that defeat. A few months after beating a full-strength Down side in the Lagan Cup final, the Donegal selectors made several changes to the side and also played three players who were clearly carrying injuries. 

Those were the reasons why Donegal had to wait until 1972 to reach the pinnacle in Ulster.

That year, Down were also our opponents in the first round. In a game played in Ballybofey, Donegal prevailed that day and went on to win our first Ulster title. 

Then, in 1974, Down were again our opponents in that year’s Ulster final. Donegal came back from a nine-point deficit in that match to snatch an unlikely draw and went on to win their second Ulster title in a tense replay.

On Sunday in Letterkenny, Donegal are favourites to beat a Down side that struggled to beat Wexford in their Division 3 league final. Since the disappointment of defeat in last July’s All-Ireland final, Donegal have played some top-class football. 

Their performance in Letterkenny against Mayo was top drawer, while beating Kerry to win our second league title was an exceptional display of teamwork and football of the highest level.

Another plus over the winter was the emergence of young talent, which has added to the strength of the panel and brought a serious degree of freshness to the squad. 

I do not believe I have ever watched a Donegal team achieve the level of fitness that this side has reached, and it is to be hoped that they will still be flying come July.

While Donegal teams have struggled at the Letterkenny venue in the past, if they approach anything like the quality of football they showed in beating Mayo there, then they will be well on their way to victory. 

Accepting that the difference between league and championship football is immense, it was gratifying to hear from the Donegal camp that practically everybody - apart from Ciaran Thompson - may be available for selection this week.

That potential clean bill of health will have Donegal’s large following doing much speculating as they try to figure out who will make the starting 15 for Sunday. Down go into this game with nothing to lose, as they are considered outsiders. 

Their less-than-impressive league form, even though they were promoted, is the reason for that, but no doubt the Donegal team will be very aware of the threat.

In the past, Down teams were renowned for their ability to create and take goal-scoring chances, but against a solid home defence it will be difficult to find space for the visiting forwards. 

Down do not, at this time, have the firepower to cause a surprise in this game. I am more than a little confident that Donegal will prevail and qualify for the semi-final against Armagh or Fermanagh.

However, if Donegal are even a little off-colour, no team is more capable of causing an ambush than Down - but that will not happen this Sunday, and we will be heading for Clones in the next few weeks.