No excuses from Donegal boss Jim McGuinness: ‘We have a lot to think about’
The Donegal boss says his side simply didn’t bring the required energy or intensity against Conor Laverty’s Mourne men who were simply brilliant in a huge 3-21 to 1-21 upset in O’Donnell Park
Jim McGuinness didn’t mince his words in the immediate aftermath of Donegal’s shock loss to Down in the Ulster SFC in Letterkenny.
He says his side simply didn’t bring the required energy or intensity against Conor Laverty’s Mourne men who were simply brilliant in a huge 3-21 to 1-21 upset in O’Donnell Park.
“We’re very, very disappointed with the overall performance,” said the Donegal boss after. “Our energy levels and our intensity levels just weren’t there. We weren’t really in a position. Down cut through us on many an occasion.
“We had a lot of the ball in the first half, but weren’t ourselves in front of the posts. We were in the 30s in terms of conversion rate and that’s not us. We have a lot to think about.
“Down were written off in every quarter and that was fuel for them. They weren’t even in the picture and that was obviously going to be fuel to the fire.
“We needed to be ready for that and we weren’t ready for that. Clearly, we need to get fellas back through the gears. We have to take it on the chin and reevaluate”.
Donegal’s dream of an historic ‘three-in-a-row’ is now over and they’re going to have to sit idle and watch the remainder of the provincial run-in from the outside.
McGuinness says they’ll lick their wounds and regroup ahead of the All-Ireland series and whatever comes their way there in late May.
“We were lacking energy and lacking accuracy,” he added. “When it was going the other direction, Down were getting through. We just have to take stock and go back to the drawing board.
“We’re out of the Ulster championships. There are two championships, and we always take the two on their own merits”.