McShea's Say: Donegal put Jack back in his box

After watching Donegal brilliantly defeat All-Ireland champions Kerry in Ballybofey on Sunday, it was extremely disappointing to see Kerry manager Jack O’Connor’s reaction to his county’s defeat.

As he approached the referee at the final whistle his facial expression was one of extreme exasperation, while the comment attributed to him that “you don’t get many breaks when you come to away grounds like this” was both petty and unjustified. 

Ever since Down became the first Ulster county to defeat Kerry in an All-Ireland final, the Kingdom seem to have real issue with defeat suffered at the hands of Ulster counties. In the not too distant past a league game, even a defeat, excited as much comment in Kerry as a rainy day. 

Now with the league and championship linked and relating to championship placings and status, the intensity is much higher and the stakes are much greater. The attendances at the weekend games were great considering the inclement weather with over 17,000 in Croke Park for the Dublin/Kildare game while over 13,000 made their way to Castlebar to see Mayo and Galway draw. 

I believe that O’Connor had more pressing issues to deal with after his side’s defeat than attempting to blame the match officials for his team’s demise. While accepting that he was short several regulars, to manage a team that scored only three points in 50 minutes as Kerry did would have most bosses questioning their own performance on the line. 

The lateral ineffectual football that Kerry played did not work against a highly motivated home team and in such difficult playing conditions on a dark day and on greasy turf, it was hard to fathom why O’Connor’s charges never delivered even one long ball to a full forward line that looked threatening in the early stages of this match. 

For this young experimental Donegal team, it was not just their exuberance that caught the eye, it was their raw unvarnished honesty. On Sunday Donegal had a sixteenth man at their backs as the brilliant support that they got from their loyal supporters gave the team a significant lift particularly in the vital closing stages when the game was finely balanced. 

Those supporters seemed like they had a stake on what was happening on the pitch, even if it was just an emotional one. To those fans the clue is in the name, you “support” your team. 

That is, you help them when they need it most. And on Sunday those supporters were simply excellent. There was much to admire about Donegal on Sunday, but the big plus was the top-class performances of some of the younger players, some who were playing their first match at this level and others who are relatively new to this grade of football. 

Caolan McColgan gave an exceptional performance on Sunday. He seems to have incredible strength in his legs and once he gets going, he is impossible to catch. He kicked three top class points and was a very worthy winner of the ‘man of the match’ award. 

Conor O’Donnell also played a blinder against Kerry, he showed great commitment in contesting some dirty ball and is destined to become a huge part of the jigsaw that hopefully will become a successful team. 

Shaun Patton was back to his best in the Donegal goal while his kicking was yet again top class. It was great to see young Luke McGlynn introduced and he showed a confidence not associated with one so young, he has great balance and a very alert football brain. 

Daire Ó Baoill had his best game in the Donegal jersey. He realised in the conditions that nothing moved quicker than the ball, and he knew that the ball had to be delivered into the right place to the best advantage of his teammates. 

Mark Curran, after a few worrying early moments, settled very well and could be very pleased with his performance against Kerry. Marty O’Reilly was always an intelligent footballer and he played on Sunday as if he never was away. Johnny McGroddy, another new kid on the block had, an excellent first half. 

Jamie Brennan worked hard and yet again his pace proved to be a serious thorn in the Kerry defence. Sometimes a very young player can shine for a year and then for whatever reason he may be gone. 

But in this game Donegal blooded some young players who if they can maintain the form they showed against Kerry, they could well be the men who meet manager Paddy Carr’s needs down the line. 

This fine performance has created a wave, a mood swing in the county. But heading to Omagh on Sunday for the Tyrone game will be another serious examination of this team’s credentials. 

Tyrone shipped three late goals in going down to Roscommon at the weekend and they will be in relegation trouble if Donegal beat them on Sunday. And a Donegal win would leave us in a great position to retain first division status.

Shambles 

While I’m not up to date with the latest in this sorry saga, I would be very much at one with Glen manager Malachy O’Rourke’s sentiments immediately after the game two weeks ago, when he intimated that he would be willing to accept the outcome of the final as it took place on the pitch. Winning anything in “the boardroom” is not what sport is ever about.