Mac's View: We have to win today against Galway to stay in Division 1

It was another disappointing result for Donegal against Monaghan on Sunday last, especially with the performance in the second half.

It is a pity really as we are not in a good position now, bottom of the table and our score difference is not good either.
And then at the same time, we are capable of beating Galway when they come to O’Donnell Park today. They will be coming without their two best forwards in Damien Comer, who is injured, and Shane Walsh, who is off travelling after winning an All-Ireland club medal with Kilmacud Crokes last month. It is very simple for Donegal. We have to win this.

It was a disappointing finish to a good game last week and there were a few positives with a number of players back on the pitch. Eoghan Bán Gallagher is probably not up to full speed while Michael Langan played quite well. It will be good for both to have got 70 minutes and you would be expecting them to be sharper this weekend. Remember, we weren’t that far away and it was even 10 minutes into the second half.

We didn’t have a good record in Letterkenny up to last year, but we beat Armagh in a crunch game at the end of the league. This is a good chance to build on that. We really just cannot afford to lose any home match as there are no easy games coming down the road.

I thought Ciaran Thompson might have been back last weekend. I wonder if he might be available this week. Like the others Oisin Gallen will also have had a game under his belt and will be sharper.

This will be our fourth game in the league and we have to show our worth. We need to be getting tackles in and going at them early on. They have quite good forwards, even without Comer and Walsh. At one stage last week in Tuam it looked as if they were going to be caught by Tyrone, but they pulled away again. That was a vital game for them after losing to Roscommon.

Home games are so important in the top flight. We will have to step up to the plate this week. It would be nice to have Thompson back and hopefully Jason McGee will recover from a late knock he took in Clones. We need leaders on the pitch and we need players to step up and give leadership, but the bottom line is if we want to stay in Division 1, we will have to win against Galway.

Our last home game is at home to Mayo, and they are playing well at the moment and had a fine win over Tyrone last night. They seem to be a good bit ahead of the others in fitness levels. We just have to get the game on Sunday from the start and maintain that to the very end.

We have to get the bit between our teeth and go for it. They are not that far away. Sunday last was a big improvement from the Tyrone match. You don’t get anything easy in Division 1 but we have plenty of experience in the team. Leadership is the most important factor. It is about turning Galway over and not getting turned over ourselves. Hopefully, also, we will have a good support there.

It will be a big day in Letterkenny with the stand being named after Dr James McDaid. He has been good for the GAA and was my county team doctor back in the 1980s.

NEW PRESIDENT ELECT
Congratulations to Jarlath Burns of Armagh who was a convincing winner in the race to be the next President of the GAA. His election at Congress at the weekend came at the expense of our own Niall Erskine. I thought the Killybegs man would have done better in the poll. But then Jarlath Burns has been around for quite a while and he seems to have a good feel for it. He’s a good fellow and he has covered a lot of ground in the Association.