That was more like it from Donegal- Mickey McCann 

It was a much happier Donegal boss Mickey McCann as he gave his reaction to a valuable away championship victory over Roscommon at the Athletic Grounds. 

For Donegal played poorly for much of their opening Nickey Rackard match against a useful Fermanagh side in Letterkenny. 

But McCann was happy to get the reaction he needed from his men after this impressive 3-20 to 1-16 victory against an Armagh side who had a fine opening win away to Roscommon. 

Donegal go there next week and will be boosted by this impressive display in tricky conditions. 

“We are delighted, and we said at half time that if you could keep that lead of five or six points that teams will eventually come out at you and spaces will open up and thankfully that’s what happened for us towards the end of the match. 

“We got in behind for two goals and Armagh missed many chances in the second half but I thought our pressure was good as well. 

“This was a much-improved display from last week and there was much more intensity.” 

He added: “You have to learn week from week, and we watched the video of the Fermanagh match and we weren’t on the money until the last ten minutes. 

“But it was important to get the scores and we did not miss too much like we did last week.”

And he paid tribute to youthful marksman Liam McKinney. 

“He was brilliant today and it is great for that new generation like Conor Gartland, Ruairi Campbell, Stephen McBride and Sean Ward who are all coming through. 

“These new lads had a big shift for us today and that is what you need, and they have been great for us all year. Liam was very sharp from play and frees.”

But McCann was not happy with the goal-but pleased that they kicked on towards the end with two smashing goals. Danny Cullen’s injury is a concern, but McCann is confident that the Setanta star will be fit for next weekend. 

“Bernard Lafferty came in and he is very versatile, and we have quite a good squad and we were solid in the full backline as well and built quite a few attacks from there as well. 

“We gave away too many frees and we would not be happy with that, but if we tidy up on a few areas we will be hard to beat in this competition. 

“Armagh beat Roscommon and they will have to beat us or they are out of the competition so next week is like a quarter final for us. 

“A win away from home is always a bonus and we are glad to have come away with one from here. 

“It’s a good result for us and we have a good balance of youth and experience, and we need to build on this for Roscommon”.