McGuinness on Cork loss: 'Conceding three goals just can’t happen at this level'

Jim McGuinness said conceding three goals against Cork meant Donegal didn’t deserve to take anything from their second group match in the All-Ireland series.

Donegal went down 3-9 to 0-16 at Páirc Uí Rinn, with goals from Matty Taylor, Rory Maguire and Sean Powter proving vital for Cork. Although McGuinness’s team did come from five down to level late on, it was the Leesiders who got over the line.

“They are very strong and very powerful and very direct and they made those transitional moments count,” the Donegal manager said. “Cork are a good, strong, well-conditioned running team and they asked a lot of questions.

“We would normally have the answers to those moments but we didn’t have them today. Conceding three goals, you’re not going to win a game, you don’t deserve to win a game when you concede three goals in championship football. It was difficult for us. Conceding three goals just can’t happen at this level.

“Cork were very good on their own kick-outs. Most of their kick-outs go long and they are prepared to go 50-50 and they are very well coached in that regard and they can find a way to come up with a lot of those breaking balls. And when they do, they go direct again in the transitional moments so they asked a lot of questions of us.”

The two-point loss means that Donegal’s unbeaten streak in league and championship - the longest one in the country - is over on match 13.

It means that the fate of the group now lies in Cork’s hands, with John Cleary’s team - who have four points - to face Tyrone in the third round of fixtures with Donegal taking on Clare.

“We won't go too hard on them,” McGuinness said of his team. “It’s the first defeat of the year. They’ve done brilliantly - promotion, Ulster championship and not a lot has changed. We have to wait and see what happens in the Cork against Tyrone game to see what we will need.

“I hope they learn from it. We spoke a lot during the winter months. You’re bringing a group together and you’re trying to mould things. It’s days like today that you’re tested. I hope we will be better for it and stronger for it later on in the championship.

We were a bit too impatient and when we got close to goal, we had players in a position where they could affect the game. We did ask questions of Cork. It’s about learning from us. It’s not the same feeling you’d be getting if you were coming out of an Ulster championship defeat, because you’re still in the fight. We’ll take the learnings and take it from there.

“It was a long way down and it’s not easy travelling down here and playing Cork - I’ve had that experience as a player as well. But that’s not an excuse. Cork were very good today. They were very well organised and they knew what they wanted to do. They had a good tactical plan and they asked a lot of questions of us. We found a lot of solutions and a draw would’ve been a good result for us. It would’ve left us with having the group in our own hands. But we’ll not be too despondent.”