The Alternative View: Donegal-Galway was one that got away

It’s hard to know which emotion was more prominent leaving Croke Park on Sunday evening. There was that gnawing feeling that it was one that got away, but there was a tinge of pride also in a journey that few would have even thought was possible at the start of the year.

Galway were there for the taking but fate intervened. Lady Luck was with the Tribesmen once more and those of us old enough to remember it, that ‘fluke’ goal from Paul Conroy on 25 minutes brought back memories of Val Daly at the same stage in 1983.

Daly’s goal deceived Noel McCole and Sunday’s effort from Conroy for a point was so weak that there seemed to be no danger whatsoever. But Matthew Tierney (was he in the small rectangle when the kick was taken) got across in front of Shaun Patton and it seems he didn’t get a touch. But he did enough to distract the Donegal ‘keeper and it ended up a very soft goal.

Shaun Patton will be disappointed with the goal but it was just one of a number of small margin moments which all seemed to go in favour of Galway and against Donegal. It was a day when Murphy’s Law had Donegal in a stranglehold.

Ryan McHugh’s over carrying decision; Cein Darcy getting away with a double hop; Donegal got just one free in the first half; Ciaran Thompson’s touch on the ground, how tough was that, especially when John Maher got away with one shortly after and it led to Liam Silke pointing the final score for Galway. The Thompson touch saw Rob Finnerty push Galway into the lead with five minutes left.

At the other end Oisin Gallen was just off target with a free he normally fires over. Thompson and Gallen were inches short with efforts for points. Those were the small margins which denied an all-Ulster All-Ireland final.

Was Donegal’s energy in the final quarter a factor in the outcome? Galway didn’t contest the Donegal kick-out which meant that Donegal went short every time. Did the energy exerted in carrying the ball the full length of Croke Park on every occasion become a factor in that final quarter?

That was one of a thousand questions being asked as the huge Donegal support in the 67,002 trundled out of Croke Park around 5.30.

The roads from Donegal and Galway were busy on Sunday morning and for those service stations with delis it was a huge boost for business. The colour was magnificent, beginning to appear as we got off the M50 and made our way into the city.

Around the Griffith Avenue crossing we noticed Mr and Mrs. Michael Murphy making their way towards Croker. Thoughts immediately went back to those semi-finals of 2011, ‘12 and ‘14. How far we had come this year without our great leader.

The setting was perfect with increased temperatures and only a slight breeze. The two sets of supporters mingled with ease on Jones’s Road and later inside the stadium. Many of them waited until the last few minutes to take their seats, but what a sight when the parade took place.

Donegal Town native and current Children’s Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon, an All-Ireland medal winner with Donegal Vocational Schools,  was picked out in the pre-match warm up for some quiz questions and he came through with flying colours.

The team news brought gasps from Donegal supporters when they heard that Jason McGee had,  in fact, recovered and was to take his place. Nobody that I met during the previous week believed that the Cloughaneely man would play any part. But play he did and he put in a big shift for an hour before being called ashore.

There were other big calls by the Donegal management with Caolan McColgan and Aaron Doherty in the starting 15 as well. The absence of Conor O’Donnell from the match day 26 was much lamented and when news came through that it was because he had picked up a hand injury in training, you had to feel for the Carndonagh man. He just cannot catch a break with injuries over the last few years.

Taking part in the parade was a first for many of the Donegal players, marching behind the Artane Band but they looked ready for action. There was a lovely moment from the Galway 15 who formed the letter V as a fitting tribute to their former team manager, the late John O’Mahony, was relayed on the big screen. There was also the unusual shot of Shane Walsh taking a ball with him throughout the entire parade.

The opening half was just superb with super individual scores (apart from the fluke Galway goal). The inside Galway trio of Damien Comer, Shane Walsh and especially Rob Finnerty looked threatening but after 15 minutes Donegal were in command. Brendan McCole had Comer’s measure, either dispossessing him or showing him the exit door. Walsh had one great run and a couple of dummies but Eoghan Ban Gallagher had his number.

Peadar  Mogan was the surprise choice to tag Finnerty,  especially as the St Naul’s man was also expected to make lung-bursting runs into the opposition half. It was a lot to ask, even for Mogan. It might be a lesson for 2025, let Mogan play in the No 7 position.

All-Ireland semi-finals are great occasions for supporters as many of them can get tickets with some ease and the Donegal support came out on the day. I would suggest  that they just about outnumbered Galway, but it was close.

They were treated to some great scores in that opening half, none better than by Michael Langan and Oisin Gallen. Langan’s overall display was mesmerising, not alone the four points he scored, but his workrate and turnovers. He was by far the best player on the field and should have got the official man of the match, which was given to Dylan McHugh of Galway. Fair play to Philly McMahon on the BBC who gave it to Langan.

The second half did not match what we had seen in the first 35+ minutes. Both sides went into their shell after about 10 minutes. The stats will show that Donegal were ahead at 0-12 to 1-8 (40 mins) and 0-13 to 1-9 (42 mins). But from there to the 75th minute they managed just two points, a Patrick McBrearty free and Michael Langan’s fourth point from outside the ‘45’ on 61 minutes, which levelled the game for the 10th time.

Galway would take advantage of the breaks that came their way in the final minutes to score the two points which separated the sides. Donegal had plenty of possession but at that stage just didn’t have the energy to get into the scoring zone.

There was some surprise when captain Patrick McBrearty was replaced with 11 minutes left and equally the fact that Jamie Brennan remained on the bench. We later learned that Jamie was sick. There are always questions and opinions but information on what is really happening behind the scenes is only conjecture.

It was Donegal’s eighth championship game and those contests could be divided into two fours. They had four easy wins against Derry, Tyrone and Clare in the All-Ireland series and Louth in the quarter-final.  They had four tough games which went down to the wire (Tyrone first time around, Armagh in the Ulster final; Cork in the All-Ireland series and Galway on Sunday). In the Tyrone and Armagh games in the Ulster championship they were able to find a way; against Cork and on Sunday against Galway they just couldn’t get over the line.

Those games will be analysed for next year. There was one common denominator in the two defeats; they were both on very warm days which was energy sapping. Will Donegal need to use longer foot passing to speed up transition and in so doing, conserve energy on those hot days? There was comment after the Cork game and again after Sunday that Donegal’s intense warm-up was unusual in the draining conditions.

But by any margin of scrutiny, 2024 has been a momentous year for Donegal. When Jim McGuinness became manager the first time around in late 2010, they won Division 2 of the league, the Ulster Championship in his first year and lost the All-Ireland semi-final to Dublin by two points.

Second time around it has been a similar story. Won Division 2 of League, the Ulster championship and lost the All-Ireland semi-final by two points.

Does anyone remember what happened in Jim’s second year?

Donegal v Galway: The Match Facts

Donegal 0-15

Galway 1-14

Scorers for Donegal: Michael Langan 0-4, Patrick McBrearty (1f), Oisin Gallen 0-3 each, Ciaran Thompson (1m), Shane O'Donnell, 0-2 each, Caolan McGonagle 0-1.

Scorers for Galway: Paul Conroy 1-1, Robert Finnerty (2f) 0-4, Shane Walsh (2f) 0-3, Liam Silke, Dylan McHugh 0-2 each, Cillian McDaid, John Maher 0-1 each

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Ciaran Moore, Brendan McCole, Eoghan Ban Gallagher; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Peadar Mogan; Ciaran Thompson, Michael Langan; Caolan McColgan, Shane O'Donnell, Jason McGee; Patrick McBrearty, Oisin Gallen, Aaron Doherty. Subs: Daire Ó Baoill for McColgan (30), Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí for Gallagher (48), Hugh McFadden for McGee, Niall O'Donnell for McBrearty (both 59), Odhran Doherty for A.Doherty (63).

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Galway: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Sean Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke, Sean Mulkerrin; Paul Conroy, Cein Darcy; Matthew Tierney, John Maher, Cillian McDaid; Robert Finnerty, Damien Comer, Shane Walsh. Subs: Johnny Heaney for Darcy (57), Daniel O'Flaherty for Walsh (63), John Daly for Fitzgerald (66), Kieran Molloy for Comer (70+2), Tomo Culhane for McDaid (70+3).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)