'We didn't play the elements well at all' - Jim McGuinness

Jim McGuinness admitted his Donegal side struggled to adapt to the conditions as they fell to a heavy defeat against Galway in Salthill in the fourth round of the National Football League on Sunday.  

A dominant first-half display from the home side, aided by a strong breeze and the brilliance of Shane Walsh, left Donegal with too much to do after the break. 

"Listen, it was a very, very tough day for football, let's be honest,” he said following his team’s 0-21 to 0-14 point defeat.

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“Galway played the elements far better than us; we didn’t play the elements well at all. We’ve done really well in the first couple of games in terms of how we support the ball and use the ball, but that wasn’t the case today.  

“They went high with the press, the conditions were bad, and it was a challenge for us." 

With the wind at their backs in the first half, Galway raced into a 0-17 to 0-1 lead at the break. Walsh was in imperious form, scoring seven two-pointers, including a stunning free from distance that McGuinness acknowledged as a standout moment. 

"Obviously, Shane Walsh, I don’t know how many he finished with, but maybe five two-pointers. He adapted very well to the conditions and had a couple of moments of brilliance as well into the breeze,” the Donegal boss said. 

“That free kick with the left foot off the ground was a brilliant moment.” 

Donegal improved after the break, with Dáire Ó Baoill leading the charge, but the damage had already been done.  

Despite playing with a numerical advantage late on after Galway had two players sent off, McGuinness was frustrated by the impact of the new rules. 

"Galway had a man sent off on two black cards and they had one man up, and we had to leave three men back. That to me seems farcical.  

“It didn’t make a jot of a difference to the game because they were able to attack the way they were attacking up to that point. That’s definitely something that would need to be looked at." 

After securing three wins from three matches before this trip to Salthill, McGuinness opted to rest several key players, including Michael Murphy, Paddy McBrearty, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, and Ryan McHugh, citing the demands of four consecutive weeks of National League football. 

"We had a couple of lads with niggles. We didn’t want to take too many risks with them, so we didn’t put them into the firing line,” he said. 

“They’ve played a lot of football, every game in pre-season and every game in the league. It’s a tall order, so we just felt we would take them out and give other fellas a chance as well. That’s important too." 

Despite the loss, Donegal remains in a strong position in Division 1, sitting on six points. Still, McGuinness remains focused on the bigger picture and insists his team will take the lessons from this defeat into the coming weeks. 

"We got six points on the board last week and it gives us an opportunity to do other things now, and that’s what we plan on doing.  

“You’re not planning to lose any game, but it’s a matter of trying to look at things and develop one or two tactical things every single day. We would have preferred to be more in the game for a longer period, but once those two-pointers started going over very quickly, it became a big, big margin.  

“Even though we brought it back to seven in the end, it never felt like we were going to win the game." 

Donegal will look to bounce back next weekend in what McGuinness described as another "big game" before a well-earned break.