Donegal v Galway: The Alternative View on a stormy day in Salthill

Pleasant memories of camping and caravan holidays in Salthill from the 1970s and 1980s helped to ease the pain of having to  endure a difficult day for Donegal in the friendly City of the Tribes last weekend.

In normal times Pearse Stadium in Salthill is pretty windy but it seemed as though Storm Eowyn was still raging as we made our way there on Sunday around lunchtime, having to hold on to our hats.

Football can be a lottery at the best of times but it reached a whole new level last weekend. The wind, rain and two pointers was the new reality.

But no need to get alarmed - Donegal were beaten in the end by seven points (0-21 to 0-14) but in old money, before the introduction of two pointers, as Matt Gallagher told me on Tuesday night, it was a three point defeat (0-14 to 0-11) and in a game that seemed much more important to Galway than to Donegal.

A huge Donegal support travelled and they dominated the long queue that formed before the gates opened. Getting a seat in the stand was viewed as paramount and thankfully there seemed to be one for all that wanted to get under cover. A few hardy souls remained on the terrace on the Knocknacarra side and they deserve medals of honour no matter what county they were supporting.

The usual match programme was available for €5 and had information on both teams’ last games as well as graphics of the new rule enhancements. However, the most important piece of information, the Donegal team lineout was about as useful as an ashtray on a motor bike.

The match programme contained the Donegal team which was listed in the programme for the Armagh game the previous Sunday. Another Donegal team, bearing no resemblance to what was in the programme, was posted online on Saturday night. Any supporter who bought the programme to see the make-up of the Donegal team was sold a pup.

And to make matters worse from the point of view of the press corps the confusion didn’t end there. Firstly we were told that Donegal were lining out as per the online version that was posted on Saturday night; then we were told it was the match programme team with one change before it reverted back to the online version with one change.

After typing out the online team, I then changed it but thankfully I kept a copy and was able to keep my sanity. To be balanced, Galway made changes also but we were able to make their changes on the programme page.

A couple of weeks earlier there was a similar programme disaster in Killarney with the cute Kerry folk distributing the programme that had been produced for the postponed game and obviously the team lineouts bore no resemblance to the teams on the day of the game.

The disillusionment here is not just with us hacks in the press room, but more so with the supporters who fork out €5. That after buying a match ticket, putting petrol/diesel in the car and paying for food for a trip to support their favourite team.

Getting teams for match programmes has been painful for as long as I can remember. I was that soldier back in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then it was possible, but it seems now that team lineouts are not released/decided until well after the print deadline. But without the teams the match programme is totally irrelevant. 

Therein lies a dilemma that the GAA must address. One solution would be for county players to be given squad numbers. And when you think of it, the numbers on jerseys means very little in these times as to what position a player takes up on the field.

Anyway, returning to the action, whether it be the weather, heavy championship training after securing a third win over Armagh or the introduction of new players to the team, Donegal were well off the pace while Galway, or should I say, Shane Walsh, were just too good on the day.

The physical size of this Galway team, even without Paul Conroy and Damien Comer, is impressive but it was the magic of Walsh that made the day one to remember, even for Donegal supporters. The Kilmacud Crokes player is enjoying the two pointers and with the wind at his back, the arc could have been extended past the middle of the field and he would still have found the target. His three points into the gale in the second half were even more impressive than his first half contribution. And he did that while being shadowed by Donegal’s best man-on-man defender, Brendan McCole.

After 12 minutes Galway had racked up eight points from four shots. Even that early the thoughts were of a scoreline that might be as embarrassing as the match programme. Donegal’s attempts to kick the ball forward saw it come back over their heads. Oisin Gallen’s ‘point’ seemed to stop in mid-air and return to the hands of the ‘keeper. 

Thankfully, the Galway scoring rate eased a little but the 16 point half-time margin looked a huge task, especially with some of the big Donegal shooters missing. And so it proved. Donegal tried manfully in the second half without ever really looking like bridging the gap.

The Donegal management looked on without getting too excited. It was going to be a first defeat but there were extenuating circumstances, not least the conditions, being away from home and without some experienced heads. 

The new rules provided plenty of talking points with Galway picking up a straight red and two black cards. 

The picture of Galway being able to defend with their full complement when down to 13 while Donegal had to keep three back to look after one Galway forward was described as ‘farcical’ by Jim McGuinness afterwards and it seems that will be changed when the Football Review Committee sit down to decide on the rule enhancements going forward after this coming weekend’s games.

On first viewing last Sunday and also in the Tyrone-Kerry game in Pomeroy it seemed as if there was no real penalty for teams receiving red or black cards.

It is difficult to gauge what Donegal learned from the Pearse Stadium experience, especially because of the extreme playing conditions. You just had to be there to fully understand what was going on.

Donegal at times looked heavy legged, especially in the opening half. Was there some championship training carried out after getting six points on the league table the previous Sunday? We can only speculate on what McGuinness terms as ‘family business’.

Sunday next in Ballyshannon may give us a better picture. The old foe Derry, who will also be coming to Ballybofey for Ulster championship action five weeks later on April 6th, are the opponents. Markers will be laid down and there will also be a fair amount of shadow boxing. Derry’s league plight is such that defeat on Sunday could well leave them relegated to Division 2. It’s not something they would be contemplating after winning the Division 1 League title last year.

Ironically, the only other time these counties met in the league in Ballyshannon was in February 1990 and Donegal relegated Derry that day with an 0-11 to 0-3 win. Could history repeat itself?

The other side of the coin is that if Donegal were to win their remaining two home league games - against Derry on Sunday and Tyrone in O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny on March 9th - they could be in the Division 1 League final the week before that championship clash with Derry.

All the other teams at the top of Division 1 - Galway, Dublin and Kerry - have to meet each other in the final rounds. The picture will start to be clearer after this weekend.

Hopefully, it will be a lot calmer around Fr Tierney Park, Ballyshannon come Sunday. But then again, it’s Donegal against Derry. Roll on the weekend.

GAME STATS

Galway 0-21

Donegal 0-14

Galway scorers: Shane Walsh 0-11,3tp,1tpf,2f; Robert Finnerty 0-3,1tpf; Conor Flaherty 0-2,tp; Matthew Tierney 0-2,tp; Daniel O’Flaherty, Liam Silke, John Maher 0-1 each.

Donegal scorers: Dáire Ó Baoill 0-6,2tp; Ciaran Thompson, Peadar Mogan (tp), Conor O’Donnell (1f) 0-2 each; Oisin Gallen, Shane O’Donnell 0-1 each.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Mark Curran, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Eoin McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Ciaran Moore; Hugh McFadden, Domhnall Mac Giolla Bhride; Odhran Doherty, Dáire Ó Baoill, Jamie Brennan; Shane O’Donnell, Oisin Gallen, Conor O’Donnell.

Subs: Eoghan Ban Gallagher, Ciaran Thompson, Niall O’Donnell for O Doherty, Mac Giolla Bhride and E McHugh (all ht); Charles McGuinness and Jeaic Mac Ceallabhui for Brennan and McFadden (57)

Galway:  Conor Flaherty; Johnny McGrath, Sean Kelly, Daniel O’Flaherty; Dylan McHugh, Sean Fitzgerald, Liam Silke; Cein Hernon, John Maher; Cathal Sweeney, Sam O’Neill, Cein Darcy; Robert Finnerty, Matthew Tierney, Shane Walsh.

Subs: Connor Gleeson for Flaherty (ht); Finian O Laoi for O’Neill (43);  Jack Glynn for Fitzgerald; Sean Mulkerrin for Hernon; Matthew Thompson for Finnerty

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)