The Alternative View: Donegal firmly back dancing to Michael Murphy's tune

In the Alternative View this week, Frank Craig looks back at Donegal’s late rally to see off Derry and - in the process - push the Oak Leafers further towards the brink of relegation

Donegal’s impressive run in Ballyshannon continued on Sunday but it was far from straightforward against a Derry side that will have rolled out of Fr Tierney Park with much regret.

Jim McGuinness bemoaned the fact after that his team - out five weeks on the trot - looked like they were running on close to empty.

And right up until 55 minutes they certainly resembled a herd of thoroughbreds plodding through mud (no pitchforks please, the Fr Tierney Park surface was immaculate - it’s just a metaphor) as Paddy Tally’s charges went eight clear.

But then Shane O’Donnell’s ‘give-and-go’ with Michael Murphy prised open the Oak Leaf defence and the St Eunan’s man riffled high and to the back of the net.

That score and especially the manner in which it was engineered was akin to a can of spinach being handed to Popeye as Donegal suddenly exploded into life.

Ciaran Thompson and Dáire Ó Baoill would land a pair of huge two-pointers and, by the time the dust settled, Donegal were out the gate with a 1-22 to 1-19 victory.

Stopping off in Laghey early en route to Ballyshannon on Sunday, for coffee, the place was already buzzing with colour and real energy.

An old-timer, said he was in his mid-seventies, and his 12-year-old grandson sat opposite me - they were Moville men.

He didn’t give me his name, or maybe I didn’t ask, but he said he was as proud as punch to be travelling all the way across to Ballyshannon looking forward to seeing two Inishowen men starting for Donegal.

By full-time, that tally would have risen to three as Caolan McColgan came back into the mix in the second-half alongside Caolan McGonagle and Conor O’Donnell.

For ‘grandad’, and all his experiences of watching Donegal, this was indeed new ground being broken.

But for ‘grandson’, he’ll probably get used to it in the coming years as the Peninsula’s presence in the Donegal squad hopefully continues to expand.

Pulling into Fr Tierney Park on Sunday Sylvester Maguire - who recently retired from teaching at Colaiste Cholmcille - was an assertive hand on traffic duty.

The former Donegal and Aodh Ruadh star also had a quick word and smile for each vehicle as they proceeded past him.

No one was in a rush as Sylvester leaned in window after window for a chat and laugh.

It sort of reminded me of another Sylvester, the ‘Rocky Balboa’ one, regaling diners at his restaurant with old war stories and it was a good start to the afternoon.

Through the gates, two other very capable Aodh Ruadh men, Tom Daly and David McLoone, were wired up and directing a different sort of traffic as the day’s logistics and planning began to really roll out.

The top floor of the Ballyshannon clubhouse was already busy with plenty of former stars like Cora Staunton, Brendan Devenney and Pauric McShea on co-commentary for the various radio stations.

Perching myself up beside McShea, the ex-Donegal full-back felt Jim McGuinness’s men needed to win the game for a variety of reasons.

Derry are Donegal’s Ulster SFC preliminary opposition in just under five weeks' time in Ballybofey and he said the hosts needed to assert themselves and give Paddy Tally’s outfit some real food for thought.

A Donegal win would also push our provincial rivals to the brink of relegation and that would, Pauric added, cast somewhat of a cloud over Owenbeg and their preparations ahead of that April 6 tussle.

Not once did McShea mention creeping closer to a possible Division 1 final position. Maybe it was an oversight on his behalf or maybe it just isn’t high on McShea’s astute radar.

It’s certainly not high on Donegal’s agenda going by Jim McGuinness’s comments after. And it’s not that McGuinness doesn’t value the competition; he was at pains to point out that the NFL decider should be a target for every single team in the tier.

But his argument was that half of the teams in the top flight would rather avoid the showpiece. It seems Donegal especially would as just seven days after a possible appearance on Jones Road, they will once again renew rivalries with Derry in championship.

Donegal are now in pole position to qualify for a final after making it four wins from five at the weekend but McGuinness insisted that "we’ll be thinking about what’s right for us" given its claustrophobic proximity to their Ulster opener.

“It is hard enough to win Ulster. It is extremely difficult to win Ulster from the preliminary round. You throw in a League final the week before that, on the back of two other rounds, it becomes almost an impossible task.

“We were flat today and there is a reason we were flat. The batteries were low. One week can make a difference, but that isn’t in our control; that’s upstairs.”

Michael Murphy had been sprung at the break on Sunday and as Donegal turned the screw down the stretch, he was just magnificent in that momentum flip.

The winners’ closing haul of 1-7 had the Glenswilly totem’s paw prints all over it and it’s difficult not to get excited about Donegal’s potential with their greatest now back in the mix.

Knowing that Murphy was on the way back was one thing but the glimpses of gold he’s been able to manufacture in his two appearances off the bench to date have only heightened those hopes.

McGuinness doesn’t tend to lean into giddiness but Murphy is his kryptonite, always has been. Having his influence back on the pitch is going to be huge.

But standards off it will rise in that same process. Success isn’t linear and there are no guarantees that Donegal automatically go one better in 2025.

But for a squad that lifted the Ulster title and came so close to making an All-Ireland final last season to now have Murphy back in their midst, it’s going to be fascinating to see how and where he fits into the mix.

He looks so lean and there is an ever-so-slight hollowness in the cheeks that suggests a serious amount of work has gone into getting to where he currently is at.

The alarm bells that start to signal for the opposition when he’s sprung, it’s something very potent. Armagh and, in particular, Aidan Forker, first time out, completely unravelled in an almost comical fashion.

Laughing at Armagh has always been fun but the Orchard had the last giggle, last season, when they went on to lift the All-Ireland title.

Derry’s tailspin wasn’t as dramatic but rewatching back the late drama on Sunday night, what really stood out was how simple Murphy made things look in that closing spell.

And McGuinness alluded to that same fact which encapsulates so much of Murphy’s genius - that he so often takes the right and sometimes obvious option.

“The key thing in all those moments was simplicity, knowing when to go with the ball, knowing when to compromise a defender and then a very simple pass.

“All of those opportunities were created and it was calm, cool and really good decision-making. That’s what you’re looking for from Michael.

“That is experience and that’s his quality, but physically he was really good. He was at the pitch of it again physically and competed really well.

“He could have got a couple of frees in the middle, but he came up with a couple of very important possessions at a very crucial time”.

Donegal finally get some much-needed respite ahead of another Ulster derby league tussle, this time with Tyrone, in Letterkenny. It’s a two-week break, a winddown really towards Round 6.

Malachy O’Rourke’s coming on board at the Red Hands hasn’t yet sparked the kind of reaction you’d have anticipated.

They are currently second from bottom with a win, a draw and three defeats from their five outings so far.

But with the Errigal Ciaran contingent returning, no one will be panicking too much.

And with McGuinness’s clear and unapologetic intent from here on in to “do what’s best for us", there will be a real opportunity for Tyrone in O’Donnell Park to pick up points.

There are quite a few of those on the fringes, giving it just as much as anyone else back at base in Convoy, that will be chomping at the bit for a run-out.

In a much different type of way, that’s an interesting prospect as well for supporters - to see just what an X, Y or Z might offer against that type of opposition.

Michael Langan and Jason McGee - Donegal’s first-choice midfield pairing - are currently sidelined with the latter yet to make an appearance this term.

Langan’s complaint, a hamstring one picked up in Killarney, will clear sooner rather than later but the quicker McGee is seen in a Donegal squad once again the better.

He underwent hip surgery last summer and McGuinness says while the player is continuing his recovery he won’t be rushed.

“Jason is working away and he’s building,” McGuinness said. “It’s probably taking a little bit longer than we would’ve hoped to this point, but he’s back now and we have a very clear plan on what we want to do with Jason.”

It’s easy to forget now just how good McGee was for Donegal prior to picking up a knock against Cork in last season’s All-Ireland group stage contest at Pairc Uí Rinn.

He was All-Star material - without a doubt.

And while he was back for the All-Ireland semi-final loss to Galway, it was a ‘desperate times, desperate measures’ sort of roll of the dice.

But one thing for certain is that if Donegal are to reach the Holy Grail of a third All-Ireland SFC crown, they need to get both the aforementioned duo fit and keep them fit.

Eoghan McGettigan, who has been so unlucky with injury over the last few seasons, is another that will no doubt have been put through the right hoops by McGuinness and his medical team.

And what that process yields will be very interesting to see as on his day, the Naomh Conaill man would offer a unique inside option - especially under the new rules.

Jonny Carlin of Red Hughs - who has senior inter-county experience with Wicklow - will probably get his chance now too in the later rounds.

Odhran McFadden Ferry is a familiar face, an Ulster SFC winner, but he too will want and need minutes after his return in Ballyshannon. Another in that same bracket is Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin’s Caolan McColgan.

So even if the final two rounds come with somewhat of a health warning for Donegal, it’s still a crucial and valuable timeframe and opportunity for quite a few.

MATCH STATS

Donegal scorers: Ciaran Thompson 0-6 (1 2pt, 1 2ptf), Daire Ó Baoill 0-5 (1 2pt), Shane O’Donnell 1-1, Oisin Gallen 0-3 (1 2pt), Conor O’Donnell 0-3, Hugh McFadden, Ryan McHugh, Michael Murphy (f), Ciaran Moore 0-1 each.

Derry scorers: Shane McGuigan 0-6 (1 2ptf, 4f), Lachlan Murray 0-6 (1 2pt), Conor Glass 1-1, Paul Cassidy 0-2, Eoin McEvoy, Niall Loughlin, Ethan Doherty, Conor Doherty, 0-1 each.

Donegal: Shaun Patton; Mark Curran, Brendan McCole, Eoghan Ban Gallagher; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Ciaran Moore; Ciaran Thompson, Hugh McFadden; Shane O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Daire Ó Baoill; Conor O'Donnell, Oisin Gallen, Jamie Brennan. Subs: Michael Murphy for N O’Donnell, Odhran McFadden-Ferry for Curran (both half-time), Caolan McColgan for Brennan (50), Eoin McHugh for McFadden (59), Odhran Doherty for R.McHugh (59).

Derry: Odhran Lynch; Diarmuid Baker, Eoin McEvoy, Martin Bradley; Conor Doherty, Brendan Rogers, Padraig McGrogan; Conor Glass, Anton Tohill; Dan Higgins, Paul Cassidy, Ethan Doherty; Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan, Lachlan Murray. Subs: Mark Doherty for McEvoy (50), Cahir McMonagle for Loughlin (53), Declan Cassidy for Rogers (59), Patrick McGurk for McGrogan (66).

Referee: Jerome Henry