Diver: Donegal are a better team than they showed against Monaghan

Donegal’s dismal display against Monaghan can mainly be put down to an off day and the fact that they were missing a number of key players, according to one of the county’s greatest servants.

While Doneal could yet end up in Division Two as they face two final difficult tests against an improving Dublin and an Armagh side “who would like to relegate them,” Damian Diver believes that Donegal are “too good to go down”.

In a glass half-full analysis, Diver said there were some positives as well as negatives to be taken from last Sunday’s disappointing defeat, 1-12 to 0-10 against the Farney County.

“I think we are a bit too one dimensional,” the Ardara clubman said. “We are getting the ball to a certain point but we seem to be devoid of ideas around the half-forward line. We are not kicking the ball enough and we should be letting the ball in earlier to the full-forward and especially when Michael Murphy is inside as he made a huge difference when he came on against Derry”.

When it was suggested that Donegal were expected to win this game and secure survival - especially after the fine win against Tyrone - Diver pointed to the fact that Monaghan have been a “bogey team” for Donegal.

“We always struggle with Monaghan even when you beat them and they were up for it and they also saw the 12-year unbeaten run in Ballybofey as a real carrot,” he said. “Monaghan badly needed the points and they were clearly two teams coming from two different places”.

McShea's Say: Donegal’s dreadful, dismal display against Monaghan

In his weekly Donegal Post column, Donegal's 1974 Ulster SFC winning captain Pauric McShea expresses his concern at Donegal's display on Monday when they went down to Monaghan on a 1-12 to 0-10 scoreline

As in Kerry, it was plain that Donegal did not seem to know what to do with the breeze in the first half.

“We are a running team and we are far more used to running into the breeze up here and we don’t know how to kick a ball like the likes of Kerry,” Diver added. “And Monaghan had Conor McManus inside and they were looking for him and he got a few marks inside from the ball coming in early, but Brendan McCole still had a great game.

“But when a ball comes in early and straight to a man’s chest it is very hard to do anything about it. Our forwards either don’t know if the ball is going to come in but it seems that we are not looking enough to kick the ball in. We need to be doing this for Michael Murphy as he always has the head up. And that did not happen against Monaghan.

“But remember we were missing Caolan McGonagle, Tony McClenaghan, Michael Langan and Hugh McFadden, Shane O’Donnell and Oisin Gallen were not able to start. So, you have to look at it in that context as well. I am not too pessimistic.

“We also missed a lot of chances and kicked a lot of balls into the keeper’s hands and we were shooting from the 45-metre line as well. This is stuff that we would not normally be doing. To be honest I thought it was just an off day really. We are definitely better than that”.

“That is why it is such a brilliant Division One as anybody can beat anybody else on the day. Having said that, I think we are too good to go down.”