Turnovers and wides crucial in defeat by Dublin says Donegal manager Declan Bonner

Donegal manager, Declan Bonner, was happy with the contribution of his players against Dublin in Croke Park but felt that turnovers and wides were the reason why they came up short.

The poor Donegal record against the Dubs with just one league win in Croke Park in 1994 continued as the Dubs prevailed by four points.

"We started the game well. The first 20 minutes we were playing decent football. It appeared in that second quarter when Dublin came back and tacked on 1-3, 1-4. We just turned the ball over (too much). It was those basic turnovers which turned the game.

"But listen the lads got back at it again in the second half and it was end to end football. Disappointed we didn't get something out of it when we did get the goal and brought it back to two and we had a couple of opportunities.

Late penalty seals result as improved Donegal go down to Dublin in Croke Park

Donegal competed well but had too many turnovers during the game

"We had a couple of frees that you need to be putting over in a game of small margins, they are all massive. We ended up with 12 wides in total, seven in the first and five in the second and that's not like us. That's a lot of wides at this level and we're going to have rectify that going into the championship campaign."

The result means that Donegal go into the final round of games against Armagh in O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny on Sunday next still involved in the relegation battle.

They are level on points with Kildare and Tyrone (on five points) while Dublin and Monaghan (who meet in the final round) are a point behind on four points.

A win for Donegal will leave them safe while a draw may well be enough. However, it could come down to score difference and it is sure to be a nervy day for the five teams in the mix.

"We are just going to have to focus now on next Sunday (against Armagh). That's all that's in our control. We still have a lot of lads to get back on the road for championship; they're not going to be available for next Sunday but hopefully in a few weeks' time.

"We have just to look after our own end of it and get the result. That's what we will be getting ready for now over the next seven days, to focus on Armagh and then after that we can park up the league and focus on the championship," said Bonner, who said that he was hoping to have Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson and Oisin Gallen back for championship.

Bonner agreed that Brendan McCole was again outstanding at full-back. "I thought Brendan was excellent. He has been outstanding all year and he has be picking up a key player every day he goes out."

The Donegal boss agreed that the return of Michael Murphy to the starting team was a positive. "Yeah, it was good to see him getting 70-75 minutes out there today. Jamie Brennan starting his first game also, very important to get game time. From that point of view it was positive, but disappointing always when you get beat," said Bonner, who returned to the issue of the unforced errors and wides which he felt had a vital bearing on the result."

He felt that playing Dublin in Croke Park is always a good test and it was good for some of the younger players to get game time.

"Croke Park is always challenging. There were times when we were opened but it is something we have to look at but you can't fault the effort of the players out there. Patrick McBrearty played well and got a good number of scorers," said Bonner, who also felt it was good for the likes of Aaron Doherty, Conor O'Donnell and Shane O'Donnell to get the Croke Park experience.

Asked about GPA situation, Bonner said it was not an issue in the Donegal dressing room. "It hasn't been spoken about, absolutely not. We just get on with business," he said.