Devenney: Making Derry chase is key to Donegal’s Ulster final chances

Derry and Rory Gallagher will present a ferocious challenge for Donegal, but Declan Bonner’s side should prevail if it comes to a tight finish, according to one of the county’s great icons. 

Brendan Devenney believes that the greater experience of the likes of Michael Murphy, Ryan McHugh and Paddy McBrearty might just see Donegal home. But he warned that Gallagher’s Derry side are playing a brand of football very similar to that employed by Jim McGuinness in 2012 when Donegal went all the way. 

Gallagher’s fingerprints were also all over that relentless high intensity game with 15 men back at times and then the break at savage pace to cripple the opposition. 

Devenny added that in their two games to date, Derry have enjoyed big leads and he wonders how they will cope if Donegal stop them or if Donegal can go into the lead early on. 

“I have been very impressed by Derry, and you can see that they have so much hunger and commitment and there is an energy about them which makes them a very dangerous opponent,” he said.

“They are superbly fit and they are a bit like the Donegal team of 2011/12 and that conditioning puts them right up there. The Derry players have bought into a ferocious training regime and Rory has got them in a good place. 

“If you commit to that extent and you get a reward then that is a powerful motivator. Monaghan are different as they have been on the road for a long time, but Derry are quite new. Rory has been applying the same methods as when he was with Donegal. 

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“What he has in Derry is hunger, enthusiasm and bite and that could be every night at training when they are asked to sprint forward, sprint back and he has great intensity”. 

Derry faced a daunting run if they were to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup for the first time since 1998. 

“If they get over Donegal, they will have beaten three top Division One teams, so you can’t take anything away from them.” Devenney added.

“Even though there have been two very good performances by Derry, I think it will be 50/50 but Donegal will be slight favourites mainly because of their greater experience with 10 appearances in an Ulster final in 12 years. 

“But, you could argue that Derry’s two displays should put them as favourites, but I think the experience does count.  If you take it on form, Derry’s two displays against quality opposition have been much better than Donegal’s, but if it becomes a tight game, then Donegal might have the more experienced campaigners. 

“That said, goals are crucial and Derry got three goals against Monaghan and they are deadly finishers. They got through the Monaghan defence more easily while they really closed-up their defence and suffocated Monaghan for long periods.”

So, what do Donegal need to do to win, and should there be more long ball put into Murphy when he will inevitably be inside for periods? 

“We have the big men in and around midfield and for years we did not have that. Now we have potentially five or six midfielders on the pitch at the same time. We have Jason McGee, Michael Langan, Caolan McGonagle and Hugh McFadden, so there is no reason why the ball is not going In to Michael Murphy and Paddy McBrearty with Jamie Brennan and the O’Donnell’s feeding of this. 

“And surely McGee and McGonagle are capable of breaking the ball if they don’t win it cleanly? Murphy is a great target man, but I actually believe that he is also the best passer of a ball inside with his great vision and use of the diagonal ball, so he is a double threat. 

“When Murphy goes out the opposition tends to go one on one with the other Donegal forwards and there are usually two on him and one sweeping in front of him when he goes inside. 

“It is no coincidence that Ryan McHugh had such a good game as he always has a great understanding with Michael Murphy over many years and Rory will have identified both as major threats”. 

“Donegal should vary their game more and stop this hand passing over and back. 

“Murphy needs to get the ball inside but that did not happen against Cavan and I expect Brendan Rogers  and Chrissy McKague to be very close to Murphy and Paddy McBrearty and of course they also have the in-form Gareth McKinless, who is a powerful sweeper and a great attacker at pace too. 

“The Derry tackling is ferocious and if we are playing square and are not ready for that level of tackling, we are going to get turned over. And that is a massive thing in the modern game and Derry are very good at it” 

But Devenney gives a qualified nod to Donegal. He said: “Derry have got off to some great starts, but if he hit them fast early on it could be a different scenario,” he said. “They usually have a huge lead but if it is a tight game coming down the stretch will Derry be able to cope with that type of pressure and they have not been tested in this respect”. 

“What happens if they don’t get that lead, they will have to pull out a bit more and we have the power to get inside their defence and punish them. We have finished our two games well, and in the end, you would think that the likes of Michael Murphy and Ryan McHugh’s experience could be crucial - but it will be very tight”.