DONEGAL SFC: Battle at the bottom of table will have greatest interest - McDaid

There are few more articulate, astute or acute observers of Donegal GAA than one Gary McDaid from Glenswilly.

He will always be remembered for masterminding a great victory for the Glen over hot favourites Kilcar in the county final of 2016.

Gary is also a former Donegal U-20 manager and his attention to detail has always been quite forensic.

He has been at quite a few of the championship matches so far and this is his take on the last round before the quarter-finals.

St Eunan’s v St Michael’s

“I was studying the League and my reading is that these two sides could very well meet each other in the quarter-finals assuming that St Eunan’s win this match at home.

“That way Eunan’s would finish fourth and Michael’s fifth which could make it a dry run for the two weeks later.

“Obviously Eunan’s would want a home quarter-final and they are home this week and should advance.

“St Michael’s will be a bit disappointed with their showing against Ardara and I know they were down Michael Langan, Christy Toye, Daniel McLaughlin and Oisin Langan.

“I am hearing the word that Michael Langan is not going to be back next week either and they will try have him for the quarter-final.

“It is probably a good thing for St Michael’s as it could be a dress rehearsal for the quarter-final.

“I am sure that St Michael’s would like to have a home quarter-final but I would imagine that both teams would be quite reluctant to show their full hands.

“You would always nearly go with the stronger side on paper and that is Eunan’s and it is highly unlikely that St Michael’s would be able to beat Eunan’s twice.

“So I could see St Michael’s holding a bit back for a bigger game”.

Dungloe v Killybegs

“Killybegs have a bad scoring difference so they would really need to win this one.

“They have a score difference of -38 and even if they win they could still find themselves in the relegation zone on score difference.

“Dungloe are at home and that could be crucial.

“Killybegs have struggled to score, they have scored 0-6, 1-6 and 0-6 in their three games to date. whereas Dungloe have Daniel Ward absolutely ripping it up at the minute.

“Any man that is scoring what he is scoring would definitely make him a man to bring into the county panel and have a look at in the Dr McKenna Cup and things like that.

“But you really cannot look past Dungloe in this one, and Killybegs could have quite a battle to survive”.

Ardara v Bundoran

“Ardara will take a lot courage from the weekend as they ran St Michael’s very close.

“The goal from Colin McFadden for St Michael’s was an early blow, but they worked hard to claw it back and then St Michael’s hit four in a row after the break and Ardara could not claw it back.

“St Michael’s kept them at arms length throughout the second half.

“So they will take huge heart from this, but it is a big ask as Bundoran seem to have their team well set up now.

"They had a very good result at the weekend and pulled well ahead in the last ten minutes.

“Jamie Brennan, Cian McEniff and Gary Clancy are three great inside men and I was really impressed by them.

“The three of them are all scoring threats and there are not too many clubs that have an inside three that contribute on the scoreboard every day.

“Outside the top four none of the rest have as good a forward line."

Termon v St Naul’s

“That will be a battle and Termon will be thanking God that they finally got a reasonably decent draw.

“It is 50/50 as Termon have had it tough just like us in Glenswilly.

“Home advantage could be vital and Peadar Mogan, Daniel Brennan, Lee McBrearty, Stuart Johnston, Michael Coughlan and Dermot Gallagher are big losses.

“They put it up to Gaoth Dobhair and there were only a few points in it by the 28th minute before Gaoth Dobhair rattled a few quick scores over to widen the gap and eventually win quite well.

“It is hard to stay with Gaoth Dobhair for 60 minutes.

“St Naul’s will fear nothing and it is a hard one to call but I will give the nod to Termon”.

Glenswilly v Naomh Conaill

“This is David V Goliath anyway you look at it.

“I was studying the table and the only blessing we might have is that Naomh Conaill seem to be guaranteed top spot.

“They will beat the Glen and they are already plus 14 points ahead of Gaoth Dobhair and I can’t see Gaoth Dobhair making that ground up.

“Naomh Conaill’s scores have been racking up.

“And I am just hoping, that as Martin Regan had 43 players named on his squad on Friday night so I am hoping he will use a lot of those squad members.

“He will have to try and keep those boys happy as well and this is probably a chance for him to keep everyone involved and keep the momentum to the quarter-final.

“Really, Naomh Conaill have nothing to lose here, they are in the quarter-final whereas the Glen have a lot to lose.

“If they get another bad beating at the weekend, they could find themselves along with Killybegs in a relegation situation.

“Last week, the Glen conceded 28 scores which was the most across the three championships at the weekend.

"That is not in our DNA so there will be a lot of hurt pride and we will want to try and fix that”.

Milford v Four Masters

“This could be close, but a big thing not working in Milford’s favour could be the fact that Cathal McGettigan went off injured last weekend.

“He is the main scorer and if he is out, you would think Four Masters might nick it.

"They have been improving gradually every week and I was very impressed by them against Gaoth Dobhair, a team they stuck with for 45 minutes.

“I thought they died in the last quarter and they came into the Glen and they emptied it for 60 minutes.

“They probably could have got something out of the game, and we were lucky enough to get over the line in the end.

“They are probably in a good position and had a good win over Dungloe last weekend.

“Jamie Crawford rattled off 1-2 in the last two games and he is a player I always kept an eye on at underage and he was in and out of youth squads.

“But he is now adding consistency to his play in big games.

“Milford have the Barretts, who are a strong presence and young Darragh Black, who was flying for LYIT in the Sigerson Cup this year.

“He is a threat and Michael Murphy had a lot of faith in him.

“If Cathal McGettigan is injured, Masters could shade matters”.

Glenfin v Kilcar

“I was at the game between Glenfin and Sean MacCumhaill’s and Glenfin would be happy with the draw on that occasion.

"But they have a much tougher one this team and Kilcar are just a scoring machine especially when they get ahead of you.

“They had 28 scores last Sunday, the highest amount in the county.

“Glenfin will find it difficult to deal with Kilcar’s sheer pace but they will be strengthened by the return of Cavan native Ciaran Brady.

“It is good to see him back and he came on as a sub last week and is a very good player.

“He links up well with Gerard Ward, but they are still missing Karl McGlynn, who is one of their top players.

“They might not risk him.

“Both Glenfin and Sean MaCunhaill’s could leap-frog each other on score difference.

“At present Glenfin have plus 12 and McCumhaill’s have plus four, an eight point difference.

“Glenfin will be looking to not get hammered too much by Kilcar while MacCumhaill’s will be looking for the same thing against Gaoth Dobhair

Gaoth Dobhair v Sean MacCumhaill’s

“Gaoth Dobhair are 14 behind Naomh Conaill on score difference at present.

“Sean McCumhaill’s get 13/14 men behind the ball when they don’t have possession with only Marty O’Reilly and Oisin Gallen up front.

“I can’t see Gaoth Dobhair clawing back that 14 point deficit and that could be good for MacCumhaill’s.

“MacCumhaill’s will be hoping to keep the score difference to five or six points and hope that Kilcar get a big score against Glenfin, they could leapfrog Glenfin in the table.

“They would finish sixth as opposed to seventh so they have loads of incentive to make up that eight points deficit”.