Donegal v Down Ulster Semi June 23

[J70]

Surprised this thread hasn't been started yet. Surely its not that forgone a conclusion? 

Thought Down looked fairly good today (in an open game), but we will obviously (presumably!) bring a different level of pressure to bear on their forwards when creating chances and shooting. We were poor at midfield for much of the contest against Tyrone, so we will want to improve there, both winning primary ball and the breaks. And presumably Down will have some lessons learnt from last year - can't see a facile eleven point win here again. Still, its hard not to see us winning it, given McGuinness's track record in preparing teams and making adjustments. In the past, I'd always have been fearful of Donegal losing a game like this through poor attitude and preparation. Not any more. Which is not to say that Donegal can't or won't have a bad day. Just that it won't come through poor attitude or treating a fixture lightly.

[Syferus]

McCartan basically conceded the game in his interview after the match today. It's one thing being honest but given there is no expectation on Down to begin with there wasn't much need to put it in lads' heads that they're so inferior to Donegal that 'they'd lose nine time out of ten'.

On a side note I have to say Donegal have been excellent about loaning out Sam to neighbouring counties, even going as far as getting some of the players to come down with the cup on occasion . We had it Saturday and most of today at the opening of St. Croan's new pitch in Ballintober. Classy stuff by the Tír Chonaill men.

[Dinny Breen]

McCartan is just playing the game. Pretty sure he'll be telling his players differently, playing Donegal is as much mental as physical these days.

[Aristo 60]

McCartan is just playing the game. Pretty sure he'll be telling his players differently, playing Donegal is as much mental as physical these days.

Agreed. McCartan doesn't really believe we'd lose 9 outta 10 and neither do the team. That was a soundbite for the journos.

[DuffleKing]

McCartan basically conceded the game in his interview after the match today. It's one thing being honest but given there is no expectation on Down to begin with there wasn't much need to put it in lads' heads that they're so inferior to Donegal that 'they'd lose nine time out of ten'.

On a side note I have to say Donegal have been excellent about loaning out Sam to neighbouring counties, even going as far as getting some of the players to come down with the cup on occasion . We had it Saturday and most of today at the opening of St. Croan's new pitch in Ballintober. Classy stuff by the Tír Chonaill men.

Are you serious?

[EC Unique]

Donegal by at least 8-10.

[supersub]

McCartan basically conceded the game in his interview after the match today. It's one thing being honest but given there is no expectation on Down to begin with there wasn't much need to put it in lads' heads that they're so inferior to Donegal that 'they'd lose nine time out of ten'.

On a side note I have to say Donegal have been excellent about loaning out Sam to neighbouring counties, even going as far as getting some of the players to come down with the cup on occasion . We had it Saturday and most of today at the opening of St. Croan's new pitch in Ballintober. Classy stuff by the Tír Chonaill men.

Hook line and sinker

[Syferus]

No doubt he's telling his team differently but there was no need to play the poor mouth and feed into the popular perception, pretty much no one expects Down to win do it's not like he's trying to shake pressure off his team. A lot of managers these days blindly adhere to a 'down-play at all costs' mentality in public and in many cases it sets a poorer environment in their county and in the country.

Players aren't robots (Kildare being the exception) so no matter what they're being told in camp feeding into having people you meet asking you 'do ye have any chance?' is going to leak through to some degree.

It's only a small thing but I'd prefer to see a manager not rubbishing his side before a big game and in this case it does his team absolutely no good.

[theticklemister]

Donegal by 7/8.

[Aristo 60]

It's merely James' coy style. He's been saying this type of thing for years now.

Derry's Eamonn Colman RIP would have had a similar cute h00r style about him when dealing with the press.

[yellowcard]

Would agree with McCartans assessment, I think they have little or no chance against Donegal. It will be a totally different game against Donegal and I would be surprised if Down get within 4/5 points of them. Part of the problem for teams facing Donegal now is the growing myth surrounding Donegal (and in particular McGuinness) that they can't be beaten and thats why I'm surprised at McCartan's comments.

One of McGuinness' greatest virtues is nullifying the oppositions strengths so I wouldn't expect Mckernan or Poland to get anywhere near the amount of space they got yesterday. The game between these sides last year was over very early on and it wouldn't be realistic to expect to turn that around in 12 months.     

[RMDrive]

Would agree with McCartans assessment, I think they have little or no chance against Donegal. It will be a totally different game against Donegal and I would be surprised if Down get within 4/5 points of them. Part of the problem for teams facing Donegal now is the growing myth surrounding Donegal (and in particular McGuinness) that they can't be beaten and thats why I'm surprised at McCartan's comments.

One of McGuinness' greatest virtues is nullifying the oppositions strengths so I wouldn't expect Mckernan or Poland to get anywhere near the amount of space they got yesterday. The game between these sides last year was over very early on and it wouldn't be realistic to expect to turn that around in 12 months.     

After 50 minutes last year, Donegal were only ahead by 2 points and Down were very much in the game. The concession of the 2nd goal seems to deflate them completely and they allowed Donegal to run up 1-09 in the last 20 minutes but the game was very competitive up to that.

[Brick Tamlin]

shhhhhhhhh..no it wasnt, dont be daft. Donegal and Jedi Jim only let us think we were being competitive and kept us in the game themselves for entertainment purposes. They could have killed us off at any time of their choosing. All Jim had to do was give the nod and we were dead and buried.
And the same thing will happen in a few weeks time.

[God14]

It'll be very interesting to see how wee James sets his team out the next day. If Down play with the same shape & tactics they did yesterday they'll be bate out the gate by half time. Thats a certainty, they were far too loose. But with the experience of last year etc surely they will have some sort of tactical plan in place? After all whats the point of having a 10 man backroom team if they cant...

It was hard to figure out exactly what Tyrone's plan was against Donegal - i.e it wasnt overly defensive, and it certainly wasnt very attack minded either. I felt we were caught between the two, and the team ultimately lacked conviction & belief in the overall gameplan. Certainly aiming to play any type of possession based football in the Donegal half will prove fruitless & demoralising.

Should McCartan adopt an ultra defensive strategy, gettting everyone behind the ball and try and slow the game down into a real low scoring slug fest?
Or would he be better off sticking the likes of King & Rogers close to the square & lumping early ball repeatedly into them. Get it in early & often. With a speedster like O'Hare making runs for lay offs & picking up the spills...

Jim's a genius an all that, im a big fan of the guy. But its only a matter of time until someone develops a strategy to counteract his method. Down may or may not have the tools to beat Jims system, but someone will. I reckon it'll be this year as well. Fascinating tactical stuff, but whoever comes up with the answers will need to be very creative.

[seafoid]

If wee James could get the Down lads to speak Ulster scots throughout the match it could confuse the Donegal men and break their mental resilience.

http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/nsmc_2008_annual_report_ulster_scots-6.pdf