Donegal V Derry Ulster Quarter Final June 16th

[From the Bunker]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

[J70]

Worst Derry performance I've ever seen. Was it because we were so good or that Derry just couldn't be arsed putting in the hard work? Guess we'll find out in two weeks. It was like a meaningless league game the way Donegal players were streaming through unchallenged late in the game. And even as early as McFadden's goal, Derry were outnumbered about 6 to 4 in their own half as Donegal broke! Very happy with the ease of the victory, but hard to know where exactly we stand in the greater scheme. Definitely in with a great chance in Ulster though, assuming McGuinness keeps the boys' feet firmly on the ground. Great to see the backs getting up the field on the break, something that a lot of the pundits seemed to miss in all their expert analysis last year.

[eddie d]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad 

[North Man]

eddie d, who r these quality players

[eddie d]

eddie d, who r these quality players

doherty, collie devlin, wilkinson, conor nevin,

[From the Bunker]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad

Yes, but so have Monaghan, Fermanagh and Antrim been in Ulster finals the last couple of years.

''Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad'' Only goes to prove Derry are in a no where place at the moment!

[cadence]

well done to our lads, commiserations to derry. must be tough being them right now, but maybe it'll lead to a renaissance for them like it did for us.

@ drici, thanks for the commentary... work commitments meant i wasn't able to watch or even listen to the game and had to sneak to the jacks to check the score on here on me phone.

relieved murphy's back and came through unscathed as well. shaping up nicely again the year.   

[eddie d]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad

Yes, but so have Monaghan, Fermanagh and Antrim been in Ulster finals the last couple of years.

''Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad'' Only goes to prove Derry are in a no where place at the moment!
[/quot

quoting me proves nothing, you said last couple of years 

[Wildweasel74]

just in the door, what you say??
that was f**king brutal, am gona call a spade a spade, the worst i seen in many years, taking in the tyrone hammering round 2004 too, thoguh the league form all year was a sign of things to come!!
strangest team line out i ever seen! Barry McGoldrick at Fullback? actually done ok but he never played there before, why not try him there though the league?? Young McCamley at wing forward, hes a defensive midfielder, though he drop back but didnt the whole game, what was the point playing him up front when he doesnt play there! E Lynn played the whole league at corner forward then wing forward the day, they are totally different positions, play him in the corner or nothing! The lack of fight from the team team was shocking, reminded me of ireland against spain the other night!! give up long before the final whistle and playing with injured players. At least 5 of the derry players are only back from long term injuries and shouldnt have started, the excuse for lack of fitness of some of the others, well the fitness trainer will have to answer for that, the team have been off the pace in the league all year too, Donegal made the same mistake with Murphy too who was well of the pace too,Chrissy McKaigue had a good game , may been the only one but derrys game plan or lack of one was a shocker!! very disappointed as a die hard supporter who misses very few games but that game would nearly break the most die hard of supporters, no player goes out to play bad, but you need effort, fight, pride in the jersey, not just to wear one but the fact that you should be good enough to wear one and nobody taking it off you!! People talk about begging certain players back, why?? if anybody wanted to play for derry they be on the panel,why should a county team beg players to play for them!! Today is def one of derry footballs darkest days!! But derry will need to find a way forward, last year derry played good open football, and this year we expected the same with a more defensive performance!!they went so far back from last year, its hard to put  a point on why this has happened! Hell not gona think about it any more, time for a drink, think i deserve one after getting soaked watching that!! but alias i know i be there the next day as am sure many else will be!! will we get another 300 spartans for the next day like the armagh game a few years ago

[screenmachine]

Derry won't be fit enough to match Donegal's system or style of play.  Donegal will slowly etch up a 3-4 point lead which won't be relinquished, if Donegal score a goal to go three or four points up we're fucked.  They'll crowd out the defence and Derry won't be able to break it down as has been the case for the past decade when anyone plays a blanket defence against Derry.

There's a few ways Derry can win this.  Nail a few of Donegal's key runners early on.  Judging from last weekends match Derry will need to put a Joe Diver or Patsy Bradley shaped hole in Mark McHugh, Karl Lacey and maybe Frank McGlynn - all three seemed to be all over the pitch against Cavan for about 50 minutes of the game by which stage it was over.  Dublin removed Lacey last year and Donegal weren't as effective.  Cynical, but it'll be interesting to see how well a few boys would run up and down the pitch after being emptied, dead legs, etc.

All in all though I think Donegal will win handy enough by 4-5 points unless Derry get very cynical or have got a lot fitter since the league stages.

Bar the larger scoring gap I hate to say it but I kind of told you so.    Derry effectively stopped Mark McHugh but all the effort that went into stopping him seemed to free up the rest of the Donegal defence which ran riot charging up the field.  The main difference I seen today was in the tackle.  If Derry got over Donegal's 65 they were hassled, harried, not allowed to kick or fist pass.  It was extremely difficult for Derry to do anything of any use through a combination of Donegal's great defence and Derry's ineptitude!

At the other end of the pitch, after the first twenty minutes or so Donegal could kick pass, hand pass or just run it where they wanted, work a position and inevitably score.

Another major factor I thought was the kickouts.  How many times did Durcan run up like he was going to bomb it out and nicely slice it to a wing half forward running onto it, worked a charm every time he done it.  On the other hand, how many times did Gillis run out and bomb it out.  Erm, well every time really, even when McGee was winning midfield on his own at a canter.  No variation at all - not to place a lot of the blame for the defeat on Gillis alone, just noticed the different plan that both teams/keepers seemed to have in place.

[J70]

I sympathize with the Derry people. We've been exactly where you are after awful, soul-destroying hammerings many times, including in recent years. Its only two years since Crossmaglen. Whatever you say about his tactics, a strong leader and organizer like McGuinness can work wonders.

[From the Bunker]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad

Yes, but so have Monaghan, Fermanagh and Antrim been in Ulster finals the last couple of years.

''Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad'' Only goes to prove Derry are in a no where place at the moment!

quoting me proves nothing, you said last couple of years 

Ah, but it does. You have said all the things that are affecting Derry at the moment and have been slowly part of their decline!

[eddie d]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad

Yes, but so have Monaghan, Fermanagh and Antrim been in Ulster finals the last couple of years.

''Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad'' Only goes to prove Derry are in a no where place at the moment!

quoting me proves nothing, you said last couple of years 

Ah, but it does. You have said all the things that are affecting Derry at the moment and have been slowly part of their decline!

again u said last couple of years, last year derry could have won ulster, had the bradleys not been injured, agree?

[From the Bunker]

Donegal have the wind in their sails. The Anglo Celt and an AI semi-final last year made them believe in McGuinness! McGuinness has proved he takes no sh1t and this has made his ship stable. Derry have been floating in no-where land a couple of years now and this showed today. Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!

got to the ulster final last year

Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad

Yes, but so have Monaghan, Fermanagh and Antrim been in Ulster finals the last couple of years.

''Derry have been hit this year by key players retiring, injuries throughout the league which had the back 6 changed about constanly, would affect many teams, plus quality players in derry are not in the squad'' Only goes to prove Derry are in a no where place at the moment!

quoting me proves nothing, you said last couple of years 

Ah, but it does. You have said all the things that are affecting Derry at the moment and have been slowly part of their decline!

again u said last couple of years, last year derry could have won ulster, had the bradleys not been injured, agree?

Totally agree, the Bradleys (especialy Paddy) are very important to Derry and last year could have been the year. When i say that Derry have been in no where land, I'm not saying they have been at the bottom or the top! They've just been floating between both. As i said ''Donegal have a plan and a mission, Derry have neither!''

[Newbridge Exile]

Derry won't be fit enough to match Donegal's system or style of play.  Donegal will slowly etch up a 3-4 point lead which won't be relinquished, if Donegal score a goal to go three or four points up we're fucked.  They'll crowd out the defence and Derry won't be able to break it down as has been the case for the past decade when anyone plays a blanket defence against Derry.

There's a few ways Derry can win this.  Nail a few of Donegal's key runners early on.  Judging from last weekends match Derry will need to put a Joe Diver or Patsy Bradley shaped hole in Mark McHugh, Karl Lacey and maybe Frank McGlynn - all three seemed to be all over the pitch against Cavan for about 50 minutes of the game by which stage it was over.  Dublin removed Lacey last year and Donegal weren't as effective.  Cynical, but it'll be interesting to see how well a few boys would run up and down the pitch after being emptied, dead legs, etc.

All in all though I think Donegal will win handy enough by 4-5 points unless Derry get very cynical or have got a lot fitter since the league stages.

Bar the larger scoring gap I hate to say it but I kind of told you so.    Derry effectively stopped Mark McHugh but all the effort that went into stopping him seemed to free up the rest of the Donegal defence which ran riot charging up the field.  The main difference I seen today was in the tackle.  If Derry got over Donegal's 65 they were hassled, harried, not allowed to kick or fist pass.  It was extremely difficult for Derry to do anything of any use through a combination of Donegal's great defence and Derry's ineptitude!

At the other end of the pitch, after the first twenty minutes or so Donegal could kick pass, hand pass or just run it where they wanted, work a position and inevitably score.

Another major factor I thought was the kickouts.  How many times did Durcan run up like he was going to bomb it out and nicely slice it to a wing half forward running onto it, worked a charm every time he done it.  On the other hand, how many times did Gillis run out and bomb it out.  Erm, well every time really, even when McGee was winning midfield on his own at a canter.  No variation at all - not to place a lot of the blame for the defeat on Gillis alone, just noticed the different plan that both teams/keepers seemed to have in place.

Noticed the same thing myself, decent keeper that Barry is , he has never had any variations in his kickouts