Donegal v Dublin AISF 31st Aug 2014

[SHEEDY]

Two wonderful games this weekend.

Donegal were fantastic, breaking at speed and always supporting their teammates. BIg shock but you have to think they will go in as favourites now for the Final.

Kerry 2.02
Donegal 1.96

Is that a score prediction for the final??? 

[bennydorano]

Hope Indiana isn't too downhearted.

[rodney trotter]

Delighted for Donegal, class win.

[seafoid]

Dubs were unbackable like Bayern in the CL butback to back is very tough even with a massive bandwagon

[BennyCake]

Well done donegal. Have restored my faith that garlic football is an intense game and defense is as beautiful as attack.  Well done the kingdom as well.  Hard luck to dubs and mayo. Great efforts.

Is Garlic Football the new Puke Football?

[seafoid]

Well done donegal. Have restored my faith that garlic football is an intense game and defense is as beautiful as attack.  Well done the kingdom as well.  Hard luck to dubs and mayo. Great efforts.

garlic football is too continental for a lot of traditionalist.s

[rodney trotter]

Hope Indiana isn't too downhearted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZTP8-8wIs

[ardchieftain]

What a thoroughly absorbing game of Gaelic football. Donegal simply got in Dublin's faces and many of them wilted. Jim McGuinness is some boy!

[Whitnail]

Alot of big performances. (obviously R McHugh) but Paul Durcan's save happened at a crucial stage. Steeley man.

Really happy for McFadden finally getting a goal and  putting us 8 points clear . I still believe in McFadden ... and hope he can have a big final. Done alot for Donegal football through the years.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

Fair play Donegal, best team by a mile on the day............................................ thank god I wont have to listen to Dublin Domination now for  a long time now from the country brethren

[Syferus]

Fair play Donegal, best team by a mile on the day............................................ thank god I wont have to listen to Dublin Domination now for  a long time now from the country brethren

You have five months off from that talk, Squire.. January is Kildare's month.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

Dublin caught up in their own hype. Superb stuff by Donegal believed in themselves when almost everyone wrote them off.

Nope culchie media hype.......................well grounded here

[INDIANA]

Best team won on the day. Too raw to analyse the rest of it.

But best of luck to Donegal in the final - they were terrific today and Mc Guinness completely out-thought our brains trust on the line

Hopefully now some balance will be brought to the Dublin domination theory by the media who really have badly mis-represented the facts and now look incredibly silly as Dublin were comphrehensively beaten in the minor and senior game today.

[grounded]

Shock of all time??
Brilliant Donegal performance

Thats dung talk. Donegal aren't some flash in the pan, they were AI champs two years ago ffs. Not too many lads on tge Donegal team will think its a shock.

If we are talking betting and media and public consensus, I can't remember a bigger shock. All very well saying the Donegal team and management fancied their chances, truthfully nobody else did. They took a hiding against Mayo last year, they had a mediocre league capped with a woeful league final performance. They had a ropey enough win last day out against Armagh. I would have put more money on Seanie Johnston picking up an All Ireland with Cavan/Kildare than Donegal beating Dublin today 

[DuffleKing]

Can't see anything but a Dublin win. Too many variables for Donegal, Mark McHugh not playing, Lacey injured, Kavanagh not enough game time, McFadden playing absolute pants all year.

Yes the system will stifle Dublin to an extent but I just think the Dubs have too many good footballers this time around. The year the Dubs beat Donegal on the way to win the All Ireland they didn't have the same calibre of player and weren't playing the same type of football as they are now, this years team would beat the Dubs of 3 years ago quite comfortably I'd suggest.

Anyway I think Dubs by about 10!

2011 side versus 2014 side

goalkeeper- same
full back line - two thirds
half back line - two thirds
midfield- half
half forward line - same
full forward line - two thirds

Not a huge difference. And that will give Donegal lots of hope. Donegal can't win playing like 2011 IMO.

To beat Dublin you need a high shot count and a high accuracy rating (greater then 50%). Currently Donegal have neither playing their current system. That's largely down to the players being 3 years older.

If they concede the short kickouts they'll lose. They have to gamble on their own kick-outs as well and kick the ball to midfield and contest and take the risk of leaving themselves exposed at the back. And put a premium on the breaks. They just won't score enough to win the game otherwise.

I think overall we are better then Donegal at the moment. What Donegal lack are an influx of new players. Only really Mc Nicholas has been a find. O Connor will be a really good player as well in time. Minors should provide them with a few- but they need more of that.

It's the only way they can win. Of course, its entirely possible that they just can't win.

Not a hope. They couldn't keep Dublin out in 2011 with a man extra for last 15 minutes of the 70mins. They aren't going to do it 3 years later.

To win they have to gamble early on and get ahead and then try and lock it up as they do in Ulster.

I hope you deliberately missed the point.

Donegal are a competitive team at the top table because they have a coherent and effective game plan - built on defence first. If they came out and attacked, any number of teams could beat them, never mind this Dublin team.

They will play as they've always done because they must. Playing as you advocate will mean a hammering. Maybe they can't win playing as they normally do but it's the approach that gives them a puncher's chance.

You need a high shot count and a high accuracy rating to beat Dublin (as you say) only if you allow Dublin their normal attacking space to create their normal shot count.

Donegal to come out and gamble Sunday week? Yeah, right.

Ahem