Dun na nGall v Doire 13th April 2008

[The Voice Of Reason]

Donegal doing a bit better now, but the damage has already been done I think.

[The Voice Of Reason]

Christy Toye on for Leon Thompson, and Paddy McDaid on for Stephen McDermott ... Derry 0-12 0-07 Donegal, around 20 minutes to go

Joe Diver on for Derry

[glenullinabu]

Sounds like Donegal aren't at the races at all. Against that I'm aware that McIvor is probably _very_ wary of showing any of his hand ahead of the big match in 6 weeks time.

quotes like this are a load of rubbish - teams go out to win
it was another chance to be in a league final for donegal
granted they will be better in the championship but nobody worth their salt likes losing

[J70]

Sounds like Donegal aren't at the races at all. Against that I'm aware that McIvor is probably _very_ wary of showing any of his hand ahead of the big match in 6 weeks time.

quotes like this are a load of rubbish - teams go out to win
it was another chance to be in a league final for donegal
granted they will be better in the championship but nobody worth their salt likes losing

How is it a load of rubbish when McIver started a number of players for the first time this year now that they are safe? Barry Monaghan, Stephen McDermott and Shane McGowan hadn't played at all, except for maybe a few minutes as a sub. Leon Thompson was lining out for the second time after being out injured for a year. There was a completely new pairing at midfield, while some of the players had played for their clubs yesterday. The Donegal line-up on June 1st will be quite different to that today.

I'm not saying that Donegal went out to lie down or try to lull Derry into a false sense of security - they would clearly have wanted to put in a decent performance and win the game if possible, but a league final was not high in their priorities after last season's anticlimax.

All that said, we clearly have a lot to work on before June 1st. I'm not sure what we can do about midfield as the players just aren't there in the county to partner Neil Gallagher, and if we get slaughtered in that area, it doesn't matter how good a job Karl Lacey or Neil McGee do in the backs, or how sharp Colm McFadden or Michael Murphy are up front.

[glenullinabu]

All that said, we clearly have a lot to work on before June 1st. I'm not sure what we can do about midfield as the players just aren't there in the county to partner Neil Gallagher, and if we get slaughtered in that area, it doesn't matter how good a job Karl Lacey or Neil McGee do in the backs, or how sharp Colm McFadden or Michael Murphy are up front.

and another real game against kerry especially wouldnt help?
mciver wants to win all the time - thats in his nature

[The Voice Of Reason]

... how sharp Colm McFadden or Michael Murphy are up front....

Unusual to see those words exist together in the same sentence 

I think Donegal will be much more sharp in 6 weeks time. Hopefully the players get down to some hard work now, and also get plenty of football with their clubs too over the next 4 weeks.

Well done to Derry today by the way! Good luck in the final!

[glenullinabu]

... how sharp Colm McFadden or Michael Murphy are up front....

Unusual to see those words exist together in the same sentence 

I think Donegal will be much more sharp in 6 weeks time. Hopefully the players get down to some hard work now, and also get plenty of football with their clubs too over the next 4 weeks.

Well done to Derry today by the way! Good luck in the final!

i think itrs very important to keep county players involved in league matches with their clubs - and not the day after county matches by the way
no doubt donegal will be ready by championship time - should be a great game

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

It will definately be a different Donegal side in 6 weeks, I don't think that McIver will be that annoyed at todays result, he now has 6 weeks to work on the team.

BTW great result for the Derry men, hopefully they can beat Kerry and lift the league for a North-West double.

[glenullinabu]

It will definately be a different Donegal side in 6 weeks, I don't think that McIver will be that annoyed at todays result, he now has 6 weeks to work on the team.

BTW great result for the Derry men, hopefully they can beat Kerry and lift the league for a North-West double.

any word on the venue - heard its in 2 weeks

[J70]

Any of the Donegal lads have an opinion on the solution to our perennial midfield problems?

Neil Gallagher is a great fielder, and the best option we have, but he goes out of games quite a bit and isn't the most mobile.

But who the hell goes in beside him? Is Rafferty really a serious option after all these years? Rory Kavanagh? Ciaran Bonner? McDermott? They're all half-forwards!

Cassidy did well at times last year, but he is far more influential at wing-back.

What about the full-forward line? Obviously McFadden, but who else?

[Rav67]

Was up at the game was impressed by Derry, pretty much what I expected though with Derry winning quite comfortably.  Derry dominated the makeshift Donegal midfield who conceded a lot of frees after kickouts by holding and pushing.  Championship will be much tougher of course as McIver was not showing his full hand there.  Toye looked a handful for them when he came on, surely Donegal could find a place for him in the forward line come June 1st.

[J70]

Any problems with tickets after all the complaining?

[Rav67]

Any problems with tickets after all the complaining?

I arrived about a minute into the game (without a ticket) and you could still buy terrace tickets at that stage anyway, the stand looked pretty full though.

[aodhruadh]

J70, you're spot on about the midfield situation. Lots of square pegs for a round hole.

McIver has clearly used the league to look at all the options throughout the squad, and in comfortably avoiding the relegation battle while doing so, his approach has been vindicated. Unfortunately however, having reviewed all the options I'm not sure there is a whole lot to be confident about.

We have no scoring forwards aside from C.A. McFadden, and the midfield is an ongoing problem. Too many ordinary players in the squad/team, and I don't see us going far this summer. In fact in Ulster right now I would rank Derry, Tyrone and Monaghan ahead of Donegal, with Armagh being on a par with us. So I'm afraid the search for a first Ulster Championship since 1992 will continue for a while yet.

[Oakleafer1993]

Any problems with tickets after all the complaining?

No I was wrong. Got a handful of tickets from the club and could have got more elsewhere. Just a panic after the tyrone game worrying about tickets