Ulster Championship 2021

[Wildweasel74]

That be OK if I wasn't one of those guys who followed the teams through Div 3 and 4 and not chance remotely of getting a ticket today.

[screenexile]

Devastated doesn't even cover how I'm feeling. I've been following Derry since 1990 and the last 10-15 years there hasn't been a whole lot to get excited about. I was excited today screaming at the TV and for 70 minutes thought we had it.

To a man the hunger and desire was there and it's been a while since that was the case. Yes we should have won the game but playing Div 3/4 over the past few years showed at crucial times in the game.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game and I'm just glad that this group have brought pride and competition back to the County. If we can keep things in place for next year there's no reason we couldn't challenge for Ulster and with more talent coming through the future is looking bright and we should be targeting CP in the next 2-3 years.

Also fair play to the minors as well huge game next week best of luck to all involved!!

[J70]

What are Donegal fans thoughts on bonner as a manager? Lucky today and heavily reliant on murphy. Donegal have been promising to break through for the last 3-4 years or so but have failed so far. No doubt they will beat tyrone but that seems to be there level so far. Is bonner the man to take use to the next level, what are Donegal thoughts?

1. Speaking for myself, I'm happy enough with Bonner overall. Not saying someone like McGuinness wouldn't be getting a bit extra out of them, but I'm not sure the talent is there to get much bigger success out of the squad anyway. Our level is competing for Ulster titles and a wee bit short of beating the likes of Kerry and Mayo in Championship.
I'm not on the ground in Donegal, so I am obviously not anywhere near as informed as the likes of Martin McHugh would be about the available talent. Maybe there are players out there who should be being selected ahead of some of those on the pitch, but I'm not sure who. Ciaran Gillespie has been spoken about for five years as a big hope for centre back, and indeed impressed in the few county games he's played, as well as for Gaoth Dobhair, but if a lad is continually getting long-term injuries and never has a chance to stake a place, what can you do? MacNiallais made a huge difference when he came on yesterday, but he's not been fit either recently, and was unavailable for the last two seasons. There were some men who had quiet games yesterday, but have been star men on other occasions.
I did think Bonner should have acted to curb the influence of Cassidy up Derry's left wing. He caused huge problems for the first hour of the game before Derry tired, with the exception of that period before half time when Donegal got on top on the Derry kick-out. But I'm happy overall to see him moving the squad on from the defensive stuff that plumbed the depths under Rory Gallagher (sorry Rory - I know you're doing sterling work with Derry, and did so in the early McGuinness years with us).

2. Murphy - is there a county out there, with the exception of Dublin, who WOULDN'T be so reliant on a player of that ability and influence. He's the greatest talent the county has ever produced. Of course he elevates us. We wouldn't have won five Ulsters and an All Ireland over the last decade without him. We're going to slip back a bit when he retires. There's nothing anyone can do about that.

3."No doubt they will beat Tyrone"?? Seriously, do you REALLY believe that? This game is 50/50 at best, and in Tyrone's favour if Murphy is not fit. With the exception of you blowing us out in 2017 and us delivering a four point drubbing to you in 2019 (it should have been ten, at least), these games are always extremely tight.

[David McKeown]

From an impartial point of view I'm still undecided on Bonner. I think there's exceptional talent in Donegal at the minute and they are a top 4/5 team for which he must take a lot of credit a bit like Tyrone in the noughties so they should at a minimum be challenging for Ulsters and I don't know if the reason they haven't really challenged Dublin is due to poor management or bad luck.

The year McBrearty got injured I thought Donegal were as close to Dublin as anyone has been the last 5/6 years but they didn't come close. Part of that was obviously the loss of McBrearty but at the same time I don't think his injury explains solely how poor they became overnight that year.

Last year then would also raise question marks for me. I thought Donegal easily the best team in Ulster. Destroyed a decent Armagh team in the semi and then got comprehensively outplayed by a Cavan team that wouldn't have been much ahead of Armagh. Was that down to poor management, poor tactics, poor motivation/preparation? Or was it just that Cavan were inspired that day?   

[J70]

From an impartial point of view I'm still undecided on Bonner. I think there's exceptional talent in Donegal at the minute and they are a top 4/5 team for which he must take a lot of credit a bit like Tyrone in the noughties so they should at a minimum be challenging for Ulsters and I don't know if the reason they haven't really challenged Dublin is due to poor management or bad luck.

The year McBrearty got injured I thought Donegal were as close to Dublin as anyone has been the last 5/6 years but they didn't come close. Part of that was obviously the loss of McBrearty but at the same time I don't think his injury explains solely how poor they became overnight that year.

Last year then would also raise question marks for me. I thought Donegal easily the best team in Ulster. Destroyed a decent Armagh team in the semi and then got comprehensively outplayed by a Cavan team that wouldn't have been much ahead of Armagh. Was that down to poor management, poor tactics, poor motivation/preparation? Or was it just that Cavan were inspired that day?

They underestimated what Cavan would bring, having beaten them fairly handily the previous two seasons.

Not saying they felt they just had to show up or that Cavan wouldn't give them a tough enough game. They just appeared completely unprepared for the manic intensity and workrate which Cavan brought on the day.

And I guess at least part of the blame for that has to go to Bonner.

[twohands!!!]

One thing I can't understand about this Donegal team is the fact that they hardly ever kickpass it out of defence - something like 90% or 95% of the time when Donegal turn it over inside their own 45 it's pretty much guaranteed that it's going to be handpassed and run up the other end of the pitch allowing the oppostion plenty of time to get back and set up their defensive shape.

The thing is there have been occasions when Patton's long kickouts have meant that good quality ball has gone into the forwards with space to operate and Donegal have gotten good returns.

The running it out of defence all the time is something that every opposition team just love to see, which is reason number one why Donegal shouldn't do it.

I don't know is it a cultural thing or what but I reckon if Donegal changed their approach here it would benefit them significantly.

[skeog]

wet pitch winter sod

[thewobbler]

One thing I can't understand about this Donegal team is the fact that they hardly ever kickpass it out of defence - something like 90% or 95% of the time when Donegal turn it over inside their own 45 it's pretty much guaranteed that it's going to be handpassed and run up the other end of the pitch allowing the oppostion plenty of time to get back and set up their defensive shape.

The thing is there have been occasions when Patton's long kickouts have meant that good quality ball has gone into the forwards with space to operate and Donegal have gotten good returns.

The running it out of defence all the time is something that every opposition team just love to see, which is reason number one why Donegal shouldn't do it.

I don't know is it a cultural thing or what but I reckon if Donegal changed their approach here it would benefit them significantly.

I drive past Downings' field a couple of weeks ago and it re-registered why Donegal have a hand passing tradition. There's got be days up there where it's not possible to kick a ball forwards.

[twohands!!!]

One thing I can't understand about this Donegal team is the fact that they hardly ever kickpass it out of defence - something like 90% or 95% of the time when Donegal turn it over inside their own 45 it's pretty much guaranteed that it's going to be handpassed and run up the other end of the pitch allowing the oppostion plenty of time to get back and set up their defensive shape.

The thing is there have been occasions when Patton's long kickouts have meant that good quality ball has gone into the forwards with space to operate and Donegal have gotten good returns.

The running it out of defence all the time is something that every opposition team just love to see, which is reason number one why Donegal shouldn't do it.

I don't know is it a cultural thing or what but I reckon if Donegal changed their approach here it would benefit them significantly.

I drive past Downings' field a couple of weeks ago and it re-registered why Donegal have a hand passing tradition. There's got be days up there where it's not possible to kick a ball forwards.

Not sure if I buy this  - Would the weather conditions and pitches in Donegal be all that different from in Kerry or Mayo, who constantly kick the ball out of defence?

[thewobbler]

You're probably right. Donegal does seem to have an unusually high percentage of coastal clubs for such a large land mass. But it's probably more of a cultural concept than a weather-driven one.

[rodney trotter]

Donegal were always a handpass team,  before the McGuinnes era. I heard that too that the Coastal weather conditions the clubs played in resulted in a lot of handpassing.

[J70]

You're probably right. Donegal does seem to have an unusually high percentage of coastal clubs for such a large land mass. But it's probably more of a cultural concept than a weather-driven one.

Most of the clubs have pitches either on or very close to the coast. Apart from Glenfin, Pettigo, and the clubs in or near the Ballybofey/Lifford/Letterkenny area, I can't think of any that are not within a mile or two. Most of the towns in Donegal are coastal. Particularly in times gone by, the only level bit of ground you might be able to find in an area would have been down by the beach!

Wind and rain are a fact of life there. I remember many matches underage where the team playing against the wind would be almost penned in, decades before blanket defense was even a glint in Mickey Harte and Jim McGuinness's respective eyes!

No idea why hand passing was never a feature in Kerry though. They're a coastal county as well, at least the peninsular parts.

[maddog]

You're probably right. Donegal does seem to have an unusually high percentage of coastal clubs for such a large land mass. But it's probably more of a cultural concept than a weather-driven one.

Most of the clubs have pitches either on or very close to the coast. Apart from Glenfin, Pettigo, and the clubs in or near the Ballybofey/Lifford/Letterkenny area, I can't think of any that are not within a mile or two. Most of the towns in Donegal are coastal. Particularly in times gone by, the only level bit of ground you might be able to find in an area would have been down by the beach!

Wind and rain are a fact of life there. I remember many matches underage where the team playing against the wind would be almost penned in, decades before blanket defense was even a glint in Mickey Harte and Jim McGuinness's respective eyes!

No idea why hand passing was never a feature in Kerry though. They're a coastal county as well, at least the peninsular parts.

Late 70s Kerry were like the Harlem globetrotters

[tbrick18]

Devastated doesn't even cover how I'm feeling. I've been following Derry since 1990 and the last 10-15 years there hasn't been a whole lot to get excited about. I was excited today screaming at the TV and for 70 minutes thought we had it.

To a man the hunger and desire was there and it's been a while since that was the case. Yes we should have won the game but playing Div 3/4 over the past few years showed at crucial times in the game.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game and I'm just glad that this group have brought pride and competition back to the County. If we can keep things in place for next year there's no reason we couldn't challenge for Ulster and with more talent coming through the future is looking bright and we should be targeting CP in the next 2-3 years.

Also fair play to the minors as well huge game next week best of luck to all involved!!

Sums it up perfectly.
The closer the game came the more convinced I was that we were going to win. I still can't quite get my head around the fact that we didn't.
Some point by McBrearty to snatch it.
But if we'd taken even one of our goal chances we'd probably be sitting lined up for a semi final.
I don't know how that penalty wasn't awarded to McGuigan....so frustrating. But I guess the difference between the two teams was the efficiency in front of the posts. I saw a stat on the screen mid way through the second half on RTE. Derry had scored 10/16 chances where Donegal had scored 12/13 chances.  That's the difference, a very fine margin.

But, overall the signs for Derry are really good. Our senior team is competitive again and are playing as a team. Gallagher has done a tremendous job.
The age profile is good, we have the minors in an AI final so hopefully we'll get a few more quality players filtering through. I think we need to improve the bench as our subs didn't seem to make the impact the Donegal subs did, but hopefully that will come too.
A year of Div2 football and a further year of building under Gallagher and hopefully we'll be real contenders in Ulster at least.

[Armagh18]

Again an awful pity that Derry team don't get another day out, some serious talent in that side and Donegal had to dig deep. Could be 6 genuine Ulster contenders next year depending on where Cavan go next. Tyrone and Donegal unlikely to be any more than a kick of the ball between them, but Murphy will get Donegal over the line if fit I reckon.

I know we definitely have it in us to beat Monaghan, the ability is there it's just the cuteness/ruthlessness to see games out as usual that could kill us. Definitely a game that could go either way and if we get over this, it's a free swipe at Donegal or Tyrone in the final.