SOME teams embrace the Qualifiers as a second opportunity; others allow the negative mindset from a defeat to suck the life out of their challenge.
You must learn from defeats, but it’s important not to question everything about your own game and the set-up within the squad. We only have to look at Roscommon to see the negative impact that a tough provincial final loss can have on a team. Roscommon had looked to be making great progress this year under the management of Kevin McStay and Fergal O’Donnell.
However, the nature of their Connacht final defeat to Galway proved too much to overcome and they were well beaten by Clare last weekend. A season that was full of promise and hope will now be looked back on as a poor one. Donegal have the benefit of a two-week gap to get over their Ulster final defeat to Tyrone.
It’s important to remember that they looked like winning the Ulster title with just a few minutes to go and were only denied by some brilliant score-taking from Tyrone. The outlook for the team would be a lot different if they had held on to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup.
The fine margins that decide games tend to have people creating massive gaps between the winners and losers. However, I cannot see Donegal improving as a team in the near future. The performances of some of their players have been on a downward curve over the last couple of years, albeit from a very high level. The most significant of those are Karl Lacey and Michael Murphy. Lacey, at his best, was the heartbeat of the team with his ability to combine man-marking, superb covering and incisive attacking play.
Unfortunately, the continual injuries he has suffered over the last few seasons means he can only play a supporting role rather than allowing his play driving the team on. The role of Michael Murphy in the team is the most disappointing aspect for me. Murphy is every full-back’s nightmare with this ability to win both low and high ball, as well as being deadly accurate. However, I struggle to remember too many occasions over the last couple of years when we’ve seen him win a ball in the full-forward line and turn to kick a score.
Rory Gallagher has decided to play him in the middle third on a regular basis. On the rare occasions that Murphy played inside against Tyrone, Donegal never even looked to kick the ball towards him. If the tactical side of the sport means that a brilliant inside forward like Michael Murphy cannot positively influence a game there, we may as well all give up. What really makes his role difficult to understand is that I don’t believe Murphy has any major impact out the field.
Games regularly pass him by and he doesn’t stand out as the top class player that he is. Donegal are taking away their best attacking option in order to have Murphy do an average job further out the pitch. If I was a Donegal man I would want to see a bit more variation in their attacking gameplan.
Defensively they still remain strong, with both Monaghan and Tyrone struggling to break them down. Their major weakness is the one-dimensional nature of their play going forward. In the second half against Tyrone, they looked like a team happy to retain possession and run the clock.
When the best teams have their opponents on the back foot they drive home their advantage. Donegal lacked that ruthlessness. To break down the best defences you need to mix up your game by kicking to the inside forwards, be patient by retaining possession and run the ball at pace.
Donegal have a lot of the pieces required for playing that game with Patrick McBrearty and Murphy to play inside, and Ryan McHugh, Odhran Mac Niallais and Frank McGlynn to find gaps in the defence with their running game. However, the fear of leaving their defence more exposed is stopping them from being more aggressive in possession.
The big question is does this Donegal team have the stomach for the fight. They should be able to answer enough of those questions in Croke Park on Saturday against a Cork team that continually fail to deliver. However, I think it will only delay the inevitable of a season that will end with a defeat.
