Allianz NFL Division One semi-final: Dublin v Donegal (tomorrow, 4pm, Croke Park)
WHEN it’s come the time of year where they need to win, Donegal have found the way more often than not in the last five years.
Their Championship credentials are well enough established to see them head the bookies’ lists beyond reigning champions Monaghan and an impressive-looking Tyrone side.
No doubt they will find their way in some eight weeks’ time, when they become the last of the Ulster sides to engage in Championship action.
Their June 12 date with the winners of Fermanagh and Antrim means that they are some way off the pitch they would expect to be in summer.
And perhaps that explains the nature of their performance against Dublin a couple of weeks ago.
When Donegal stormed Croke Park and won that famous All-Ireland semi-final two-and-a-half years ago, they did it largely because of their breathtaking conditioning levels.
They visibly weren’t at that level a few weeks ago, when they battened down the hatches in a display reminiscent of their 2011 performance at the same stage.
Ultimately, it ended in defeat by Dublin. Donegal simply didn’t score enough to win that game. And their 0-7 a fortnight ago was never going to beat Jim Gavin’s side.
Rory Gallagher’s side lacked the verve to go and win the game. The lack of verve came from the lack of need. Six points was going to be enough to keep them in Division One as long as they kept the score down that night.
And, as it turned out, six points was enough to take them into a semi-final, while Cork were relegated on the same tally.
Rory Gallagher has made no bones about their intentions. Their stated aim prior to the League starting was to stay in the top flight. Three wins from their first three games allowed them to ease off the gas for a few weeks.
They did so to the point of losing their last four, squandering an early buffer in Castleblayney to hand Monaghan a psychological boost last weekend.
“I said after the first three games we have not done a lot of work given the age profile of the players,” Gallagher said afterwards.
“I think that is definitely a factor but I wouldn’t say it is the only factor that we have tired in the last 10 or 15 minutes.”
Andy Watters and Neil Loughran give their thoughts on tomorrow's other semi-final clash between Roscommon and Kerry
Eamon McGee was even more concise: “If you were to pick it, it’s where we want to be. Stutter along through the league, maintain your position, and then press the button for championship.”
Dublin are further down the road. The fact that they have won all seven League games en route to a stab at what would be a fourth successive Division One title will obviously please Jim Gavin.
But what will encourage him deeper is that they possess the joint-best defensive record in the top three divisions, along with Tyrone.
They conceded just four goals in the League, one of them that Stephen Cluxton howler against Down.
Dublin will be so pleased by that statistic because of the apparent gaping hole left by the departure of Rory O’Carroll.
They have had issues in terms of finding the marquee man-marker to replace the New Zealand-bound full-back, but it hasn’t affected their overall solidity.
David Byrne was the one entrusted on the edge of the square against the isolated Patrick McBrearty two weeks ago, but Michael Fitzsimons, Philly McMahon and Jonny Cooper have also been tried out.
It doesn’t appear that Gavin is convinced by any of them quite yet, and that will be a concern to him heading into the summer.
But while they lost a shot at an All-Ireland in that 2014 semi-final, Dublin built their structural solidity from the rubble.
Two years ago, they certainly couldn’t have coped with losing O’Carroll and Jack McCaffrey. Time will tell just how solid that structure is now but with Cian O’Sullivan now invaluable to their shape, the early prognosis is that they will survive it.
Stephen Cluxton has dipped in and out of the team so far, while Bernard Brogan, Paul Flynn and Diarmuid Connolly have all had very limited game time in attack.
Dean Rock (1-30) and Cormac Costello (1-20) have filled the breach, but Dublin haven’t quite been their prolific selves. They have yet to blitz anyone, and their 8-89 is the lowest they’ve tallied in the League in the last four years.
But any other team that was minus such talent would have done well to qualify for a semi-final. Dublin won seven from seven.
If Donegal come with intentions of committing to the counter, they could manage a surprise. But another damage limitations effort will surely be just that.
Dublin results
Jan 30: Dublin 2-14 Kerry 0-14
Feb 6: Mayo 0-7 Dublin 0-9
Feb 27: Dublin 1-14 Monaghan 0-16
Mar 5: Dublin 2-14 Cork 2-10
Mar 12: Down 1-7 Dublin 1-15
Mar 26: Dublin 1-10 Donegal 0-7
Apr 3: Roscommon 1-12 Dublin 1-13
Donegal results
Jan 30: Down 0-7 Donegal 3-15
Feb 7: Donegal 2-14 Cork 1-7
Feb 28: Donegal 1-14 Mayo 1-12
Mar 6: Kerry 1-13 Donegal 1-8
Mar 13: Donegal 0-17 Roscommon 1-19
Mar 26: Dublin 1-10 Donegal 0-7
Apr 3: Monaghan 1-10 Donegal 1-9
Donegal scorers (total 8-76)
M Murphy 1-29
P McBrearty 1-25
O Mac Niallais 1-11
Ryan McHugh 2-4
L McLoone 1-2
M O’Reilly 1-1
A Thompson 0-3
M McElhinney 1-0
E McHugh 0-2
R Kavanagh 0-2
F McGlynn 0-2
C Thompson 0-2
E McGee 0-1
C Toye 0-1
N Gallagher 0-1
Dublin scorers (total 8-89)
D Rock 1-30
C Costello 1-20
D Connolly 3-4
P Andrews 1-8
K McManamon 0-6
P McMahon 1-2
J McCarthy 1-1
C Kilkenny 0-3
P Flynn 0-3
S Carthy 0-2
E Ó Conghaile 0-2
C McHugh 0-1
J Small 0-1
B Brogan 0-1
J Cooper 0-1
D Bastick 0-1
B Fenton 0-1
P Mannion 0-1
T Brady 0-1
