THERE is nothing quite like a confident, eloquent and sunny soul. So when iconic pundit Brendan Devenney tells you that Donegal will not only beat Cork, but are also capable of competing with the Dubs, it is really time to take some notice.
The Tir Chonaill men were just edged out by a Tyrone side that out Donegal-ed them 10 days ago and the players and management have been taking some flak about, tactical failures. But Devenney is convinced that the Donegal players and management will take no notice as they eye Cork through the back door on Saturday.
“I know there has been a bit of flak flying and certainly there were questions about how we dealt with Tyrone,” said Devenney.
“I still think that whoever can beat Tyrone or Donegal will be a really serious side. A lot of people have been asking questions about why Leo McLoone is not getting on the team. He was brilliant in last year’s county final and has not figured all that much since, but in fairness to Rory and other managers, teams are usually picked on form in training and we don’t be at the Donegal team training sessions. But all this criticism won’t flinch this bunch of players. Most of them have been around for a very long time and their entire focus will be on Cork who are a team we are very capable of beating.”
So why did Donegal not beat Tyrone in the Ulster final: “When we went 0-8 to 0-4 up, I thought we had a great chance,” said Devenney.
“But we conceded a few handy scores, I thought that if we held possession for long enough out around the middle of the field they would eventually be forced to come out and attack us. I know this is all hindsight, but I also thought that we could maybe have been a bit tighter on Sean Cavanagh and Peter Harte towards the end of the match.
“As there was so little between the sides it was always going to come down to who was going to have that bit of magic and Tyrone had it. But at one stage we had Ryan McHugh on Cavanagh which is a pretty unfair match-up. And then Peter Harte kicked another wonderful point and there was no way back.”
For Devenney, Tyrone have taken Jim McGuinness’s improvisation on Mickey Harte’s original plan to new heights: “They won last week with their inside forwards barely functioning,” adds Devenney.
“But Cork have some really fine forwards in Colm O’Neill and Paul Kerrigan. Individually, Cork have as good a forward line as there is in the country, but they are really lacking collectively. Unlike Tyrone, they have no real structure, but are capable of hurting you if they get a good start.”
The former Donegal ace is adamant Rory Gallagher’s side must keep matters very tight during the early stages of a game: “Cork showed what they are capable of in last year’s drawn Munster Championship clash with Kerry,” he said.
“They are not very consistent and Donegal have handled them pretty well in the NFL, but if they get ahead, they can be very dangerous”.
For Devenney, Saturday’s match should give his native county a chance to express themselves: “I would think the boys should be able to have a go more,” he added.
“And we do need to try and get the ball into the danger zone to the likes of Michael Murphy and Paddy McBrearty a bit more than we did against Tyrone. Kieran Gillespie was actually free once or twice and that was not spotted, but I believe we will have a few more gaps against Cork.”
But the somewhat dubious prize for the winners on Saturday will be a date with Dublin. And the Dubs certainly owe Donegal one after that chastening All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park two years ago. But, for Devenney the prize is a “massive carrot”.
“In one sense the Dubs won’t be dying about playing Donegal and in another they will feel that they owe us one,” he said.
“But first we have to get over Cork and I believe that we can do just that.”
