Football

We need to sort out our slow starts in games: Donegal ace Patrick McBrearty

Patrick McBrearty has hit 0-20 in three games for Donegal as they advanced to the League semi-finals
Patrick McBrearty has hit 0-20 in three games for Donegal as they advanced to the League semi-finals Patrick McBrearty has hit 0-20 in three games for Donegal as they advanced to the League semi-finals

PATRICK McBrearty says Donegal must address their slow starts in games if they are to make any impression on this year’s Championship following Saturday night’s draw against Armagh that preserved their Division One status for next season.

The Kilcar ace pulled the Tir Chonaill men out of a tight corner thanks to a sublime display in front of the posts. McBrearty hit 0-8 (0-3 frees) that was enough to keep their hosts at bay.

Last week, Monaghan hit Donegal with an early blitz and led their hosts in Ballybofey by six and seven points at different stages before Declan Bonner’s men clawed back to snatch a draw.

Finishing matches doesn’t seem to be a problem – Donegal nailed the last four points against Armagh to avoid defeat – but they were slow out of the blocks for a second consecutive week.

It didn’t help that Michael Murphy, their leader, limped out of the Monaghan game with a hamstring strain after just five minutes.

“Last week it gave us a bit of confidence,” said McBrearty.

“With Michael off [against Monaghan] it probably took us 10 minutes to adapt to the situation. We started slowly against Armagh and that is definitely something we’re going to have to analyse.

“But there are a couple of very good young fellas who are playing four or five years now for Donegal, so experience shouldn’t be an issue for them.”

Armagh raced into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes after some lethal finishing from Stefan ‘Soupy’ Campbell, and they still led by four at the break.

But in the second half, as they did against Monaghan, Donegal chipped away at their opponents' lead and did enough to grab a share of the spoils and finish top of Division One North.

“I thought we were fortunate to be the position we were in at half-time,” McBrearty admitted.

“Armagh came out of the blocks and we took some bad shot selections and we were fortunate to be where we were at half-time [trailing 0-10 to 0-6].”

In that difficult first half McBrearty offered some resistance by hitting three points before grabbing back-to-back points from play in stoppage-time that gave Donegal’s comeback impetus.

By virtue of finishing in top spot, Declan Bonner’s men will advance to a somewhat meaningless semi-final against Dublin with no prospect of the decider being played due to the close proximity of the Ulster Championship.

If the two finalists play one another in the Championship, it will double up as the NFL League final.

Saturday night was the first time in over 14 months a limited number of supporters were allowed back into inter-county matches.

The 450, mostly Armagh supporters, made plenty of noise – and McBrearty welcomed their return despite incurring the wrath of some when being turned over on the stand side in the first half.

“It did make a difference in fairness,” said McBrearty, who has amassed 0-20 (0-9 placed balls) in Donegal’s three games.

“You were getting turnovers and you were getting no abuse for the last eight months or more, and I then was turned over in the corner [against Armagh] and you could feel it alright.”

Asked if there have been any positives from playing behind closed doors, he said: “There’s not as much pressure to be honest. The crowd will be a factor for some players, some of the more experienced players it probably wouldn’t but it was good to have some fans back.”

Meanwhile, Donegal boss Declan Bonner heaped praise on St Michael’s half-forward Michael Langan who ran more than half of the field to net against Armagh on Saturday night.

“Michael is 6ft 3in, 6ft 4in, he’s athletic, he’s mobile and he’s a footballer, a real good footballer," said Bonner.

"But there is good competition for places. We lost Oisin Gallen who picked up a knock. Jamie Brennan is out and Michael Murphy is out but there’s competition up there and I was very happy with Conor O’Donnell who came on and scored a couple of points.”