1. That last-minute chance
DONEGAL STAYED RESOLUTE to the finish and nearly fashioned a last-gasp goal to save the day. They engineered a movement up the pitch which featured Dermot Molloy and Michael Murphy making attacking thrusts in injury-time. The ball pinged around the goalmouth and finally Colm McFadden got to it but he slapped it against the post.
Kerry cleared their lines and Donegal’s hopes were dashed. They failed to hit the net today and some of their biggest wins in Croke Park under McGuinness have been founded on the injection of confidence that they get from raising a green flag. Think of 2012 against Kerry and Mayo along with this year against Armagh and Dublin. Today they drew a blank.
2. Rocked by the concession of goals
Donegal know all about the powerful boost that early goals can provide in an All-Ireland final. In 2012 they struck decisively in the opening stages to wound Mayo twice. Today their rearguard was pierced within the opening minute and again in telling fashion in the second-half.
They will have cause for regret at the concession of those strikes. The first one saw Paul Geaney use his height advantage to field over Paddy McGrath and Donegal’s defensive unit looked on helplessly as Geaney swiftly found the net. The second one was a nightmare for Paul Durcan as his short kickout was a gift for Kieran Donaghy to unwrap. Those two moments rocked Donegal.
3. Donegal’s attacking return
Jim McGuinness saw his side amass 12 points today, nine of them from play. Only one of those efforts came from a forward who started the match – Michael Murphy’s 37th minute point which incidentally was the score that helped Donegal lead for the only time on the day. Indeed it had taken Donegal 28 minutes in the first-half to strike from play when Odhrán MacNiallais drew on the ball on the ground and it flashed over.
Donegal’s substitutes made an impact as Patrick McBrearty, Christy Toye and Dermot Molloy shared out 0-4 between them. However their starting attack did not punch enough holes in Kerry’s defence with Ryan McHugh, the star against Dublin, held scoreless. The Kingdom’s defence was spearheaded by Marc Ó Sé and Aidan O’Mahony as they shut down the Donegal forward line.
4. Donegal don’t kick on in the third quarter
Donegal have become famed under Jim McGuinness for the power and strength of their second-half showings. They emerge after the interval in a determined mood and go about the business of putting a game to bed. They bounced back from the concession of an early goal today to get to grips with the match and draw level at the interval.
Then Michael Murphy pointed early in the second-half to push Donegal ahead and they looked poised to produce one of their famed bursts for the finish line. Yet the game stayed ragged as both sides shooting was poor and Kerry’s defence proved tough for Donegal to unlock. By the midway point of the second-half, Donegal were not in the ascendancy on the scoreboard and then the game turned upon Donaghy’s goal
5. The future for Jim McGuinness
It’s been a golden period for Donegal football since Jim McGuinness took control for the start of the 2011 season. Three Ulster titles and an All-Ireland crown have followed. They lost an All-Ireland semi-final and an All-Ireland final. The north-west has become accustomed to being a big player on the main football days of August and September.
There were question marks over McGuinness’s future after the shellacking Donegal suffered against Mayo last year. He came back to do another magnificent job and almost delivered Sam once more. But success eluded them and it’ll be intriguing to see whether he opts to go again. His four-year term ended today. Will he return for a fifth year in 2015?
