DERRY’S GLASS JIMMY’S STILL WINNING MATCHES
A decade on, not much has really changed
HERE’S my new trick, same as the old trick.
That might as well have been the talk Jim McGuinness gave to his Donegal players when they started preparations to take on Derry.
The comparisons with the famous win over Dublin 10 years ago were uncanny.
Donegal had a combined total of 23 points in 2014, conceding 0-17.
On Saturday in Celtic Park, Donegal had a combined tally of 23 points, conceding 0-17...
Just as a decade ago, Donegal made inroads through long kickouts that were flicked on for runners coming at pace.
And just as a decade ago, Donegal nullified the main threats on the other team. Diarmuid Connolly did shine in that game.
On Saturday, all of Derry’s main men were kept quiet.
A decade ago, one of Donegal’s priorities was keeping a clean sheet. On Saturday, Derry didn’t have a single goal chance.
There’s a lot of mystique around the way McGuinness operates but some things are really obvious.
His teams are always incredibly fit, and their work ethic is exemplary. Every player knows what is required of him and they run themselves into the ground.
This was the biggest statement made by any team in this year’s Championship.
Anyone who watched the Division One and Two finals would have noted the difference in quality and intensity between both games.
But it was Donegal that looked the Division One team on Saturday.
That is down to the McGuinness factor.
Of course, if you look at the AllIreland race, does it really make much difference?
Derry have time to regroup now and rethink — especially the way they’ve been using Odhran Lynch as a fly goalkeeper.
Whatever merit the tactic has in open play, you could see a lot of teams abandoning it now when facing kick-outs.
Tactic
Why on earth did they continue with the tactic after conceding the first goal? A club team would stop it straightaway.
Maybe there was a bit of arrogance to Derry, maybe they took a Donegal team without two of their best players for granted.
They were really flat for most of the game and that brings up an issue with the way
Mickey Harte has used his squad.
He went with close to his fullstrength team from the McKenna Cup final and all through the League.
The Glen players were brought back in straightaway too.
I think that might have backfired. Mentally and physically, you run out of juice.
Derry didn’t need Conor Glass starring in February and March, they needed him to do it on Saturday.
But look at what lies ahead for Donegal. Another huge game next Sunday against Tyrone. If they win that, they’d likely play Armagh in the Ulster final.
That would be three massive tests, and then a short break before going into the All-Ireland series. Contrast that with, say, Kerry. They were way off their best against Cork. David Clifford was well marked — Cork have done that a few times now — and his