By Matthew Wilson

FORMER Donegal net-minder Mark Anthony McGinley believes Shaun Patton is undoubtedly one of the best in the business as the St Eunan’s man prepares for his 100th Donegal outing in Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final against Meath.

The dynamic of being an intercounty goalkeeper has certainly changed in the last number of years. Managers began to look at getting the most out of their number one, with some selecting an outfielder in goals to use as an extra player going forward.

The rule changes implemented this year has forced many teams to revert back to the traditional goalkeeper but it has transitioned into one of the most important positions on the field.

“It’s changed massively in the last year, even throughout this season it’s changed.

“At the start of the year a lot of teams were putting outfield players in nets to create an extra man up the pitch but since the rule change they’ve reverted back to traditional ‘keepers bar the likes of (Ethan) Rafferty, (Rory) Beggan and (Niall) Morgan”, said McGinley.

The St Michael’s clubman feels that in previous eras you may have gotten away with not being the greatest of goalkeepers but the modern game demands so much now and you’ve got to be a ‘jack of all trades’.

“The kick-out is so important now, it has to go outside the arc and they’ve extended the arc from the old D.

“If you go back five years, in terms of goalkeeping you didn’t need to be a great goalkeeper to be in goals because over the course of a season you might’ve only got four or five shots if you were a good side who were well set up.

“Now the game’s so open that you have to be a good kicker of the ball, good on the ball and with the openness you have to be a good goalkeeper again. You need to be comfortable under the highball as well, particularly since the introduction of the two-pointer as you’ve got more efforts that are dropping short. You have to be a jack of all trades now.”

Patton is set to become the ninth member of the current Donegal panel to make 100 appearances when the Ulster champions face the Royal County in Sunday’s last-four encounter.

He’ll join Michael Murphy, Patrick McBrearty, Ryan McHugh, Ciaran Thompson, Eoghan ‘Ban’ Gallagher, Michael Langan, Hugh McFadden and Jamie Brennan in reaching the century mark.

Having lined out for Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division in 2017, Patton was offered the chance to come into the Donegal panel by Declan Bonner in 2018 and has been ever present since.

When asked about the Letterkenny native, McGinley tagged him as one of the best in the business, up there alongside the country’s other top goalkeepers.

“Since Shaun’s come in he’s been brilliant, he’s been one of the best in the country. You’ve got Stephen Cluxton, Niall Morgan, Rory Beggan and Shaun for the last five or six years. His kicking is top notch, he’s one of the best in the country over long distance.”

McGinley was involved in the Donegal set-up when Patton first arrived on the scene in 2018.

From his training days alongside the St Eunan’s man, McGinley knows the volume of work that Patton puts in behind the scenes in order to master his craft.

“It’s no real surprise, from when he came in it’s all hard work.

“He came in and he hadn’t too much of a background in Gaelic, he mostly played soccer as a youngster. Most people probably wouldn’t know but I saw it from being in there, the work he put in every night after training. He was staying maybe 30 or 45 minutes after training kicking ball after ball just perfecting it.”

He continued: “You see the result of that with what he’s able to do with a football now. He can thread the eye of a needle, he can put it wherever he wants it to go and the distance he can get on it is a massive weapon for Donegal.

“That long kick-out that gets flicked on, with the runners that Donegal have it’s a weapon to have in your arsenal. All credit to him because it’s all down to hard work.”