National Footbal League Division One

DONEGAL’S Hugh McFadden says he’s looking forward to taking on Kerry this weekend.

However, he said that Donegal are expecting a different test than the one they got against Tyrone last weekend.

“Kerry will probably approach the game differently. They have a different style of football than what we faced the last day.

“That will pose us different questions but we’re looking forward to it.

“We’re looking forward to getting a good game against a lot of very good players.

“I thought they were impressive on Saturday evening against Monaghan.

“It will be exciting for us now to play against them this weekend.”

Saturday afternoon offers a real treat for the GAA fan as Kerry and Donegal go to battle in Austin Stack Park.

Were there no Covid-19 pandemic to worry about, hands to be washed, masks to be worn, this is a game that would attract fans in their thousands.

The champion has yet to be decided, and with no relegation on offer, the treat is watching these two teams going head to head.

Last weekend, Donegal showed their mettle to see off Tyrone by 2-17 to 2-13. The Red Hands had their returning star Conor McKenna in their number, yet Declan Bonner’s side were fit for Mickey Harte’s team.

That game proferred an exciting taste of what is to come when the two meet again in the championship next weekend.

Kerry played Monaghan last Saturday, and won by three points. The Farney tend to give the Kingdom their fill of it and that game was no exception. Yet Kerry were purring.

They led by 0-10 to 0-6 at half time and were well worth that lead.

David Clifford, Jason Foley and Tony Brosnan caught the eye.

Yet in the second half Conor McManus reminded us that Kerry can be got at.

With that in mind, Donegal should be looking forward to testing their shooting boots against Peter Keane’s team. Donegal may or may not want to get the win this weekend, but they certainly will be keen to get sharp ahead of the following weekend’s championship clash.

Kerry can win the league on Saturday after all, so Donegal should have a test on their hands.

From a Donegal perspective it was nice to see eight different players registering scores. Michael Murphy hit 0-6, five from frees. Their goals came from Peadar Mogan and Jamie Brennan. It is also good to see the likes of Niall O’Donnell, Caolan McGonagle and Andrew McClean getting on the scoresheet.

So from a scoring perspective, Donegal may feel good about themselves.

What about at the other end of the field? That may be where the concern comes.

Tyrone had not been able to put more than 14 points on the board in four games from round two to round five. Yet Donegal allowed them to score 19. Tyrone hadn’t scored two goals in league or championship since they put two majors past Cork in the ‘Super Eights.’

But, Declan Bonner can probably safely argue that the long lay off means that his team needs time to get back into the swing of things.

We’ll see where that swing takes them on Saturday at Austin Stack Park.