Joe Brolly – Donegal are coming

THE warm-ups before the game in Clones were a sign of things to come. To the right, Cavan, employing a static, predictable routine. To the left, Donegal, smoothly running through a bewildering array of complex drills, players weaving in and out, working goals, points, executing delicate hand-passes under fierce pressure, moving seamlessly from one routine to another, coach Stephen Rochford in the midst of them, orchestrating this organized chaos. This wasn’t so much warming up the bodies as warming up the minds.

I had seen another team using this type of pre-match routine many times before. The similarities with Corofin didn’t end with the warm-up. From the throw-in, this was a team that was part McGuinness, part Corofin and it was clear that the outcome was inevitable.

By half-time the score was 0-13 to 0-5 and it could have been a lot worse if Jamie Brennan had taken a split second longer before shooting for goal and Paddy McGrath had hand-passed across the square to the unmarked McBrearty instead of shooting for goal himself.

If the kick-out strategies were classic Corofin, then Shaun Patton’s restarts were reminiscent of a great golfer, chatting with his caddy before selecting the right club, then putting, chipping, slicing and driving the ball around the greens with incredible accuracy.

Four times he drove his kick-out over the top into the space vacated by the right half-forward for Murphy and Thompson to run on to, setting attacks in motion. Twice, he sliced inch-perfect kicks to McGrath and then Odhran McFadden-Ferry as they waited on the right touchline, skimming the size 5 agonisingly out of reach of the Cavan forwards.

This wasn’t so much championship football as championship golf. One would not have been surprised if halfway through the second half, just for the hell of it, Patton had landed a kick-out through the open window of the press box into the arms of Martin McHugh.

As Cavan chased shadows, Donegal feasted on Galligan’s long kick-outs, winning five out of seven in the first half alone. Their kick-out press was another lynchpin of their victory. A number of commentators suggested that Donegal played a blanket defence but they do nothing of the sort. Instead, they play a Dublin-style tracker defence, where the forwards drop off their men by around 10 metres, stay goalside of them, then engage them when they come to the mid-line.

This has the effect of slowing the opposition down as they come out of their own defence, denying them an overlap on a counter-attack, and congesting their attacking area. It has the additional crucial advantage of meaning that each opposition player is being man-marked, so there is no confusion on the part of the defensive team as to who is marking whom.

With Hugh McFadden playing the Cian O’Sullivan sweeping role on the ‘21’, Donegal tackling ferociously without fouling and playing with total courage and commitment, Cavan were subjected to a brutal shut-out.

The real joy of this performance was Donegal’s attacking play. Cavan worked very hard and got 12 and 13 men behind the ‘45’, but Donegal cut them to pieces, three and four of them working in little pockets of space along the flanks, working the ball slowly at times, then suddenly accelerating, catching the cover off guard, and showing great kicking skills to execute their chances.

First, they drew them out by kicking scores from 35 yards. Then, as their lead mounted and Cavan were forced out, they went for the jugular, creating easy scoring chances inside the danger area. Cavan worked hard but there was nothing they could do against an opposition that was virtually flawless in every aspect of the game.

Superb kick-outs. Top class high-fielding. Terrific tackling. Lethal right and left-footed free takers. Flying-machines everywhere. Absolute conviction.

Voracious appetite. At the half-time whistle, Mickey Graham could be seen anxiously talking into his mic, presumably explaining that he would be home in good time for the Sunday dinner.

Thing is, Cavan didn’t do much wrong. They worked hard but were ruthlessly outworked. They tackled hard but Donegal walked through them anyway. They ran hard but Donegal ran harder. In every part of the contest they were overmatched.

On the morning of the All-Ireland semi-final in 2014, I wrote a column predicting that Donegal would beat Dublin, under the headline “Even the Greatest Can be floored – Donegal possess the tactical nous to land knockout blow.” To this day, that Donegal team has been the only group to beat Jim Gavin’s Dublin in championship football.

Most teams are now terrified of the Dubs. On Sunday, we saw an excellent example of this, as Meath succumbed to pure fear and played like a Division Four team. The game was over before it started, with the Dubs able to canter through it.

Mayo have come and gone, never quite possessing the cajones to beat them. Tyrone are all over the place, with a manager who is tactically confused and a team that is playing accordingly. Kerry are solo-runners, wide open at the back (Cork could easily have had five goals against them last weekend), refusing to build their game plan around the man who may well be the greatest forward the game has seen.

Sadly, the young giant Clifford has been reduced to a bit player performing the odd trick, by a dumb strategy that will guarantee failure. Connacht has gotten so poor, with a frightened Mayo and a disastrously mismanaged Galway leaving a plucky but mediocre Roscommon to win two Connacht titles in the last three.

But finally, a contender for the Dublin crown has emerged. Donegal are not afraid of anyone. They have a sprinkling of veterans with All-Ireland medals. They have a group of young, powerful, skillful flying machines. Their ’keeper is a delight. They possess excellent strategies for every aspect of the game. And in Michael Murphy they have a leader by example, who ensures the group is never overawed and always keeps its feet on the ground.

I watched the match again on TV when I got home, but the TV does not do Donegal justice. I tipped them to win an All-Ireland when I saw them in the flesh in a McKenna Cup game in 2011. I backed them to beat the Dubs in 2014 because of what I saw watching them in the quarter-final that year. It would be premature to tip them for Sam this year, but one thing is sure, they are a serious team, who unlike the others, are not afraid.

Declan Bonner’s inspired decision to bring in Stephen Rochford and give him freedom over the game plan has been fully vindicated. How ironic that another self-inflicted Mayo loss may turn out to be Donegal’s greatest gain.

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