McGee pleased the extra yards paid off

By Matthew Wilson

JASON McGee was delighted with Donegal’s win last weekend in Kerry as they began the All-Ireland series on a positive note.

It came after the disappointment of their shock Ulster Championship exit and weeks of hard work to prepare for the trip to the Kingdom.

“It was a good performance”, McGee said of their third win over Kerry this season. “We were probably a bit upset with how we fared in the Ulster Championship this year.

“It gave us a few weeks to knuckle down, get the ball rolling again and line up Kerry for a few weeks down the line.

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“Unfortunately this year, we fell short against Down but we had a few weeks break there. We’re not usually used to that but it might’ve stood in our favour there today (Saturday).”

Fitzgerald Stadium is a venue that has become a fortress for Kerry in championship football, losing once there in the last 28 years.

It’s been a challenging hunting ground for away outfits over the years but the large travelling support made themselves heard in Killarney and the Donegal players matched their energy.

With the knowledge of the impressive record that the Kingdom held in their own backyard, McGee stated that they needed to produce a strong display to prevail which they managed to do. “We knew we had to be on our game coming down here. Kerry was always going to be a very tough opponent and not many teams come down here and come away with anything at all.

“We just had to come down here, put our best foot forward and thankfully today we came out on the right end.”

A notable statistic from last Saturday’s encounter was Donegal’s efficiency in front of the posts throughout proceedings.

Jim McGuinness’s outfit finished the contest with two wides, one in either half, and kicked in entirety of their 2-20 from open play.

This is something that will probably please the Donegal management team when they reflect on the match and the Falcarragh native expressed that it was key to getting a result against Jack O’Connor’s side.

“Yeah, that’s probably very important down here especially against Kerry, that we don’t turn the ball over easily and we put away our chances. Thankfully, today we did that.”