KEVIN CASSSIDY: Final has makings of a classic

IT wasn’t to be for Donegal on Sunday in Croke Park as the better team won on the day. We were beaten by a more efficient Galway side.

I penned here last week that I felt that two things would determine the outcome of this game.

Number one was Donegal’s lack of a kicking game and how I felt that we would struggle to beat one of the top teams in Croke Park without a kicking game and that’s exactly how it transpired.

The second one was the key match-ups, and I felt Galway got theirs bang on with the likes of Peadar Morgan and Ryan McHugh taken completely out of the game.

There is no doubt that the Donegal support are happy with the progress this year, but Jim and those players will know deep down that they may not get a better chance of landing Sam again. That’s what will hurt the most.

When Dublin exited the championship and then with Armagh dumping Kerry out, it was wide open for a newcomer so the Donegal squad and management will be sick that they didn’t grab that opportunity.

For me, now, the most important thing is that they must learn from this because I really don’t think you can win an All-Ireland without a kicking game, so perhaps that’s the next step in the process.

The players will return to the clubs now but I’m sure that Jim will already be plotting for next year. I do honestly think that we need a shift in approach because on the biggest days against the biggest teams, I think it’s just impossible to play a full on hand-pass game. It saps the energy completely out of the players.

For me, Galway mixed it up perfectly last weekend with a balance of the running game whilst also letting it go along on a number of occasions.

Heading into the final stretch, it was the Galway players that seemed to have more in the legs.

From a Donegal point of view, an Ulster title in Jim’s first year back is a massive achievement and we must be thankful for that.

Only time will tell if the gates of an All-Ireland will open up just as easily as they did this year.

Full credit must go to Kieran McGeeney and hisArmagh squad of players because after have been written off on so many occasions, they just stuck to their process and they have gained their just rewards.

With Kerry and Dublin both gone, I actually think that this year‘s championship final day will have that extra bit of excitement to it.

Add in the fact that these two teams can play open expansive football when they want, then we just might get a cracker on All-Ireland final day.

McGeeney has been there for 10 years and he has suffered some serious stick along the way. What he has managed to do in those 10 years is build a really competitive and strong panel and I think that Armagh are reaping those rewards now.

They are now blessed with the luxury that every time they empty their bench they get an immediate impact. At this stage of the season particularly, that is absolutely massive and it might just prove to be the difference in the end.

What a fortnight both of these counties have now in the build up to this massive game. For the neutral looking on, what a final we have to look forward to. So, all going well, this year’s All Ireland final may be one to remember.