RAY SILKE: Three reasons Donegal defeated Tyrone
There is nothing new about this Donegal tactic now, but it worked a treat once again yesterday against a very experienced team.
Tyrone only scored 10 points and had just one small sniff of a goal chance. In fact — and this is a big if — if there is a team to beat them this year, they will have to find a way of breaking down their defence.
Unless a team can find some system of beating that yellow mobile Panzer division, it is impossible to see them beating the All-Ireland champions. Once a Donegal attack breaks down, all their forwards run back towards their defence and create a line on their 45. They are like a python then. They suck the opposition into their grip. Squeeze them, gobble them up, until they cough up the ball and break at pace.
Michael Murphy is McGuinness’s on-field lieutenant. The captain is given a licence to go where he deems appropriate.
Yesterday Murphy caught kick-outs, won ball in his full back line — just before his dishonourable dive, after Joe McMahon’s silly trip — drove in the free for Donegal’s first goal and also kicked a superb point from play to put his team into a massive 2-8 to 0-9 lead. He is integral to them retaining Sam.
Another great asset for Donegal is the sizzling pace of young Paddy McBrearty (my choice for man of the match) who burned Dermot Carlin to set up Ross Wherity’s well-taken goal. It just shows that, against this Donegal defence, if you lose possession up the field and have players committed, they break you down and this year McBrearty will hurt you in the open space left behind.
Niall Morgan was to be Tyrone’s go-to-man for scores. The young goalie’s job was to come out and nail any free 50 to 60 yards from Paul Durcan’s goal.
The theory pre-match was that if the forwards, midfielders or raiding half-backs won sufficient frees, he would point them to victory.
He hit 0-5 in the league final defeat to Dublin and something similar was expected yesterday.
However, Morgan did not fire on all cylinders in Ballybofey and only notched one point from six efforts. His confidence seemed in ruins by the end of the game and his dwindling accuracy seemed to unsettle the entire team.
It was a dangerous tactic to believe that the Edendork clubman who was playing in his first championship game (and he is only 21) was going to be able to reproduce the form he showed in the league. The Donegal players ramped up the pressure on him too and they put three men facing his kicks. They also seemed to encroach the 13 metre line and did their damndest to put him off.
Morgan kept missing his frees but, crucially for Mickey Harte, they did not a have any Plan B. Hence, they looked total disjointed and well beaten in the last quarter.
Jim McGuinness has his team and players performing with massive confidence with a collective self-belief that looks impenetrable.
At times they are in the opposition’s face and they hit hard when they have the chance. Michael Murphy gave a fine solid wallop to Peter Harte in the second half with a strong arm that left him crumpled and Tyrone sub Dermot Carlin left a good drop of his blood on the field too.
Neil and Eamonn McGee are teak tough too and apart from one glorious point, Stephen O’Neill got hardly any ball. With 20 minutes to go Tyrone were a beaten team, physically and in their minds.
Joe McMahon petulantly tripped Murphy to get his walking papers and both Colm and Seán Cavanagh were also given yellow cards for dangerous play. Colm was lucky enough not to see red for a dangerous neck- high tackle.
Once Wherrity got his goal and Donegal went 2-6 to 0-9 up, they was going to be no way back for Mickey Harte’s men.
After last year’s All-Ireland success and on the scent of a hat-trick of Ulster titles, Donegal are a super outfit. McGuinness has converted them into massive believers of his creed and the team that beats them will have to match it just as much as they will have to match them with football.
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