Canty wary of Donegal’s ‘momentum’

CORK captain Graham Canty has warned that Donegal’s excellent run through the qualifiers makes them a dangerous proposition in Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

Munster champions Cork, who have accounted for Waterford, Kerry and Limerick go into the game as favourites but their defensive talisman is forecasting a repeat of the tight match between the teams at this stage three years ago.

“Donegal have serious momentum going into this game after the last few weeks,” said Canty. “They’ve been heavily involved lately whereas we’ve been out of action since the Munster final. I think people were too quick to write Donegal off after their loss to Antrim in the Ulster championship.”

Donegal’s inside attacking duo of teenage sensation Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden have caused serious problems for the Derry and Galway defences in recent weeks and Canty is aware of their talents.

He said: “They’re two big target players close to goal. Murphy is a really big strong player and it’s unbelievable to think that he is only 19. Colm McFadden is an excellent freetaker and we’ve to watch him as well. The thing I’ve noticed is that the two of them are very good at winning the ball first time when it comes to them. They can turn defenders very quickly and seem to be very accurate when the opening for a score presents itself.”

Cork attacker Donnacha O’Connor is also expecting a strong challenge from Donegal. “They beat a very impressive Derry team who I thought would go a long way this year. That was a great win for them and then they showed some consistency in following that up by knocking out Galway last week. I’ve only played against them twice, we beat them by a point in the championship three years ago and then they beat us by two in the league two years ago. That’ll tell you the sort of game it’s likely to be on Sunday.”