Donegal boss, Jim McGuinness, admits 2011 plan a non-starter

Donegal boss Jim McGuinness admits the cautious defensive approach his team employed in the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final will not work against an evolving Dublin on Sunday.

Donegal famously — infamously for some — lined up with Colm McFadden as their sole forward to frustrate Pat Gilroy’s Dublin, who had hammered 22 points past Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-final two weeks earlier.

McGuinness’s team frustrated Dublin for long spells three years ago, with the Ulster champions going in at half-time 0-4 to 0-2 up and the Leinster flag-bearers not scoring from play until the 51st minute.

However, Dublin’s patience and the direct running from substitute Kevin McManamon sealed a 0-8 to 0-6 victory and Gilroy went on to bring Sam Maguire to the capital for the first time since 1995 after another come from behind win over Kerry in the final, with goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton sealing a 1-12 to 1-11 triumph..

“It was a different type of system under Pat Gilroy,” McGuinness said of the 2011 Dublin approach. “They kept the six defenders back. It was rare to see the half-backs push on. That’s not the case now. Everyone pushes on.

“It’s a totally different dynamic from that point of view. In terms of their attack, it’s not that much different. They still like to get the ball in, they still like runners off their full-forward line. They’re dynamic in the middle still. What they have done is give their half-backs licence to bomb on.”

Jim Gavin’s All-Ireland champions have blazed a sensational trail through the championship this summer. They overcame Laois 2-21 to 0-16 in their Leinster quarter-final before posting a 2-25 to 1-12 victory over Wexford.

A 52nd provincial title was clinched following a 3-20 to 1-10 defeat of Meath and Monaghan, the beaten Ulster finalists, were their All-Ireland quarter-final victims, 2-22 to 0-11. Therefore, Dublin’s winning margins are 11 points, 15, 16 and 17, with their average return being 28.75 points a game, while Donegal’s is 17.25 — almost the same as it was when they lifted Sam Maguire in 2012.

“Our thought process was to win the game,” McGuinness added of 2011. “We put the team out with a gameplan to win the match. Defensively we did a phenomenal job. Offensively we didn’t — we only scored six points.

“That’s what let us down. Every game is taken on its own merits. If we’d got things right offensively, we’d have been in the final. But again, that probably would have been too soon for us.

“We’d won nothing in 19 years. We weren’t that far enough down the track in terms of development. It might have been too much, too soon. We were working on things and talking about things, getting up the field and supporting the attack. But we just weren’t far enough down the track to implement that. Our score average wasn’t enough that year, 12 points.

“The season after when we won the All-Ireland it was 17, because we paid attention to how we attacked.”