Diver: Michael Murphy no longer carries Donegal load on his own

Damien Diver was impressed by how other players stepped up to the plate in last Sunday week’s quarter-final win over Armagh and wants more of the same as they face Cavan this weekend

Michael Murphy of Donegal in action against Niall Grimley of Armagh during the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Donegal and Armagh at Páirc MacCumhaill in Ballybofey, Donegal. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Former Donegal defender and selector Damien Diver believes Michael Murphy’s team-mates are now taking the burden of responsibility off his shoulders.

Diver was impressed by how other players stepped up to the plate in last Sunday week’s Ulster quarter-final win over Armagh and wants more of the same as they face Cavan this weekend.

Murphy, 33 in August, scored six points, two from play, against Armagh and had been carrying a hamstring injury. However, Diver saw enough evidence to believe the team are no longer as dependent on the man who has led them in name and deed since 2011.

“I think it (responsibility) has shifted off him a bit when you see the likes of (Jason) McGee picking balls out of the sky like the last day. Just that work around the middle, winning primary possession. That takes a lot of pressure off Murphy. Somebody does that and then he can latch onto and drive through.

“It relaxes the team when somebody does that and I think it relaxes the county too that there are players prepared to step up when you have big men like that doing well. We have the likes of (Michael) Langan and (Caolan) McGonagle doing well too. We have big men in the right parts of the field who can win ball.” 

Diver highlights how so much was made of the Armagh players who were freed up from suspension when Donegal themselves had key men coming back from injury. 

“Somebody made a good point to me that there was a lot of talk about Armagh getting their three players back but there wasn’t one word in the media about us getting Langan back, getting McGonagle back. We probably got more players back than they did.” 

Despite the perception Donegal have underachieved these past four seasons, Diver now sees them as a group who have matured into a team that can realise their potential. 

“The Ulster has always been our All-Ireland in a way, but it would be interesting to see how they get on beyond it in the blue yonder of the rest of Ireland. We mightn’t be far away. We have good backs, we have big men in the middle, we have speed going through that middle third and forwards who can score. We have all the ingredients.” 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Martin McHugh guiding Cavan to a first Ulster title in 28 years, beating a Donegal team featuring Diver at this same semi-final stage. But Diver knows the only past game between the counties that matters is Cavan’s shock final win of two years ago. 

“A lot of us expected another Ulster title. A lot of the players might have expected it, I don’t know. Cavan were going very well that year too with the results they had against Monaghan and Down. You have to hand it to them, they fought to the end, but I hope we learned enough lessons from it so we can put things right on Sunday.”