McGuinness rages at final round venue: ‘It would only happen because it's us’

HOME TRUTHS: Donegal manager Jim McGuinness talks to his players in advance of Sunday's SFC Round 3 clash with mayo at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Donegal boss Jim McGuinness has hit out at the decision to fix their final Group 1 fixture at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park in Roscommon. A one-point win secured their spot in the preliminary quarter-final while Mayo bow out.

A crowd of 18,371 travelled to Roscommon for the game. The result means Donegal will take part in next weekend’s preliminary quarter-final, although they are pushing for that game to take place on Sunday.

“That's a conversation for another time but we would definitely be looking for the seven days,” he said post-match. “We don't believe we should have been here today either. We think it was very unfair to bring us here.

“It was the equivalent of bringing Mayo to Omagh and we also put in an email to the CCCC to say we couldn't get a hotel in the area so we had to stay in Athlone. We had to go beyond the venue to come to play in the venue.” 

He continued: “I think it would only happen because it's us. Disappointed in that. We made a case and we made the case early. It was on deaf ears. But, again, that's for another day but I don't like the fact that our supporters are always being taken advantage of. We had seven games up to this point. Nobody's played more games than us. Nobody.

“And yet and all, we had the longest trek and all those people have to find a way to do all that. Breffni was an option. They're going to say it wasn't. I know that Clones was offered and that was rescinded. All you're looking for is fairness and the middle is fair.” 

When asked what did he mean by only happening because it’s Donegal, McGuinness pointed to the other neutral venues from the final round.

“Everybody else had a fair shake this weekend. If you look at the two counties and you look at the geographical position, then all the games were fair. This wasn't a fair one. You're 38 minutes from Mayo's training ground. We're three and a half hours from Inishowen. It's not fair.

“If I don't say it, who's going to say it? You always seem to be the one that's pointing fingers but at the end of the day, my job, and it's 100% my job, it's the players. The responsibility is to the players. When you're travelling on a bus for three hours the day before a game, that takes it out of your legs.” 

A positive start was impacted by Peadar Mogan’s early black card. The corner-back collided with Ryan O’Donoghue and was deemed to have tripped the forward in the subsequent tangle.

“We felt it was more a charge than a black card. When he did fall, the player fell over him. We wouldn’t be happy with the referee today either. That is as much as I am going to say. We wouldn’t be happy with a lot of the decisions.

“I know the Donegal fans were doing a lot of booing throughout the game, but we wouldn’t be happy with a lot of it. But I am not going to go any further than that.” 

He also pointed to a moment in the second half when Jason McGee went down for treatment.

“We had a man down with a head injury and the play went on. That’s serious. That can’t happen, it’s in the rulebook.”