'A good day's work' but Donegal still have things to work on says Jim McGuinness

GOOD DAY'S WORK: Donegal manager Jim McGuinness speaks to his players. Pic: ©INPHO/Lorcan Doherty.

Donegal 1-19 Mayo 0-14

Three from three for Donegal - and still things to work on for manager Jim McGuinness.

An eight-point win over a previously unbeaten Mayo came in front of a capacity 8,900 in Letterkenny in a contest where the damage was done in the first half.

In ways, it mirrored Donegal’s previous victories against Dublin and Kerry, where there was a slight tail-off after the break but for mid-February, Donegal are still the envy of many a county.

The warning signs for Mayo were there early, as, despite having a huge wind in their faces, it was Donegal who were dictating the terms of the contest.

Mayo couldn’t get the ball to stick inside, and Donegal were gobbling up all the breaks around the middle of the field. The home side went in at the break with a very decent advantage, all things considered, 0-11 to 0-5 in front.

The hosts’ latest one to-watch, an 18-year-old Leaving Cert student named Conor McCahill from Four Masters Donegal Town, hit the opening two scores and would end up with three from play on his first league start.

Oisin Gallen was making his first start of 2026 and blew off the cobwebs with 0-6, with five of those coming in the first half.

Conor O’Donnell capped a fine performance with the game’s only goal on 46 minutes, which put Donegal nine up.

Mayo didn’t score a point from play for 25 minutes, with Jordan Flynn on the mark on his return, and at the break, his manager had plenty to ponder.

Early in the second half, they created goal chances from Loftus and Darragh Beirne but with Gavin Mulreany in the Donegal goal equal to both, the visitors had to be content with points.

Although there was a glimmer at only four down, 0-11 to 0-7, Donegal soon pressed ahead again, and Ryan McHugh’s two-pointer took advantage of the fact the wind was now behind them.

Mayo’s showing was certainly better in part two, although they never got near striking distance and O’Donnell was on hand to tap home a centre from Peadar Mogan to score the goal.

That put Donegal 1-14 to 0-8 in front and came just before Michael Murphy was introduced.

With the pace of the game slower later on, Sam Callinan, Darragh Beirne, Enda Hession and Fergal Boland all posted Mayo points, and it was left to Ciaran Moore - the St Eunan’s clubman playing on his local patch - who finished out the scoring.

“You're trying to develop a bit of depth, you're trying to develop younger players,” McGuinness said afterwards.

“We got one of those younger players in today from the start. And then obviously work on things with a view to the Championship. So, from that point of view, a good day's work. I think the first half, in particular, we were very happy with a lot of it. We asked a good few questions of them.

“Our build-up was really good; our established attack was really good. We were good under kick-outs. Second half, dropped off again, same conversation really that we had.

“The weekend of the Kerry match, our numbers were down in the second half on our own kick-out. Mayo seemed to get it away a lot easier. We became a wee bit sloppier on the ball.

“We didn't secure the ball quickly enough at times. Trying hand passes, probably that weren't on and a couple of them went to feet and everything. So, some of the same things are there that we need to address and tidy up.

“But the flip side of that is you're playing a team that's very strong, very powerful, very aggressive in the way they want to step to you. And in the main, they met that challenge really, really well.

"And obviously, a lot of good performances, particularly up front and points on the board gives us a wee bit more flexibility now to look at other things.”

Scorers for Donegal:O Gallen (0-6, 2f); C O’Donnell (1-3); C McCahill (0-3), R McHugh (0-3, 1tp); F Roarty (0-2); S O’Donnell, C Moore (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayo: R O’Donoghue (0-4, 1f, tpf); J Flynn, S Callinan, D Beirne (0-2 each); B Tuohy, C Loftus, E Hession, F Boland (0-1 each).

Donegal: G Mulreany; E Gallagher, B McCole, P Mogan; R McHugh, C McGonagle, F Roarty; H McFadden, M Langan; S O'Donnell, C O'Donnell, C Moore; C McCahill, J McGee, O Gallen.

Subs: M Murphy for Gallen (47), T Carr for Gallagher (57), D Mac Giolla Bhríde for McGee (60), K Muldoon and S Malone for McCahill and McHugh (66).

Mayo: R Hennelly; J Coyne, R Brickenden, E Hession; S Callinan, D McHugh, F Kelly; B Tuohy, D O’Connor; J Carney, R O’Donoghue, J Flynn; D Beirne, J Carr, A O’Shea.

Subs: C Loftus for Carr (28), P Durcan and F Boland for McHugh and O’Connor (half-time), D Duffy for O’Shea (52), S Howard for Kelly (58).

Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone).