Jim McGuinness: 'It's a game of chance, the ball will drop one way or the other'
Donegal manager Jim McGuinness during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Armagh and Donegal at BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Another win for Donegal. And another win against Armagh. Jim McGuiness had reason to be pleased on Sunday evening after his side made it four from four in Division One, but he wasn’t claiming they were unstoppable either.
The Donegal boss started his post-match debrief by talking about the role luck played in what had been a brilliant game.
He pointed out how Armagh had left points behind them, and that it would have been a different ball game had four or five more of theirs gone over.
Kieran McGeeney would sing a similar song shortly after.
It was the Armagh manager who spoke about the “piggery’ involved in winning restarts just last week. Coaches hate chaos.
They are addicted to control. The new rules have stripped them of that and it has inevitably made randomness an even larger slice of the pie.
McGuinness and his management team actually spoke about this on the sideline as this game was reaching its tipping point.
And he credited the midfield pod they used with Ciaran Moore, Hugh McFadden, Jason McGee and Michael Langan for the winning of the game.
“Going back to Kieran’s comments last week: is there any skill involved in that? He probably has a point. It's there to be won. But there's definitely a lot of heart involved in it. And there's a lot of determination involved in it. But he does have a point in that regard.
“It's a game of chance. And the ball's going to bounce one way or another.”
The vagaries dictating football at this time of year had already played their own part with Armagh winning the toss and deciding to play into the wind first-half in the belief that they would carry all the momentum at their backs after the break.
The problem with that is it gave Donegal the whip hand. They took the lead after just 18 seconds, got caught at seven points apiece after 21 minutes, but managed a four-point lead by the break and then kept Armagh at arm’s length from there on.
McGuinness highlighted that as a key factor, too and it fed most obviously into the Conor O’Donnell goal scored after 44 minutes on the back of a three-minute possession. Donegal could play with that patience precisely because they had the lead.
“We had the cushion so we could control the game in the second-half and that put more pressure on them then to find a way to eat into the score. We didn't need the attack. We were in a good position, we controlled the ball well and then we got the goal on the back of that when the gap opened.
“So it's fine margins.” If Donegal always seemed to have a semblance of control then that was tested to its utmost with three minutes left when the referee gave Armagh a debated penalty after Caolan McGonagle was adjudged to have fouled the onrushing Jarly Og Burns.
Oisin Conaty’s penalty was low and near the post and it was hit with some power, but it was deflected brilliantly on to the upright by Gavin Mulreany, and Conaty’s rebound was blocked on the line by Brendan McCole in his 100th appearance for his county.
“I didn't have him down as a goalkeeper, definitely not, but there you go,” said his manager. “He's been brilliant. He's in a good vein of form and he's a tough job. I was unaware of that [100th game]. That level of consistency, to be available for one hundred games and be fit and available for selection says a lot.”
Both sides were doing without key men. Michael Murphy was given the weekend off, for one, while Armagh were lining out minus the likes of Rory Grugan and Aidan Forker who didn’t make it off the bench.
When it was all done, the two managers shook hands and shared a moment. A private moment that McGuinness didn’t feel like sharing.
“The story's always about Jim McGuinness or Kieran McGeeney. That's the reality. We don't want the story to be about Jim McGuinness or Kieran McGeeney. We just want to move on because … like Kieran last week, if you have a big opinion, it's viral in about five different directions. Sometimes the truth gets lost as well.”
O O’Neill (0-6, 3f); C McConville and R McQuillan (both 0-3); D McMullan (0-2, 1 2ptr); J Og Burns, C O’Neill, B Crealey, C Turbitt and O Conaty (all 0-1).
M Langan (0-4, 2 2 ptrs); G Mulreany (0-4, 2 2-ptrs); C O’Donnell (1-1); J McGee (0-4); O Caulfield and O Gallen (both 0-2); E Ban Gallagher, R McHugh, S O’Donnell (all 0-1).
B Hughes; J Duffy, G Murphy, P McGrane; R McQuillan, T Kelly, J Og Burns; C O’Neill, B Crealey; D McMullan, C Turbitt, G McCabe; C McConville, O O’Neill, O Conaty.
T McCormack for Crealey (11-14); F O’Brien for Duffy (63); T McCormack for McConville (68).
G Mulreaney; E Ban Gallagher, B McCole, P Mogan; R McHugh, C McGonagle, F Roarty; H McFadden, M Langan; S O’Donnell, C O’Donnell, C Moore; O Caulfield, J McGee, O Gallen.
T Carr for O’Donnell (47); S Malone for Caulfield (53); P O’Hare for Gallen (56); Domhnall Mac Giolla Bhride for Moore (65).
B Cawley (Kildare).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
